Anteaters Return to Prominence with Fantastic Season
November 21, 2011 | Men's Soccer
UC Irvine graduated 13 players from last year's team, and yet was able to take up right where it left off and earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
LOST AND FOUND: The 'Eaters took a big hit from last year's squad losing 85% of the team's goal scoring; 97 of the team's 134 points, 39 of their 46 goals, and 10 of the 14 game-winners graduated before the season. There was a big hill to rebuild if the Anteaters wanted to contend in 2011 and recapture the success they had seen in recent seasons. The 'Eaters came back with 45 goals and 132 points.
KEEPING ON TRACK: One of the constants through the last four years was definitely keeper Andrew Fontein (Las Vegas, Nev. / Sierra Vista HS). Fontein finished with 84 saves and a 1.00 goals-against-average earning nine shutouts and 16 wins in 2011.
Fontein finishes his UCI campaign as the most decorated keeper in 'Eater history. He won 50 matches, 29 of them shutouts, and had a .747 win percentage to top Anteater keepers all-time along with a 0.88 career goals-against-average.
In addition, he started 73 of 74 matches he played, both keeper records, totaling 6,883 minutes. He finished with 249 saves, third-most all-time, and even had the most ties all-time at UCI with nine.
THE YOUNG AND THE FEARLESS: UCI's youth movement was in full effect in 2011. Freshmen and sophomores accounted for 22 of the team's 45 goals and 64 of the 132 points.
Sophomores Christopher Santana (Bishop / Bishop Union HS) and Tarek Morad (Chino Hills / Mt. San Antonio College) played in every match while sophomore Marco Franco (Chino Hills / Chino Hills HS) started every match missing just one because of injury. That match happened to be the Big West Championship, but his spot was filled by freshman, Bryan Breslin (Las Flores / Tesoro HS), who stepped in magnificently. Sophomore Enrique Cardenas (Coachella / Coachella Valley HS) was third on the team with six goals and 15 points just ahead of Santana's four goals and 13 points.
Freshmen Lester Hayes III (Alexandria, Va. / DeMatha Catholic HS) and Cameron Iwasa (Sacramento / Jesuit HS) each had the scoring touch. Hayes finished with four goals and a game-winner while Iwasa shot up late with three goals, two of them game-winners.
Franco played very well this year with six assists, third on the team, as he manned the backline.
Together, freshmen and sophomores filled a spot in the starting lineup 100 times over the 23-match season.
RECORDS WATCH: Andrew Fontein has garnered many Anteater records, but the rest of the squad made their marks in the 'Eater record book as well.
Miguel Ibarra (Lancaster / Taft College) added eight more assists, 11th-most in a single season, this year for 18 all-time placing him sixth. He finished with 26 points which tied for fifth-most in a single season.
Christian Hernandez (Palmdale / Taft College) had 10 assists, matching Ibarra's total from last season, which ties each of them for the second-most in a single season. Hernandez finishes with 14 in his career good for 12th all-time.
Jimmy Turner finished up with 82 matches in his illustrious career, the third-most all-time. Fontein's 73 starts was tied for the fifth-most.
Five 'Eaters played in all 23 matches tying the mark set by eight 'Eaters in 2008. Ibarra, Hernandez, and Everett Pitts (Chino Hills / Ayala HS) each started all 23 joining Gray Bailey and Kyle Schmid in 2008 for the most in a season.
Hernandez and Ibarra each had four game-winning goals joining three other 'Eaters to do that and just behind four different 'Eaters to get five in a season.
Coach Kuntz earned 16 wins, the most in a season for the program, and now totals 299 college wins with 165 of them coming at UC Irvine for a .527 win percentage in 17 seasons. He has led the school to 60 wins in the last four years and eight of the program's 10 seasons with 10 or more wins.
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