Junior forward Julia Quinonez represented Pepperdine on the national stage this summer. While most athletes dedicate their time off school to a summer league, Quinonez said she accepted the call up to represent the country as part of the U.S. Youth National Team (USYNT).
From May 25 to June 2, Quinonez was one of 24 players training in Fayette, Ga., with the U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team. This was Quinonez’s second call up of the year, the first being in April of this year, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
“I feel so honored, like it takes the words out of my mouth,” Quinonez said. “It feels so surreal.”
Quinonez isn’t unfamiliar with the national stage, though. As a dual citizen, the junior said she has represented Mexico on its U-20 National Team, as well.
“I was super excited, because that’s just my dream: to play for my country and just to honor my grandparents and just show them, make them feel proud,” Quinonez said.
The junior’s national team career started when she was already playing as a Wave, according to Pepperdine Athletics. She received her first call up with Mexico in February of 2024. She said she credits Pepperdine for helping her get to this point as a player.
“Pepperdine has helped me with exposure and has helped me develop my skills,” Quinonez said. “It’s not only just to represent me, but it also represents the team and the school and the staff. So that just makes me even more proud of myself.”
Many days of the national team camp looked similar – simply playing soccer. The first four days of camp were dedicated to training in the morning followed by downtime for treatments, meetings, food or rest. On Friday, they got the chance to scrimmage the U-17 team before an off day on Saturday where the team got to study film, rest and get more treatment, Quinonez said.
While some of the days looked a little repetitive, Quinonez said she learned a lot from her time with the USYNT. One of the most important things she learned was to be brave, something she found incredibly useful as a forward.
“I think the number one thing that I took away from this camp was to take risks and don’t be afraid,” Quinonez said. “The number one thing my coaches said during that camp was, ‘If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not having fun.’”
Supporting Waves
The Waves soccer team has been a major support system throughout these milestones. From her trainers to teammates, Quinonez said her community has been by her side every step of the way.
“My teammates play a big part in this, like getting the call, I just want to pay my tribute to them, because I wouldn’t be here without their support, communication, hard work, or how hard they make me work during training,” Quinonez said.
Quinonez said her teammates aren’t the only supportive Waves in her corner. The Pepperdine coaching staff has also played a huge role in helping Quinonez become the player she is today.
“Even if I’m having a bad day, they keep continuing to push me to be better, whether that’s yelling at me or not, but that’s just what I need,” Quinonez said. “The communication is phenomenal. Their support is just everything that I needed.”
While Quinonez said she credits her community for helping her get to this point in her career, Head Coach Tim Ward said a lot of the recognition falls back to who the junior is as a player. He described her as a wonderful player who has a personal drive to win, but would also run through a brick wall for any of her teammates.
“She is strong; she is fiery; feisty; competitive. She does not like to lose,” Ward said. “And so beneath that beautiful smile of hers, there is an absolute competitive warrior. She’s just trying to win soccer games and trying to do whatever the team needs her to do.”
Quinonez’s call up wasn’t much of a surprise to her coaching staff. As a freshman, Ward said she clearly demonstrated the value she brought to the team. After being taken out with an injury at the end of freshman year and battling some other health problems along the way, her absence was noticeable to the Waves.
Ward said Quinonez came back with a burning passion and drive to re-establish herself as the player everyone knew her as. He knew this was going to be one of the key factors to make her stand out not only on Pepperdine’s team, but also in her national team call up.
“What I love about someone like Julia is that when the moment comes, when the game is big, or when the bigger games show up, Julia gets better — and that’s not a normal quality,” Ward said. “It takes a special player to get better the bigger the game, and I think Julia, time and again, has shown that for our program.”
Junior defender Peyton Leonard said there is not a moment where Quinonez is slacking. Even if there is 10 minutes left in a game, Leonard can count on Quinonez to fight until the final whistle blows. It is for this reason that Leonard said Quinonez was on the national radar and earned the call up.
“Her mindset is she’s always willing to put in everything and put in all the work needed to get to where she wants to be,” Leonard said.
Waves Legacy
Quinonez is one of many to represent Pepperdine on the national stage. Among the Waves to play internationally are Lynn Williams Biyendolo, USWNT forward and the NWSL all-time leading scorer, and Roxanne Barker, a two-time Olympian who represented South Africa, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
“I think what’s fun about Julia’s call up is that she is in a long line of Waves that have been called into the youth national camps,” Ward said.
After looking up to the Waves who came before her, Quinonez gets to add her name to the list of national level players that have come through Pepperdine. The junior said they have a board in the coach’s office that lists players’ names based on statistics.
She said each time she sees her name listed under the national team, it serves as a reminder of the honor she has wearing the crest. She can now be one of the players that incoming freshmen look up to.
“If you’re a soccer player that desires to play at the highest level, Pepperdine is a great place to be, because we’ve done it in the past, we’re currently doing it in the present and we’re going to continue to do it into the future,” Ward said.
In the changing world of collegiate athletics – especially with Name, image, and likeness (NILs) deals, Leonard said it may become harder for Pepperdine to continue competing with schools that have millions of dollars to give out – it is players like Quinonez that will continue to make the Waves stand out.
“Even though we may not have millions of dollars to offer, the talent at Pepperdine is still top tier, and Pepperdine is such a competitive and high level of soccer,” Leonard said. “Her call ups show that this is a place that younger players want to be at, even though it is different than other bigger schools, Pepperdine is still getting it done, too.”
The junior has been called back to both Mexico and the United States’ national teams multiple times, so Ward said she is doing something right. He knows his player and has high hopes for her, especially as she brings this national team knowledge and elite skill level back to Malibu.
“We’re really proud of her, she’s very deserving,” Ward said. “I think there’s only huge things ahead for Jules, because she’s a wonderful player. She’s a wonderful human being, hard worker. She’s only getting better, so the sky’s the limit for her, for sure.”
Ward said it is always an honor to coach a player that has gone on to the next level, and it adds an extra layer of pride when they get the call while still representing Pepperdine.
“When one of your players is recognized at that level, you want to believe that what you’re doing is leading to good things,” Ward said. “You want to be a coach who feels that our methods and our way of doing things, will lead to excellence in the future for our girls.”
The Waves look to build off last season’s success as they gear up for the 2025 season. Quinonez is set to make an impact for Pepperdine this year, among a talented roster of other players who have been named to preseason watch lists. The Waves will travel to the University of Southern California and UC Berkeley on Aug. 21 and 24, respectively, to kick off the year.
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