Pepperdine’s Women's Soccer Team Earns Place in NCAA Tournament

The Pepperdine University women’s soccer team will play the UCLA Bruins on Saturday, November 15, in the first round of the NCAA national championships. 

The Waves secured this postseason berth by going 8-2-1 in West Coast Conference (WCC) play to achieve a second straight WCC championship. Their strong finish to the season opened the door for what is now the program’s third consecutive NCAA tournament appearance. These historic accomplishments highlight the momentum head coach Tim Ward and the women’s soccer team are currently enjoying, but the success of the 2025 season was not easily won. 

A stacked nonconference schedule combined with close, nail-biting losses propelled the women’s soccer team to a losing record midway through the year. With their backs against the wall, the Waves were forced to find their consistent winning ways throughout conference competitions—a formidable task that demanded unity, hard work, and faith in God to achieve.

“I'm proud of and grateful for the fact that our season has not been an easy one,” says Ward. “I love how God used this journey to help grow our faith.”

At the Foot of the Cross

On Saturday, September 20, at 5:45 AM, the Pepperdine women’s soccer team climbed a rocky trail through the Santa Monica Mountains. The sun had not yet risen. The clouds had not cleared. And the Waves had not played a soccer match since losing by one goal to San Diego State on September 11. That morning the team hiked the hills above the Malibu campus with a losing record (3-4-1) and conference matchups looming just four days away.

The women's soccer team's hike to the cross was a turning point in their season

Something needed to change, and quickly. 

“We felt we needed a perspective shift,” says Ward. “We needed to recognize that everything that was happening to us was actually happening for us. We needed to believe that the setbacks we initially faced were really a setup for something later.”

As they reached the peak of Pepperdine’s iconic Hike to the Cross more than 1,000 feet above the Malibu campus, the Waves huddled around the massive cross overlooking the University and held a team meeting, or what Ward described as a “come-to-Jesus talk.” They discussed the symbolism of the early morning hike—what it meant to scale the mountain, to break through the marine layer and find a new perspective on the world. They discussed their theme for the year—a phoenix rising from the ashes.

“Just being around during the [Palisades} fire this year struck a nerve,” says Tabitha LaParl, a redshirt senior competing in her final season for the Waves. “[We’re] playing the season for those who have been struggling and the Pepperdine community as a whole. That’s why our theme has resonated with us. It’s helped us connect with our core values.”

To remember, reconnect, and recommit to this focus for the season, the women carried ashes with them during the climb. At the foot of the cross, they spread the burnt remnants to symbolically shed their “broken dreams, shame, anxiety, fear, doubt, and darkness.” Up there, in the clouds, the Waves team started to remember that soccer is just soccer, a game they get to play.
 
“The setting was majestic and beautiful, and it reinforced that [life] is bigger than soccer,” says Kyra Murphy, a redshirt junior. “It helped us remember our greater purpose—what we do and why we do it. It made us realize this is an opportunity, and we are blessed to wake up every day and play a sport.”

A New Hope

Tabitha LaParl and her fellow upperclass student-athletes helped lead the Waves team

After the trip to the mountaintop, the women’s soccer team embarked on its 2025 WCC campaign—11 straight matches. Playing with renewed purpose, the Waves notched six wins in a row, including four shutouts. The dramatic turnaround gave new life to Pepperdine’s championship aspirations.

“That winning streak laid the foundation for the WCC championship,” says Ward. “This team just got better and better and better.”

Ward observed that this transformation occurred during the team’s experience at the cross and continued over time in practice. He reports that most of his athletes show up to training sessions almost an hour early to earn extra reps. This team discipline stems from the 10 upperclass student-athletes competing for the Waves.

“I always try to lead by example,” says LaParl, “I tell myself before every practice, ‘Just try to shine God's light.’”

“What's fun about our team is that we have so many different people who lead in different ways,” adds Murphy. “You have some people who will get on you, but personally, I want to be someone that people look at and say,  ‘she worked so hard every day, every practice, and she was just a light.’”

With seniors and juniors like LaParl and Murphy leading the way, Ward watched the commitment of his team grow. “Integrity is one of our core values,” he explains. “We define it as doing what's right, not what's easy. This group—they show up every day.”

All the Waves’ hard work on and off the field built to their final game against the University of San Francisco on Saturday, November 8. The team needed a decisive win to give themselves a chance at back-to-back WCC titles, but a number of scenarios could unfold, handing the ultimate prize to another of the conference’s top teams. 

Focusing on what they could control, the women’s soccer team took to the pitch and won 3-1. They then waited for the results from their league opponents to stream in. When the dust settled, the Waves had sole control of the WCC championship, sitting atop the standings with 25 season points to 24 points for Saint Mary’s. 

The 2025 WCC champions

Following their topsy-turvy start, the Waves went 8-2-1 in their final 11 games. In the process, they punched their ticket to postseason play.

The Big Dance

The NCAA women’s national soccer tournament accepts the top 64 teams out of a pool of 351 possible competitors. By earning their third consecutive appearance in the “big dance,” Pepperdine’s program has distinguished itself as one of the top soccer programs in intercollegiate play. Yet, to continue their season, the Waves will have to compete against one of the nation’s strongest defenses and a Southern California rival. 

UCLA, Pepperdine’s first-round opponent, enters the tournament as a number four seed. The Bruins boast stalwart goal protection, ranking second in the nation with their goals against average (0.42). Of the 19 games they’ve played this season, 12 of them have been shutouts. 

Facing this formidable opponent, the Waves will have to rely on their battle-tested grit in the heat of competition. Now, the adversity they faced early in the season is an asset. Now, their faith in each other and God fuels their performance.

“Whatever happens, it's going to be great,” says Ward. “God's gonna take care of it. And that's how I want them to play—free, fierce, focused.”

“We've gotten here, and we have nothing to lose,” echoed Murphy. “God has a plan for us, and we just have to play our role in it.”