RIVERSIDE, Calif. --- UC Irvine made it four Big West wins in a row with a 5-1 victory over the UC Riverside Highlanders at UCR Soccer Stadium Wednesday night.
The match did not start very crisply, but UCI still held the possession arrow through the early stages.
Miguel Ibarra (Lancaster / Taft College) broke through as he received the ball just outside the box. He nailed one just inside the far post to give UCI the early, 1-0 lead in the 21st minute.
UCR had a couple good-looking runs, but UCI was able to add to the lead thanks to a hard foul in the box. Christian Hernandez (Palmdale / Taft College) was the beneficiary of the penalty kick in the 27th minute to make it 2-0.
UCR could not find any attack, and the 'Eaters would take advantage. Ibarra and Christopher Santana (Bishop / Bishop Union HS) played it in the near corner. Ibarra spun the ball behind him off his heel to Santana who would cross it into the box. After deflecting off a few players, it went to Norby Rodriguez (Thousand Oaks / Thousand Oaks HS) who dribbled around the keeper and buried it to make it 3-0 going into the half.
UCR came out ready in the second half and put on a few runs. Andrew Fontein (Las Vegas, Nev. / Sierra Vista HS) made some nice plays to deny the ball on crosses.
UCI would make it 4-0 off a screwy play. Jimmy Turner (Mission Viejo / Mission Viejo HS) threw the ball in near the far corner. A Highlander defender put a foot on it and lofted it over the keeper. The ball would nick off the crossbar, bounce over the line and out of the goal. The crowd and players weren't sure what had happened, but the ref made the goal call in the 58th minute.
UCR stayed in it and found a way to score. Cesar Diaz Pizarro gathered the ball and charged upfield. He fought off a couple of 'Eater defenders and snapped a hard shot off Fontein's glove and into the far corner to make it 4-1, UCI.
The Anteaters would get it back, however, with great move by Santana in the 68th minute. He drove hard down the far side line and made multiple moves on a defender and fired from 25 yards out off the far post and in.
Play continued as subs rolled in for each squad. Each school had a few more nice runs. Fontein ended up with five saves while UCR shut down UCI opportunities from Lester Hayes III (Alexandria, Va. / DeMatha Catholic HS), Cameron Iwasa (Sacramento / Jesuit HS), and Everett Pitts (Chino Hills / Ayala HS).
The clock ran down to give the 'Eaters the 5-1 victory.
Ibarra and Hernandez each scored their sixth goal of the season. Hernandez added an assist as he and Santana earned a three-point night giving Santana three goals and eight points on the year.
Hernandez rejoined Ibarra on the top of the team point total with 17 each and earned the game-winning goal giving Hernandez four game-winners on the year.
Rodriguez earned his first of the season and points three and four.
The own goal for UCI was its second in the last two games. There has been an own goal in each of the team's last three games; two for UCI and one against the 'Eaters in the Cal State Fullerton match.
Five goals is the highest single-game total for the 'Eaters this season. They have multiple goals in each of their last four matches outscoring their opponents, 11-2. UCI has scored at least twice in 11 of their 12 victories with the only exception coming in the season-opener against USD which it won, 1-0.
Fontein is up to 47 saves on the season.
UCI now heads back on the road for a non-conference match against the No. 4 Creighton Blue Jays. The match takes place in Omaha, Neb. at Morrison Stadium at 5:30 p.m. PT. The match will be broadcasted through the Creighton home page along with live stats from the link found on the UCI schedule.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
For UC Irvine Athletics ticket information, please call (949) 824-5000 or e-mail athletics-tickets@uci.edu. For more information click here.
For information on how you can help support UC Irvine Athletics, please call (949) 824-6933 or e-mail aaf@uci.edu. For additional information, click here.
You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
