The 2026 Pepperdine Women’s Soccer team lines up in front of their home crowd to sing U2’s “Street of Dreams” after their 1-0 win against University of California, Berkeley on Aug. 20 at Tari Frahm Rokus Field. This was a tradition the Waves picked up this season to celebrate every home win. Photos by Guinevere Hesse
Pepperdine Women’s Soccer clinched their third consecutive West Coast Conference (WCC) championship title to punch their ticket into the inaugural WCC Women’s Soccer Championship Nov. 11-14.
The Waves defeated Saint Mary’s College by a score of 2-1 at Saint Mary’s Stadium on Nov. 7, securing their seventh WCC championship and third straight. The victory will go down in the program’s history books, as it is the first time the Waves have won back-to-back-to-back regular-season titles, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
The Waves’ first got on the board in the 12th minute when senior forward Julia Quinonez scored on a penalty kick for her 14th goal of the season.
Entering halftime, the Gaels outshot the Waves 7-5 and recorded three corner kicks compared to the Wave’s one, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
The match grew more competitive in the second half, as the Gaels matched the Waves in the 44th minute with a goal from junior forward Brooke Fairbanks, assisted by senior forward Brooklyn Smith.
Sophomore defender Ariana Markey (No. 7, right) battles with Eve Barry, San Francisco graduate forward (No. 3, left) on Tari Frahm Rokus Field on Oct. 10. The Waves defeated the Dons 5-0.
In the 66th minute, sophomore defender Ariana Markey received a yellow card, followed by Saint Mary’s senior defender Molly Silva a few minutes later in the 72nd minute.
Playing in a tie for 42 minutes, freshman midfielder Fiona McCormick broke the deadlock with an assisted goal by junior midfielder Alex Pendleton, giving the Waves a lead with only four minutes remaining.
Junior goalkeeper Jillian Medvecky played all 90 minutes in the net, recording five saves for a new season high. Kate Plachy, Saint Mary’s redshirt junior goalkeeper, logged four saves, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Junior goalkeeper Jillian Medvecky kicks the ball from the net during the Waves’ match against the University of California, Berkeley on Aug. 20 at Tari Frahm Rokus Field. Medvecky has played in all but one game for the Waves this season, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
With a stronger second-half performance, the Waves made 12 shot attempts after halftime and outshot the Gael’s 17-15 in the end. The match was a high-action game, as the Waves committed 11 fouls, seven of which came in the first half, while the Gaels were called for eight, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Next up, the Waves will travel to Sullivan Field, home to Loyola Marymount University (LMU) Women’s Soccer, to face No. 3 Seattle University on Nov. 11 for the tournament’s semifinals.
LMU and Pepperdine both won their final regular-season matches on Nov. 7 to share the regular-season championship, marking the Lions’ first-ever conference title, according to LMU Athletics.
Both teams finished with identical 6-1-2 WCC records, making the Waves’ home match against the Lions on Oct. 17 serve as the tiebreaker that broke in favor of the Lions. The 1-0 victory over Pepperdine led LMU to secure the No. 1 seed for the four-team WCC tournament.
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Contact Madison Chavez via email: madison.chavez@pepperdine.edu