Pepperdine Women’s Soccer prepares for a WCC matchup with University of Pacific on Oct. 4 at Tari Frahm Rokus Field. The Waves started conference play on a 6-0 win streak, which propelled them to clinching back-to-back conference titles. Photo by Katherine Lytle
The Waves are rolling, and soon, they’ll be dancing. Pepperdine Women’s Soccer clinched back-to-back West Coast Conference (WCC) championship titles to send them into the NCAA tournament.
After beating the University of San Francisco Dons 3-1 on Nov. 8, the Waves secured their sixth overall WCC championship. This is only the second time in program history Pepperdine Women’s Soccer has won back-to-back titles and only the second time they’ve won the title outright, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
“We know we put a lot of work into this, and it definitely wasn’t easy,” sophomore goalkeeper Jillian Medvecky said. “There were moments where we were questioning whether or not our hard work was going to pay off, but at the end of the day, it did, so it felt really good to be able to go back to back.”
Head Coach Tim Ward said Team 33 is special, as are all the squads he has the chance to coach in Malibu. While Ward can’t compare teams, being able to win back-to-back titles with two different rosters is not something he takes lightly.
“I never, ever take it for granted,” Ward said. “I know that there are no guarantees for future teams or future years, and so when it happens, it’s really, really special.”
Going into their game against USF, the Waves were not guaranteed the title with just a win. In fact, there were three teams – Pepperdine, Saint Mary’s and Portland – who each had a chance to be conference champs.
“Going into that game, we really didn’t know what was going to happen,” said Kendall Campbell, senior defender/forward and one of the team’s captains. “We were just going to put our best foot forward and do our best. We’re just so grateful to be in the position that we are in.”
Keys to Success
While the end of conference play was a close race, Ward said his team’s strong start is one of the key reasons for their success. After suffering a 3-2 loss at home to San Diego State on Sept. 11, the Waves started WCC play on a 6-0 run before a 1-1 tie with LMU on Oct. 22 stunted this momentum.
“I told the players, ‘You’re playing well,’” Ward said. “All we can do is do our very best and do our part. We just have to focus on what we need to do, and if we do that, then God takes care of the rest, and He did.”
Medvecky said one of the reasons her team has been so successful this year is because of the strength of each individual player. Pepperdine earned nine All-Conference awards across the board, highlighting the roster’s strength, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
“On the field, we have a ton of goal scorers on this team and also a lot of great defenders who could just make individual plays,” Medvecky said. “But also collectively, as a team, we work really well together, and when it comes down to the moment, we know that we got each other’s back.”
Ward said the success of his squad is a team effort, but his players should be proud of their individual achievements. Redshirt senior midfielder/forward Tabitha LaPar, led the awards by earning Midfielder of the Year, according to the WCC.
LaParl earned All-WCC First Team honors alongside senior midfielder/forward Tatum Wynalda, junior defender Peyton Leonard and junior forward Julia Quinonez. Redshirt junior midfielder Kyra Murphy earned All-WCC Second Team honors as the sole representative for the Waves, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Wrapping up the awards is the All-WCC Freshman Team. Forward Layla Simon and defender Ariana Markey both earned these Freshman Team honors, while senior midfielder Karina Gonzalez earned an Honorable Mention overall.
Pepperdine’s nine awards makes them the most widely represented across all four teams in these All-Conference honors, with Seattle University and Saint Mary’s coming in second with seven selections, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
“Normally in our program, we don’t celebrate individual achievement because on the back of our jersey it says, ‘Pepperdine Waves,’ because we want to celebrate the team’s excellence,” Ward said. “But I also think we’re really, really proud of the ladies that were recognized in the WCC voting. I think they all have earned that right.”
A Year of Recovery
This year had a special meaning for the Waves, Ward said. After Malibu suffered so much loss during the Franklin and Palisades Fires, Ward wanted his team to honor the community they represent.
“The theme this year was this idea of this Phoenix and this ring of fire,” Ward said. “We need to be a team that can be a light in the community that rises from the ashes.”
One of the ways his team practiced this rise from the ashes was during a hike to the cross. Ward said his team was able to refocus and realize how blessed and lucky they are in this life, symbolized by the laying down of individual burdens shared at the cross.
“It’s a really good discipline in your life to learn to burn away those things that are really unnecessary, and that might be fear, shame, feelings of not being good enough, feeling like you’re letting people down,” Ward said. “We wanted to leave all the things that don’t serve us behind and lay it literally at the foot of the cross.”
Ward said he wants his team to maintain this mindset going into playoffs. Even as the stakes get higher and the pressure feels like it’s piling on, his team needs to stay grounded and focused on their game play.
“At the end of day, it’s so important just to focus on ourselves, focus on our faith, focus on where God has us,” Campbell said. “We can only control ourselves, we can only control what we do, and so we’re just gonna go out there and do our very best.”
The Waves are dancing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, kicking off with a road trip to Westwood. Pepperdine will face the No. 4 UCLA Bruins on Nov. 15, with a start time set for 6 p.m.
“We hope to just play our best and just do everything we can,” Medvecky said. “We know what our game plan is going into it, so just executing that and playing as a team and playing together.”
Last fall, the Waves upset the No. 3 Bruins in a 1-0 win Sept. 1. In spring competition this year, the teams tied. Pepperdine has yet to face off with UCLA this fall, but Ward said they are very familiar with the Bruins.
“We have so much respect for them, but our girls know them, and we know what level we have to bring to actually get a result against them,” Ward said. “It’s not some mystery to us. We’re ready for it.”
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