Historically, Pepperdine Women’s Soccer has UC San Diego’s number.
Pepperdine has faced UCSD three times, beating the Tritons in every match, according to Pepperdine Athletics. First squaring off in 2021, the Waves took the game convincingly with a 4-1 finish.
That match would be the last time the Tritons scored against the Waves to date, as Pepperdine closed out their next two matchups 1-0 in 2022 and 4-0 in 2023.
In all three previous games, the Waves outscored the Tritons 9-1 cumulatively and outshot UCSD 60 to 14. Converted to shots on goal, the Waves have dominated the Tritons with 31 shots on goal to their eight, all according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Women’s Soccer continued that historical success over UCSD with a 1-0 win in La Jolla on Aug. 22.
The first period was a battle for both teams, however, the Tritons surrendered three fouls in the first 16 minutes of the match swinging the momentum into Pepperdine’s favor early.
The foul troubles would lead to a yellow card for the Tritons at 35:11 minutes into the game, and not even two minutes later, the Waves capitalized with a goal at 36:41 into the game.
Sophomore midfielder Ava Verplancke buried the goal for the Waves, tallying not only the winning goal but also the first goal of her collegiate career.
Both Pepperdine and UCSD recorded seven shots, but the Tritons beat the Waves in shots on goal in the first period with three and four, respectively.
The Tritons showed a spark of energy early, being responsible for four of the first six shots on goal. However, the spark of energy the Tritons had was gone after the first period, as those four shots on goal would be the only four they attempted over the entire match.
In the second period, Pepperdine came out with their own spark of energy, adding 11 more shots to their tally to round out 18 total shots. The Tritons had 13.
They recorded three more shots on goal to bring the team total to six, but couldn’t find the net one more time before the game concluded.
The Waves displayed a strong defensive showing as they prevented the Tritons from attempting a shot on goal for 71:41 straight minutes. Freshman goalie Jillian Medvecky saved all four shots from the Tritons, even dazzling with three saves within 45 seconds of one another from minutes 18:14 to 18:59.
Offensively, the Waves kept their feet on the gas pedal. Tabitha LaParl, redshirt junior midfielder/forward, was responsible for five of the 18 total shots.
Tori Waldeck, graduate student midfielder/forward, was responsible for four and junior midfielder/forward Tatum Wynalda had three. All three Waves also tallied a shot on goal.
With this win, the Waves lifetime record against UCSD moves to a flawless 4-0, and their season record moves to 2-1 overall.
Women’s Soccer returned to Malibu to kick off a three-game home stand, dropping the first match against USC 0-1, but look to bounce back against Arizona on Aug. 29 and UCLA on Sept. 1.
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Contact Justin Rodriguez via email: justin.rodriguez@pepperdine.edu
