Women’s Soccer Readies for Final Regular Season Match

MORAGA, Calif. – Pepperdine women's soccer (9-4-4, 5-1-2 WCC) heads north to Moraga to take on Saint Mary's (10-3-5, 4-3-1 WCC) in the final regular season match of the season.

The Waves tied San Diego in the final home match of the regular season Oct. 31.
Ariana Salvador and Layla Simon scored their second goals of the season for the Waves.
Pepperdine is now tied for first in the conference, securing at least a share of the regular season title with a win against Saint Mary's.

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 13 goals so far this year, bringing her collegiate total to 31, sixth all-time in Pepperdine record books.
The senior currently leads the nation in shot accuracy at .769 and is 17th in the nation in points per game at 1.80.
Quinonez leads the conference in points, shot accuracy, and game-winners with five.
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 1.20, tallying 163 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 9-4-2 record, Pepperdine owns half of the conference's top-100 RPI wins.
Posting a 5-1-2 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 SAINT MARY'S

All time, the Waves hold the advantage over the Gaels 15-9-8.
On the road, Pepperdie is 6-5-5 against Saint Mary's.
The Waves are hunting for their first win since 2023, and their first road win since 2020.
Last season, Pepperdine lost at home to Saint Mary's 0-1.
Two seasons ago, the last time the Waves were in Moraga, they tied the Gaels 1-1.

SCOUTING THE GAELS

Sitting at 10-3-5, including 4-3-1 in conference, Saint Mary's is coming off a 0-2 loss to Seattle at home last Saturday.
The Gaels have dropped conference matches to Denver, LMU, and Seattle with the sole tie coming against Santa Clara.
Ashlyn Vaughn leads the offense with nine goals with Brianna Jurasek coming right behind with four and a team-leading three assists.
In goal, Kate Plachy owns the second-best save percentage in the conference at .833, allowing just 10 goals through 13 matches.

Closing out the regular season on the road, the Waves will kickoff at 1 p.m. Saturday as they look to secure their third-straight WCC regular season title for the first time in program history. The match will be available to watch on ESPN+ (subscription required), with live stats available on 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 324-160-79.
TICKETS
For more information and to purchase season and single game tickets to upcoming home events, visit here.
FOLLOW
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Players Mentioned

Sam Hosford

Peyton Leonard

Fiona McCormick

Jillian Medvecky

Kyra Murphy

Julia Quinonez

Kate Ryan

Ariana Salvador

Layla Simon

Emjae Soriano

Lily Stewart

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