SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – For the 33rd consecutive season, West Coast Conference women’s soccer garnered multiple bids into the NCAA Tournament. 2024 WCC co-champions No. 11 Santa Clara and No. 22 Pepperdine have earned bids to the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The Waves will host a first-round matchup against California, while Santa Clara will rekindle its former WCC rivalry with BYU. 

Pepperdine earned a No. 7 seed and will host California in the first round on Saturday. If the Waves advance, they will play the winner of No. 2 seed Arkansas and Oklahoma State. Santa Clara will trek to Provo, Utah, to face No. 7 seed BYU on Friday. The winner will play the winner of No. 2 seed North Carolina vs. USC Upstate. 

This year's bids are the 97th and 98th in WCC history. The Conference boasts 21 final four appearances and four national titles. 
 
Santa Clara (12-3-4, 6-1-3) has become a staple in the NCAA Tournament, and once again a highly-ranked team in the nation at No. 11. The Broncos won their 10th WCC championship since 2000 last Saturday. The Broncos scored 41 goals, while only allowing a league-low 16 goals. Sally Menti concluded the regular season tied for the league lead in assists with seven. The Broncos meet BYU after battling in conference games while the Cougars were a member of the WCC. When meeting in the NCAA Tournament, SCU leads the all-time series, 4-0-1. They met in the 2021 College Cup. BYU advanced on penalty kicks. The Broncos also lead the all-time series, 10-3-7.  

Pepperdine (12-3-5, 6-1-3) will be competing in its second straight NCAA Tournament. The Waves clinched a share of the WCC championship in the regular sesaon finale, the Waves' first Conference title since 2017 and the fifth in program history. In non-conference play. Pepperdine picked up a big win over then-No. 3 UCLA on Sept. 1 and a win over then-No. 23 Georgetown on Sept. 5. The Waves scored 42 goals in 2024, which led the WCC. This is the third time that California and Pepperdine will meet in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Malibu. In 2016, the teams finished in a 1-1 draw with the Waves advancing on penalty kicks. Cal won, 1-0, in 2012. The Bears lead the all-time series, 1-1-5. 

First-round games are scheduled to take place from Nov. 15-17 at 32 different campus sites. The second and third rounds will occur at eight campus sites, and those contests will take place Nov. 22 and 24. The quarterfinals are slated for Nov. 29 and Nov. 30.

The 2024 NCAA College Cup is scheduled to begin on Dec. 6 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. The national championship game will take place on Dec. 9.