FRESNO, Calif. \u2014 Pepperdine women’s soccer (3-2-2) earned a 4-0 shutout win on the road against Fresno State (1-5-1) Thursday night from Bulldog Soccer Stadium.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Waves held a 2-0 lead at the half and doubled the advantage within the first 15 minutes of the second half. Freshman Fiona McCormick<\/a> logged the first two goals of her career, while Sam Hosford<\/a> and Julia Quinonez<\/a> also got on the scoresheet for the Waves.<\/p>\n Ava Hartstein<\/a> collected the shutout with six saves while making her first collegiate career start and appearance in goal. Pepperdine outshot the Bulldogs 21-8 in the contest.<\/p>\n “I’m so proud of the entire team tonight as every girl that stepped on the field played incredibly well,” said head coach Tim Ward<\/a> following the match. “Even more pleasing were some of the symbolic ‘moments’ that unfolded tonight. Ava Hartstein<\/a> got her first college start in goal and posted a shutout along with the wonderful performance of our entire defensive unit. Fiona McCormick<\/a> scored her first collegiate goals and both were beauties. Eva Awoyinka<\/a> logged her first minutes in a Wave uniform and did really well. A special shout out to Julia Q and Sam Hosford<\/a> for picking up wonderful goals and offensive performances. And finally, Ava Schall<\/a> made her long awaited return to the pitch after an unbelievable and inspirational journey to fitness over the course of the last two years. It was a wonderful night on so many levels and now we get ready to do it again for senior day on Sunday!”<\/p>\n The Waves were close in the opening minutes as Ariana Markey<\/a> played Hosford through in the 11th minute, with Hosford finding the back of the net, but the offside flag kept the game scoreless. Hartstein was called into action early, making a pair of saves in the opening 15 minutes.<\/p>\n Pepperdine held consistent pressure throughout the first 30 minutes of the opening half, which featured seven corner kicks compared to none for the Bulldogs. The Waves eventually found their breakthrough in the 32nd minute, with Markey finding Julia Quinonez<\/a> at the edge of the box, who got the ball onto her right foot and buried her fifth goal of the season.<\/p>\n Minutes later, Fiona McCormick<\/a> intercepted an errant pass from Fresno State on the outside of their own box, firing in her first career goal to double the Waves lead just before the half.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Waves kept their momentum going in the second half, with McCormick stepping into a long-range shot from outside the box, putting it into the top left corner to make it a 3-0 Pepperdine advantage in the 56th minute.<\/p>\n The next Pepperdine goal came off a counter-attack starting with Kyra Murphy<\/a> and Sarah Spears<\/a>, as Murphy eventually found Quinonez in the box with a lofted through ball, as Quinonez then laid it off to Hosford who netted her second goal of the season with a calm finish.<\/p>\n Hartstein and the Pepperdine defense proved impenetrable in the remaining half hour, as the Waves held onto the 4-0 scoreline and secured their second shutout and first road victory of the season.<\/p>\n GAME NOTES<\/p>\n
The Waves return home Sunday to host Arizona at noon from Tari Frahm Rokus Field. The mental health awareness match will also feature senior day festivities pregame.\u00a0<\/p>\n ABOUT PEPPERDINE WOMEN’S SOCCER
\n\tAva Hartstein<\/a> collected six saves in her first collegiate appearance in goal to earn the shutout.
\n\tFiona McCormick<\/a> netted the first two goals of her career in the win.
\n\tJulia Quinonez<\/a> notched her fifth goal of the season, tying her for the lead in the WCC golden boot race.
\n\tMcCormick joins Quinonez as the two Waves with multi-goal efforts this season.
\n\tSam Hosford<\/a> deposited her second goal of the season in the victory.
\n\tKyra Murphy<\/a> posted her team-leading third assist of the season.
\n\tQuinonez, Ariana Markey<\/a> and Alex Pendleton<\/a> each registered their first assist of the campaign.
\n\tPepperdine logged season-highs in shots (21), shots on goal (10) and corner kicks (9).
\n\tThe Waves outshot the Bulldogs 21-8.
\n\tPepperdine improves to 7-1-1 all-time against the Bulldogs and has won the past five matchups dating back to 2013.
\n\tThe win was Pepperdine’s largest margin of victory on the road since defeating Pacific 5-0 on Oct. 12, 2024.
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\nPepperdine women’s soccer has been competitive since season one in 1993. As just the third head coach in the program’s history, Tim Ward<\/a> has led the Waves to 14 NCAA tournament appearances, winning the West Coast Conference five separate times and taking his squad to the round of 16 four times, most recently in 2021. With 24 winning seasons, Ward has proven he can lead consistently with excellence, garnering an overall record of 323-160-80.<\/p>\n