SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State women’s soccer team (4-2-1) is returning home to face the Pepperdine Waves (4-2-2) on Thursday night at 7 p.m. PT. The match will be broadcast on the Pac-12 YouTube page.
Last week, the Aztecs played on Saturday night at Utah Valley. Defense reigned supreme in the first half with neither team able to score a goal. Katie Senn gave SDSU a 1-0 lead at the 58-minute mark with assists by freshmen Kana Smith and Alannah Gonzales. After Utah Valley tied the score at one in the 84th minute, the Aztecs fought to go back up. With 22 seconds remaining in the match, Lily Boudet connected Cayden Chowana-Bandhu on a long pass. The freshman fired into the back of the net for her first career goal and the match winner. The score was the first game-winning goal in the final minute of a match by an Aztec since Denise Castro scored on a header with 28 seconds remaining to win 2-1 at Nebraska on August 18, 2022.
The Scarlet and Black have faced Pepperdine 14 times and have a 4-9-1 record against the Waves. SDSU won 2-1 in both meetings in the 1990s, coming in 1993 and 1997. Pepperdine won nine of the next ten meetings, with the exception being a 1-0 SDSU win in San Diego on August 31, 2012. The Aztecs have fared better in the last two meetings. The last time they faced off in San Diego, it resulted in a 1-1 draw on August 24, 2023. Last year, the teams battled in Malibu, when the Waves were receiving votes in the national poll. Pepperdine jumped out to a 2-0 lead before Victoria Miller converted on a penalty kick in the 44th minute to bring the Aztecs within a goal. In the 57th minute, Miller had the equalizer with assists from Senn and Grace Goins. Senn scored a goal of her own in the 69th minute to win it for SDSU by a 3-2 score.
The Waves and Aztecs both played at Texas Tech this season. Pepperdine tied the Red Raiders 1-1 while the Aztecs fell 2-1. The Waves drew with USC 1-1 early in the season and San Diego State defeated the Trojans 2-0 in an exhibition match. Pepperdine has played a number of teams in autonomous conferences this season, beating California 1-0 and Arizona 2-0 but losing at Baylor 3-1 and UCLA 3-0. The Waves also faced one Pac-12 team already, winning 4-0 at Fresno State on September 10. The Aztecs will host the Bulldogs on October 25.
SDSU will wrap up its non-conference schedule at home against Northern Colorado at noon on September 20. All Aztecs home matches on the SDSU Sports Deck are free to attend and are streamed for free on the Pac-12 YouTube channel.