\n play to achieve a second straight WCC championship<\/a>. Their strong finish to the season opened the door for what is now the program\u2019s
\n third consecutive NCAA tournament appearance<\/a>. These historic accomplishments highlight the momentum head coach Tim Ward and the
\n women\u2019s soccer team are currently enjoying, but the success of the 2025 season was
\n not easily won.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A stacked nonconference schedule combined with close, nail-biting losses propelled
\n the women\u2019s soccer team to a losing record midway through the year. With their backs
\n against the wall, the Waves were forced to find their consistent winning ways throughout
\n conference competitions\u2014a formidable task that demanded unity, hard work, and faith
\n in God to achieve.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m proud of and grateful for the fact that our season has not been an easy one,\u201d
\n says Ward. \u201cI love how God used this journey to help grow our faith.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the Foot of the Cross<\/p>\n
On Saturday, September 20, at 5:45 AM, the Pepperdine women\u2019s soccer team climbed
\n a rocky trail through the Santa Monica Mountains. The sun had not yet risen. The clouds
\n had not cleared. And the Waves had not played a soccer match since losing by one goal
\n to San Diego State on September 11. That morning the team hiked the hills above the
\n Malibu campus with a losing record (3-4-1) and conference matchups looming just four
\n days away.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11-14-25-soccer-clouds.jpg\")
The women’s soccer team’s hike to the cross was a turning point in their season<\/p>\n
Something needed to change, and quickly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe felt we needed a perspective shift,\u201d says Ward. \u201cWe needed to recognize that everything
\n that was happening to us was actually happening for us. We needed to believe that the setbacks we initially faced were really a setup
\n for something later.\u201d<\/p>\n
As they reached the peak of Pepperdine\u2019s iconic Hike to the Cross more than 1,000
\n feet above the Malibu campus, the Waves huddled around the massive cross overlooking
\n the University and held a team meeting, or what Ward described as a \u201ccome-to-Jesus
\n talk.\u201d They discussed the symbolism of the early morning hike\u2014what it meant to scale
\n the mountain, to break through the marine layer and find a new perspective on the
\n world. They discussed their theme for the year\u2014a phoenix rising from the ashes.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust being around during the [Palisades} fire this year struck a nerve,\u201d says Tabitha
\n LaParl, a redshirt senior competing in her final season for the Waves. \u201c[We\u2019re] playing
\n the season for those who have been struggling and the Pepperdine community as a whole.
\n That\u2019s why our theme has resonated with us. It\u2019s helped us connect with our core values.\u201d<\/p>\n
To remember, reconnect, and recommit to this focus for the season, the women carried
\n ashes with them during the climb. At the foot of the cross, they spread the burnt
\n remnants to symbolically shed their \u201cbroken dreams, shame, anxiety, fear, doubt, and
\n darkness.\u201d Up there, in the clouds, the Waves team started to remember that soccer
\n is just soccer, a game they get to play.
\u00a0
\u201cThe setting was majestic and beautiful, and it reinforced that [life] is bigger than
\n soccer,\u201d says Kyra Murphy, a redshirt junior. \u201cIt helped us remember our greater purpose\u2014what
\n we do and why we do it. It made us realize this is an opportunity, and we are blessed
\n to wake up every day and play a sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
A New Hope<\/p>\n
![\"Tabitha](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11-14-25-soccer-tabitha.jpg\")
Tabitha LaParl and her fellow upperclass student-athletes helped lead the Waves team<\/p>\n
After the trip to the mountaintop, the women\u2019s soccer team embarked on its 2025 WCC
\n campaign\u201411 straight matches. Playing with renewed purpose, the Waves notched six
\n wins in a row, including four shutouts. The dramatic turnaround gave new life to Pepperdine\u2019s
\n championship aspirations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat winning streak laid the foundation for the WCC championship,\u201d says Ward. \u201cThis
\n team just got better and better and better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ward observed that this transformation occurred during the team\u2019s experience at the
\n cross and continued over time in practice. He reports that most of his athletes show
\n up to training sessions almost an hour early to earn extra reps. This team discipline
\n stems from the 10 upperclass student-athletes competing for the Waves.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always try to lead by example,\u201d says LaParl, \u201cI tell myself before every practice,
\n \u2018Just try to shine God’s light.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat’s fun about our team is that we have so many different people who lead in different
\n ways,\u201d adds Murphy. \u201cYou have some people who will get on you, but personally, I want
\n to be someone that people look at and say, \u00a0\u2018she worked so hard every day, every practice,
\n and she was just a light.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
With seniors and juniors like LaParl and Murphy leading the way, Ward watched the
\n commitment of his team grow. \u201cIntegrity is one of our core values,\u201d he explains. \u201cWe
\n define it as doing what’s right, not what’s easy. This group\u2014they show up every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
All the Waves\u2019 hard work on and off the field built to their final game against the
\n University of San Francisco on Saturday, November 8. The team needed a decisive win
\n to give themselves a chance at back-to-back WCC titles, but a number of scenarios
\n could unfold, handing the ultimate prize to another of the conference\u2019s top teams.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Focusing on what they could control, the women\u2019s soccer team took to the pitch and
\n won 3-1. They then waited for the results from their league opponents to stream in.
\n When the dust settled, the Waves had sole control of the WCC championship, sitting
\n atop the standings with 25 season points to 24 points for Saint Mary\u2019s.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"WCC](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11-14-25-soccer-champs.jpg\")
The 2025 WCC champions<\/p>\n
Following their topsy-turvy start, the Waves went 8-2-1 in their final 11 games. In
\n the process, they punched their ticket to postseason play.<\/p>\n
The Big Dance<\/p>\n
The NCAA women\u2019s national soccer tournament accepts the top 64 teams out of a pool
\n of 351 possible competitors. By earning their third consecutive appearance in the
\n \u201cbig dance,\u201d Pepperdine\u2019s program has distinguished itself as one of the top soccer
\n programs in intercollegiate play. Yet, to continue their season, the Waves will have
\n to compete against one of the nation\u2019s strongest defenses and a Southern California
\n rival.\u00a0<\/p>\n
UCLA, Pepperdine\u2019s first-round opponent, enters the tournament as a number four seed.
\n The Bruins boast stalwart goal protection, ranking second in the nation with their
\n goals against average (0.42). Of the 19 games they\u2019ve played this season, 12 of them
\n have been shutouts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Facing this formidable opponent, the Waves will have to rely on their battle-tested
\n grit in the heat of competition. Now, the adversity they faced early in the season
\n is an asset. Now, their faith in each other and God fuels their performance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever happens, it’s going to be great,\u201d says Ward. \u201cGod’s gonna take care of it.
\n And that’s how I want them to play\u2014free, fierce, focused.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’ve gotten here, and we have nothing to lose,\u201d echoed Murphy. \u201cGod has a plan for
\n us, and we just have to play our role in it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Pepperdine University women\u2019s soccer team will play the UCLA Bruins on Saturday, November 15, in the first…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":283647,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":["post-283646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283646"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283646\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/283647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=283646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=283646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}