The visiting California Golden Bears women’s soccer team held a 1-0 lead and outplayed the Pepperdine Waves in the first half of their matchup in the opening round of the NCCA tournament on Nov. 16 at Pepperdine’s Tari Frahm Rokus Field.
That changed in the second half.
There was Waves junior forward Tatum Wynalda rocketing down the left sideline, not once, but twice, with the ball between her cleats and her eyes trained on the opposing goal. Wynalda, the West Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Week twice in 2023, booted two failed-scoring attempts in the opening minutes after halftime.
There was also Pepperdine forward Tori Waldeck, a graduate student known to be a fleet-footed scorer, maneuvering in the Golden Bears’ box with the ball before kicking a scoring shot that missed.
The Waves finally tied the match when redshirt junior forward Tabitha LaParl’s corner kick connected with the noggin of sophomore defender Peyton Leonard, who headed the ball into the net to tie the score in the game’s 59th minute.
Pepperdine eventually lost the contest 2-1 in double overtime, though.
Waves head coach Tim Ward said his team changed their tactics offensively after halftime and played great.
“They are probably the most flexible team tactically in the history of Pepperdine soccer in terms of our ability to change systems within the game,” he said. “I thought we created some really good moments. Even in the first overtime, I thought that maybe — we had a couple of moments that were so close — but the margins are small at this level. That game could have gone either way.”
Ward called the Golden Bears an athletic and talented squad.
“You have to take your hat off to a well-coached team,” he said. “They are a very good Cal team.”
Pepperdine, ranked 22nd in the national soccer rankings at the end of the regular season, ended their 2024 campaign as West Coast Conference champions and a 12-4-5 overall record. California advanced to a second-round tournament contest against the Arkansas Razorbacks on Friday.
Pepperdine entered the matchup as a seventh seed.
The Golden Bears broke open a tough defensive contest in the 33rd minute when senior forward Alexis Wright received a pass from the right side of the field and kicked the ball into the near post.
California maintained the lead until Leonard scored 14 minutes after halftime.
The match was scoreless for the rest of regulation. Neither team scored in the first overtime. Then with four minutes left in the second extra period, the Golden Bear’s Courtney Boone, a senior center back, got the ball off a corner kick and delivered it to the back of the net to end the game and give her squad the win.
California outshot Pepperdine 15-10, but the Waves had a 6-5 advantage in shots on goal. Pepperdine’s Waldeck took four shots, three of them on goal.
Pepperdine freshman goalkeeper Jillian Medvecky had three saves. The Golden Bears goalkeeper, Teagan Wy, had five saves.
Ward said the Waves were an unbelievable group this year and noted how the team’s seniors and graduate students — Ashlyn Siriani, Sophia Prudholme, Caroline Coleman, Kelsey Adams, Victoria Romero, Megan Edelman, and Waldeck — led “selflessly.”
“Some of the girls didn’t play the minutes they wanted,” he noted. “The way they gave themselves for their sisters, the humility they possessed, the sacrifice, the love, and the unity is pretty remarkable.”