The Waves aiming for West Coast Conference title with 20 players returning
The Pepperdine Waves women’s soccer team has winning expectations this season.
The squad fell a game short of winning the West Coast Conference crown last winter, but with 20 returning players and 10 newcomers, Waves head coach Tim Ward believes Pepperdine can win the conference championship.
“We have a group of seniors that have been through the wars,” he said. “They know what college soccer is about. We felt like we had a team to win the WCC last season but came up short. Having said that we are excited to go for it again.”
The Waves’ roster includes the reigning conference Offensive Player of the Year, reigning Freshman of the Year, five other players that received WCC postseason honors, and other skilled players. Ward likes the talent in the Waves’ranks.
“It’s a good balance,” he said. “We have a lot of depth at a lot of positions with good competitions. Everyone is looking sharp.”
Ward’s words came days before Pepperdine began their season with a 4-0 loss to Utah State in the Outrigger Kickoff hosted by the University of Hawaii in Waipahu, Oahu, on Aug. 15. The Waves bounced back with a 2-1 victory over Georgia Southern three days later on the same field in Hawaii.
The Waves play at UC San Diego in La Jolla on Thursday. They host USC on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Ward said Pepperdine’s early season stretch of matches — which include contests against Arizona, UCLA, Georgetown University, Harvard, and Fresno State — is daunting.
“The strength of schedule is big,” he said. “You can’t get great wins unless you play great opponents and that is what is on our schedule this year.”
Pepperdine was outshot 18-5, including 8-3 in shots on goal in their loss to Utah State. Utah State led 2-0 at halftime and their defense continually halted the Waves’ scoring attempts in the second half as they notched two more goals before the end of the contest.
Redshirt junior goalkeeper Taylor Rath had one save in the game for Pepperdine, and freshman goalkeeper Jillian Medvecky had three.
Pepperdine and Georgia Southern combined for only five shots in the first half of their matchup. In the second half, the Waves had six corner kicks in the last 45 minutes.
Waves graduate student forward Tori Waldeck, the 2023 WCC Offensive Player of the Year, scored the first goal of the contest with 35 minutes left in the game. Waldeck’s teammate sophomore forward Julia Quinonez, last year’s WCC Freshman of the Year, kicked Pepperdine’s second score a few plays later.
Georgia Southern immediately scored on an unassisted goal. Pepperdine’s defense held their opposition in check to secure the win.
After the win, Ward said he was proud of the energy his team played with.
“The girls played beautifully today and took all that we learned from our Thursday match and took a massive step forward with today’s performance,” he explained.
Waldeck and freshman defender Lily Stewart were two of the 11 players named to the Outrigger Kickoff All-Tournament Team.
The Waves finished their 2023 campaign with a 9-5-5 record. The team’s five ties happened in their first eight games of the season. The Waves closed the season by winning six consecutive contests before losing their regular season finale. Pepperdine was beaten by national runner-up Stanford in the first round of the NCAA Championships.
Ward said the Waves didn’t enter last season with their fitness levels up to par, so that might have hindered some of their early season performances. That is not the case this year, the coach stated.
“The girls did beautifully on their first-day fitness test,” said Ward, who credited the team’s leaders and Pepperdine’s fitness coaches. “They came back in great shape.”
Along with Waldeck and Quinonez, junior forward Tatum Wynalda, who has tallied 14 goals and three assists during her time as a Wave, are expected to be the team’s scoring punch.
“All of them have a target on them,” Ward said. “The good news is that between the three of them you can’t just man-mark all of them. They are too good. In those three ladies, we have some amazing goal scorers.”
Waldeck, an intellectual player, Ward said, is one of the quickest players the Waves have ever had and is a future professional player.
“Her ability to turn the corner on people is — you think you got her and then you don’t,” he said. “You think you have her and then she is gone.”
Ward said midfielders, including redshirt junior Tabitha LaParl, sophomore Ava Verplancke, and redshirt sophomore Kyra Murphy, are important to Pepperdine’s attacking offense. Junior midfielder Karina Gonzalez does “unsung hero work” on the field, he added.
Junior Taylor Bloom, graduate student Victoria Romero, redshirt freshman Kendall Campbell, and sophomore Peyton Leonard are defenders Ward said are ready to play tough defense. He noted that graduate student Megan Edelman, a transfer from UCLA, is skilled enough to start.
The freshmen Medvecky and Stewart along with their classmates, Ward explained, are expected to make an impact.
“All of them are going to be great players, but three or four of them are going to standout this year,” he said. “They are going to contribute significantly.”
The Waves’ WCC opponents include Washington State, Gonzaga, Santa Clara, Pacific, LMU, Portland, Oregon State, San Diego, Saint Mary’s, and San Francisco. They are all tough opponents, Ward said.
“We are one heart, one mind, one mission,” he said. “We have a good group with a tough schedule, but we can navigate it. I’m excited for the fall.”