Women’s Soccer Welcomes Seattle to Malibu

MALIBU, Calif. – Pepperdine women's soccer (5-3-2, 1-0 WCC) hosts the Seattle Redhawks (7-3-2, 1-0 WCC) for their Vamos Olas match Saturday at Tari Frahm Rokus field with kickoff scheduled for noon.

The Waves started conference play with a win for the third year in a row, beating Portland 1-0 on the road.
Lily Stewart scored her second collegiate goal, her first of the season off an Alex Pendleton assist.

GAME NOTES

Unanimous among the WCC coaches poll, Pepperdine was picked to finish first in the conference this year.
The trio of seniors: Peyton Leonard, Kyra Murphy, and Julia Quinonez were selected to the preseason all-conference team, the third year in a row the Waves have had three honorees make the squad.
On their respective MAC Hermann Trophy positional players to watch, Leonard and Quinonez were recognized as returners who made the United Soccer Coaches All-West Region First Team last season.
In the final year with no postseason tournament for the West Coast Conference, Pepperdine secured the title of conference champions for the second year in a row.
Winning the title outright, it is the sixth conference championship for the Waves.
The Waves have only won back-to-back titles one other time in 2016 and 2017, never doing so in three consecutive years.
Over Tim Ward's 28 years of coaching, he has garnered over 300 wins and five WCC Coach of the Year awards, most recently in 2017.
Throughout Ward's tenure, Pepperdine has earned six WCC titles with four NCAA Sweet 16 appearances and a total of 10 national team players.
Returning for her senior year, Peyton Leonard is one of the most well-rounded players on the 2026 roster for the Waves.
A steady presence on defense, the Ladera Ranch, Calif. native is also a threat on offense, tallying four goals and three assists last season.
Named to the Top Drawer Soccer Top 100 Players across the NCAA, the centerback came in at No. 60.
Starting the season in a sprint, Julia Quinonez has already notched seven goals through the nonconference slate, earning herself two WCC offensive player of the week honors so far this season, garnering the most recent one for her three goals versus Fresno State and Arizona.
As the WCC's top returning goal-scorer, Julia Quinonez buried 11 in the back of the net last season, tacking on four assists.
Making the MAC Hermann Trophy Watchlist, the senior is one of 65 across the NCAA and just one of two in the West Coast Conference as the only Wave.
As a fifth year, Kyra Murphy brings the most experience to the Waves this season with 70 matches played, including 41 starts.
Totalling 11 goals and 11 assists, the Riverside, Calif. native is a key piece to the midfield for Pepperdine on an underclassmen-heavy squad.
Returning in goal for the Waves, junior Jillian Medvecky has started all but one match for the Waves throughout her two seasons, garnering a goals against average of 1.23, tallying 128 saves.
With two returning on the backline as well, the Waves will have experience in the defensive third of the field.
Senior Peyton Leonard and junior Lily Stewart have 83 starts between the two of them along with 10 goals.
All tied for our second highest scorer, freshman Kate Ryan, Sam Hosford, and Fiona McCormick have all tallied two goals so far this season.
Three freshmen have earned the start in the last two matches, with Ryan and Hosford joining defender Emjae Soriano.
With a 5-3-2 record, all three Pepperdine losses have come to teams in the top 60, with two of the three teams in the top 20 RPI.
Posting a 3-0-1 record in Malibu, the Waves remain undefeated at home heading into the conference season.

SERIES HISTORY WITH SEATTLE

Overall, the Waves are 2-1-0 against the Redhawks.
Pepperdine is 1-1 in Malibu with the last matchup at Tari Frahm coming in 2009.
Last season, the Waves beat Seattle 3-2 on the road on their way to becoming back-to-back WCC Champs.
Julia Quinonez scored a brace in last year's matchup while Tatum Wynalda ('26) scored the match-winner.

SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS

Sitting at 7-3-2, Seattle is coming off a dominant 4-0 win against San Francisco in their first WCC match of the season.
Six of Seattle's seven wins have come at home.
Seattle has outscored their opponents 27-11.
The Redhawks also faced Texas Tech earlier this season, tying 0-0.
With 11 different goal scorers this season, U'i Kaaihue leads the pack with six goals, followed by Kailee Wilson who has four.

The match, set to kickoff at 12 p.m., will be available on ESPN+ (subscription required) with live stats available at www.pepperdinewaves.com.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE WOMEN'S SOCCER
Pepperdine women's soccer has been competitive since season one in 1993. As just the third head coach in the program's history, Tim Ward has led the Waves to 14 NCAA tournament appearances, winning the West Coast Conference five separate times and taking his squad to the round of 16 four times, most recently in 2021. With 24 winning seasons, Ward has proven he can lead consistently with excellence, garnering an overall record of 323-160-80.
TICKETS
For more information and to purchase tickets to upcoming home events, visit here.
FOLLOW
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Players Mentioned

Sam Hosford

Peyton Leonard

Fiona McCormick

Jillian Medvecky

Kyra Murphy

Alex Pendleton

Julia Quinonez

Kate Ryan

Emjae Soriano

Lily Stewart

Tatum Wynalda

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