Women’s Soccer Heads North to Pacific - Pepperdine University Athletics

STOCKTON, Calif. – Pepperdine women's soccer (8-4-2, 4-1 WCC) hits the road for the second to last conference road game of the regular season against the Pacific Tigers (1-11-2, 0-3-2 WCC) Saturday night.

The Waves suffered their first loss in WCC play to LMU 1-0 last Saturday in Malibu.
Despite outshooting the Lions 13-4, the Waves could not net one to equalize after going down 1-0 shortly after second half started.
Pepperdine is now in second place in the conference standings, just one point behind LMU.

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.
Leading the team for the second consecutive season, Julia Quinonez has notched 11 goals so far this year, bringing her collegiate total to 30, sixth all-time in Pepperdine record books.
The senior currently leads the nation in shot accuracy at .771 and is 15th in the nation in points per game at 1.92.
Quinonez leads the conference in points, live-action goals, shot accuracy, and game-winners with four.
As a fifth year, Kyra Murphy brings the most experience to the Waves this season with 83 matches played, including 54 starts.
Totalling 12 goals and 14 assists, Murphy is currently second in the conference with six assists on the season, the most in one year in her collegiate career.
Returning in goal for the Waves, junior Jillian Medvecky has started all but three matches for the Waves, garnering a goals against average of 1.23, tallying 161 saves.
With two returning on the backline, 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.
Four freshmen make up eight goals for the Waves this season, led by Sam Hosford who is second on the team in goals with three.
Four freshmen have rotated in and out of the starting XI with Kate Ryan, Fiona McCormick, and Emjae Soriano joining Hosford as first-year impact players.
With a 8-4-2 record, Pepperdine owns half of the conference's top-100 RPI wins.
Posting a 5-1-1 record in Malibu, the Waves look to close out the regular season protecting Tari Frahm Rokus Field against Santa Clara and San Diego Oct. 28 and 30, respectively.

SERIES HISTORY WITH PACIFIC

All time, the Waves hold the series advantage over the Tigers 17-0.
In Stockton, Pepperdine is 7-0.
Last season, the Waves beat the Tigers 9-0 in Malibu.
Scoring a brace last season against Pacific, Julia Quinonez netted two goals while Sarah Spears, Kyra Murphy and Elle Quinn notched one goal a piece in the 9-0 win.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS

Sitting at 1-11-2, the Tigers are coming off a 1-1 tie to San Francisco on the road last Saturday.
Although still looking for their first win in conference play, Pacific has not lost by more than a goal since Sept. 10.
With 11 goals on the season so far, the Tigers are led by Kaya Rosa who has eight of them.
Through 12 matches, LMU has narrowly been outscored 10-9.
In the net for Pacific, Ava Wells has tallied 64 saves so far this year.

As the final regular season game under the lights for the Waves this season, kickoff is set for 7 p.m. pst Saturday night, available to stream 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.
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Players Mentioned

Sam Hosford

Peyton Leonard

Fiona McCormick

Jillian Medvecky

Kyra Murphy

Elle Quinn

Julia Quinonez

Kate Ryan

Emjae Soriano

Sarah Spears

Lily Stewart

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