MALIBU, Calif. – The San Diego State women’s soccer team fell behind 2-0 in its match at Pepperdine on Thursday. The Aztecs scored the final three goals of the match to earn a 3-2 victory over the Waves.
San Diego State (2-2-1) controlled the ball for much of the first 15 minutes of the match. Alexis Leath appeared to score a goal in the ninth minute, but it was called back due to offsides. In the 17th minute, the Aztecs had another goal come back as the ball deflected off Leath’s hand before Victoria Miller put it in the net. A minute later, Pepperdine (3-4-1) got on the scoreboard first on a Julia Quinonez penalty kick after she was fouled just inside the box. Aztecs goalie Kailey Carlen notched her first save of the match on a shot by Quinonez towards the top of the net in the 22nd minute. The Waves doubled their lead late in the 25th minute when Quinonez found Kyra Murphy for a goal. Within a 60-second span in the 27th and 28th minutes, each team was given a yellow card, with Tatum Wynalda (the daughter of former Aztec soccer players Amy Ward and Eric Wynalda) for Pepperdine and Grace Goins for San Diego State issued the cards. Just before halftime, Miller was fouled inside the box and converted on her penalty kick at the 43:56 mark to pull the Aztecs within one heading into halftime.
In the second half, Carlen made some fantastic stops to keep the Waves at two. She saved shots by Quinonez in the 47th minute and Elle Quinn in the 55th minute. At the 56:40 mark, SDSU’s Lily Boudet and Pepperdine’s Megan Edelman were each issued yellow cards. Miller evened the score off a Katie Senn corner kick with a deflection from Grace Goins to achieve a brace. Carlen saved three more shots in the ensuing ten minutes to keep the game tied at two. At 68:30, Senn was fouled just outside the box, leading to a free kick just above the 18. She took a shot and converted, navigating the ball through the wall of defenders to put the Aztecs on top. With the lead in hand, San Diego State focused on controlling possession for the remainder of the match to preserve their second win of the season.
The Aztecs finished the match with more saves (7-0) while the Waves had more shots (16-6), shots on goal (9-3) and corner kicks (5).
THE NOTE
Victoria Miller’s brace was the first of her career. After scoring her first career goal against Cal State Bakersfield on August 17, Miller had the Aztecs’ first three goals of the season.
THE NOTE II
Senn’s goal was the first of her career and her assist on Miller’s second goal brought her to a three-point performance. The two previous points in Senn’s career came on assists against Boise State and Wyoming in 2023.
THE NOTE III
San Diego State remains undefeated against unranked opponents with wins over Cal State Bakersfield and now Pepperdine (receiving votes) as well as a tie with UC San Diego. The two goals by the Waves on Thursday were the only scoring allowed by the Aztecs across those three matches.
UP NEXT
The Aztecs return to the SDSU Sports Deck this Sunday, September 14, when they face UC Riverside at 7 p.m. The match will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network and admission is free to all matches on the Sports Deck. San Diego State will remain on The Mesa for its final two non-conference matches against Nevada on September 18 at 7 p.m. and Hawai’i on September 21 at noon. The Hawai’i match will also appear on the Mountain West Network.