Tatum Wynalda, senior midfielder and forward, battles for a ball against Columbia on Thursday at Tari Frahm Rokus Field. The Waves beat the Lions 3-0. Photos by Griffin Pilcher
Pepperdine Women’s Soccer got a dominant win against Columbia on Thursday at Tari Frahm Rokus Field. The Waves secured a 3-0 win over the Lions for their first home win of the season to improve to 2-2-1 on the year.
The home win means a lot to the program, members of the team said. The energy the fans bring helps motivate the team on the field
“We just appreciate all the support, having fans out here and everything,” said Tabitha LaParl, graduate forward and midfielder. “We notice that, and we feel that. We appreciate all the love and support.”
Pepperdine started the game out strong, threatening Columbia’s goal in the first minute of play. The Waves continued to have a strong offensive presence throughout the first half, keeping possession in the Lions’ half for the majority of the initial 45 minutes.
“From the start, with the starters and with the subs coming in, it’s about not letting the quality drop,” junior defender Peyton Leonard said. “We’re able to build off of each other and off our past mistakes.”
Even with being a strong offensive threat, Pepperdine couldn’t finish their chances. That was until a foul set the Waves up outside of the 18-yard box.
Pepperdine had a head-on look at the goal, which is when LaParl stepped up to take the kick. LaParl took her chance and shot the ball, which slipped under sophomore goalkeeper Samantha Mahoney’s hands into the bottom right corner.
“Practice makes perfect,” LaParl said. “Not going to lie, I was a little nervous, but I was happy that it was hard enough and low enough to just sneak in and under.”
This put the Waves up 1-0 after the first half. The Lions immediately saw their own chance at goal after a foul placed them at the top of the 18. However, an overshot would leave Pepperdine with the lead going into halftime.
Even with being down, Columbia continued to challenge the Waves. They outshot Pepperdine 6-5 in the first half and had some good looks on the goal.
One of their best chances came in the 51st minute, when a foul set up the Lions for a penalty kick. Head coach Tim Ward said goalkeeping is the hardest job on the field, but sophomore Jillian Medvecky handled the pressure with ease.
Medvecky took her guess and blocked the shot with a dive to the left, keeping the Waves out in front.
“They prepare for moments like that,” Ward said. “They do their homework, and Jill did her homework.”
The score remained in the close 1-0 battle for most of the game, with aggression coming from both teams. Many fouls were called throughout the 90 minutes, but there was no change in score until the final 10 minutes of play.
“Because we were able to change our shape with our flexibility, it allowed us to be a bit more dangerous late in the game,” Ward said.
In the 80th minute, Tatum Wynalda, senior midfielder and forward, took a corner kick and sent the ball into the box, where it found the head of Leonard for Pepperdine’s second score.
“Scoring as a defender is obviously exciting,” Leonard said. “You watch the forwards do it, so it’s fun to do it too.”
Less than two minutes later, the Waves struck again. LaParl placed a nice through ball into the box for freshman forward Layla Simon. The freshman capitalized on her opportunity, scoring her first collegiate goal to make the score 3-0.
“We felt that this year we have a lot of goal-scorers, but it was probably going to be more committee scoring by committee,” Ward said. “Just a lot of different people chipping in, and that’s sort of proving to be the case.”
The Pepperdine Soccer team celebrates a goal against Columbia on Thursday at Tari Frahm Rokus Field. Each of the three goals was scored by a different player.
LaParl, who got the assist on this goal, stayed involved in all parts of the attack. From scoring her own goal to taking corners, the graduate student said the goal is to always stay on the attack.
“We always say, ‘Wherever we go, we go together,’” LaParl said. “We want to be on the same page of unity and trying to support each player.”
Pepperdine held onto this lead to finish 3-0, securing their first win at home in the 2025 season and improving to 2-2-1. The Waves are on a two-game win streak after beating Cal 1-0 on Aug. 24.
“Getting my rhythm, it feels great,” LaParl said. “I’m just so excited to play with these girls and have the opportunity to show our purpose and play for God.”
The Waves will head to Arizona next week, where they will play Arizona State on Sept. 4 and the University of Arizona on Sept. 7.
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