Malibuite Sophia Prudholme now at Pepperdine after two years playing at Notre Dame
Malibuite Sophia Prudholme competed in a variety of sports as a youngster.
She played AYSO soccer for a squad that practiced and played at Malibu High. She ran track for a year and played basketball. For several springs, Prudholme stood out on the Dodgers and Braves Malibu Little League baseball teams — coached by her father, Steve Prudholme — that racked up championships in the Bluffs Park-based youth league.
Steve recalled his daughter hitting a home run as youth baseball player.
“She really excelled at baseball,” he said. “Her hand, eye coordination — it just came natural to her.”
Sophia’s number-one sport, though, was soccer. She starred in the sport at Oaks Christian School in Westlake Village. Now the 21-year-old plays college soccer right across Pacific Coast Highway from Bluffs Park.
Yep, Prudholme is the hometown girl on the Pepperdine Waves women’s soccer team.
Prudholme loves lacing up her neon-colored cleats and wearing number 6 for the Waves.
“I never really expected to play here because at first my goal was to go away,” said Prudholme, who played two seasons at Notre Dame in Indiana. “Which I did at first, and then transferred here. I love being back. Being home and in a place I am comfortable with my support system has been great.”
Prudholme, a senior forward, attended Waves’ matches before going to college. She was in attendance when Pepperdine recorded one of its biggest wins in program history — a 1-0 victory over a second-ranked Stanford team.
“It’s cool to think back to when I would go to games there and fast forward to now being a player on the field,” Prudholme recalled. “I feel really lucky and grateful about it.”
The Waves have a 4-2-2 record at press time. In one of those wins — a 1-0 triumph over UC San Diego — Prudholme, a reserve, logged 17 minutes of playing time. She played in four games during the 2023 season and earned West Coast Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll “gold” honors.
Prudholme describes herself as a competitive player with a great workout and feet keen on kicking the ball into the back of the net.
“I have been moved around to different positions,” she said. “Which is great. Wherever I am on the field, I want to help the team win.”
Prudholme played four years of varsity soccer at Oaks Christian. She tallied 11 goals in 20 games during her senior season and was named to the All-Area team and was the Marmonte League MVP. Prudholme also garnered two All-Marmonte first-team selections before she graduated high school in 2021 and won Oaks Christian’s Lions Award.
She played her freshman and sophomore college years with a Notre Dame squad that appeared in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight.
Prudholme said playing at Notre Dame was a wonderful, but she decided to transfer before her junior year because she“wasn’t loving the environment there” and wanted return to Malibu to “reset and refresh.”
Prudholme’s family which includes her mom, Sharon Segal, and younger brother Stevie, now a Pepperdine freshman, are excited to have her home.
“They wanted me to do what makes me happy and what is beneficial for my future,” she said. “They love having me home and can see me all the time. When I was at Notre Dame, I would only be home for Christmas, spring break, and the summer.”
So now, instead of living in a campus dorm, Prudholme drives eight minutes down Pacific Coast Highway to class or toPepperdine’s Tari Frahm Rokus Field. She doesn’t have to do her own laundry and gone are the days of microwaved meals. Her mom cooks often, with her specialty being pasta. There are also the breakfast plates of foods like avocado toast, French toast, bacon, and oatmeal she prepares before her daughter’s early morning soccer practices.
“It is the sweetest thing,” gushed Prudholme.
Her family can attend all of the Waves’ games.
“It makes me want to do better, playing here where a lot of family can watch me,” Prudholme noted. “It motivates me when I’m practicing and playing.”
Steve Prudholme said it is amazing having his daughter home.
“It’s truly a blessing,” he said. “We love it. My parents get to come out and go to her games. She gets to have her family of support there. I wouldn’t want it any other a way.”
Sophia is one of 27 California girls on Pepperdine’s 30-player roster. Although she is the only Malibu resident on the team, there are others from surrounding areas, including Prudholme’s former Oaks Christian teammates, junior defender Erin Zeile and freshman midfielder Sarah Spears. Additionally, junior forward Tatum Wynalda is from Thousand Oaks, redshirt sophomore Kendall Campbell is from Palmdale, sophomore forward Julia Quinonez is from Torrance, and freshman Ariana Salavador and graduate student forward Tori Waldeck are from Newhall.
Prudholme and Zeile have spent past summers training together. Prudholme has played against or saw a lot of her teammates play at club soccer tournaments.
Pepperdine hosts Fresno State on Friday at 3 p.m. and Cornell University on Sunday at 12 p.m. The Waves host Washington State on Oct. 2.
Prudholme aims to be a consistent and sharp player for the Waves.
“I feel really grateful,” she said. “A lot of people can’t say they played college soccer in their hometown. It’s a reallycool and special thing I get to experience.”
