UC Irvine Finishes Top-Class Performance
November 14, 2011 | Women's Soccer
UCI's early exit from the NCAA Tournament will not detract from its brilliant season and continued run as a soccer power on the rise.
BACKFIELD IN FOREFRONT: The Anteaters' (14-4-3, 6-1-1) defense had been a force all season long, and they were in their NCAA first-round match...on offense.
UCI scored twice against the Toreros, both by defenders, Zoya Farzaneh (Irvine / Irvine HS) and Amanda Hardeman (Laguna Niguel / Santiago Canyon College). For Farzaneh, it was her first goal of the year and her career. Hardeman, who equalized the match in the 89th minute, scored her third of the season and second in the last three matches. Hardeman had just five shots all season; four in the postseason, three were goals, and two-were game-winners. Farzaneh had three shots of her own in the NCAA match.
The defense, altogether, scored UCI's last three goals of the season, and also added one in the final regular season match.
FINAL THOUGHTS: "Despite the loss I could not be more proud to be associated with such an incredible team. They got better and better as the season went on and I congratulate them on their accomplishments. They represented themselves, their families and the University of California, Irvine with passion, pride and class. Our incredible seniors will go down in the UCI soccer history as the most successful class ever and I am excited to see what their futures hold." - Coach Scott Juniper.
RECORD WATCH: UC Irvine had plenty of contributions this season to the record books. Most notably would be senior midfielder, Judy Christopher (Ontario / Upland HS). She earned a tie atop the UCI all-time games played list with Tanya Taylor, Nikki Forrest, and Nicole Bucciarelli with 83. She also started 82 of those matches tying her with Bucciarelli on top of the UCI record book.
Lexi Kopf (Sonora / Sonora HS) also played in her 80th match joining a group of six other Anteaters including Christopher. Her five game-winning goals this season tied he r for the second-most in a season. She and newcomer Natalia Ledezma (La Mirada / UCLA) each added a hat trick this season in consecutive matches after UCI had gone 15 seasons with one lone hat trick.
Ledezma piled up the numbers with 12 goals, eight assists, and 32 total points. Ledezma tied for the fifth-best single season performance in goals and points. Kopf finished with 11 goals for the eight-best mark.
Freshman keeper Jennifer Randazzo (San Jose / Presentation HS) flooded the keeper records with 14 wins (third-best) and a .738 win percentage (fourth-best) in a season. Currently, those marks also are he r career totals placing her sixth and first, respectively. She also adds a 0.94 goals-against-average, third-best all-time. Her 14 wins, 21 starts, and 1,932 minutes are the second-most in each category as a freshman keeper all behind Kirsten Roy's 15, 22, and 1,955.
The team finished 14-4-3 marking the third-best win percentage and win total in a single season. The programs scored its 12th season with double-digit wins; four of those have come from Coach Juniper in just five seasons. Juniper now has 64 wins in his career, second-most among UCI coaches.
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