THIS WEEK'S MATCHES

UC Irvine Anteaters at #21 Louisville Cardinals
Date / Time: Wed. Oct. 24, 2012 / 4:00 PM
Site: Louisville, Ky. / Cardinal Park Soccer Stadium
Live Stats: ucirvinesports.com
Twitter Updates: @UCIAthletics / #MSOC

UC Irvine Anteaters at Cal State Fullerton Titans
Date / Time: Sat. Oct. 27, 2012 / 7:00 PM
Site: Fullerton, Calif. / Titan Soccer Field
Live Stats: ucirvinesports.com
Twitter Updates: @UCIAthletics / #MSOC

FREE KICKS

• UC Irvine has won the Big West regular season title each of the last two seasons. It also has three Big West Tournament titles in the last four years including a 2011 win over UC Santa Barbara in double overtime.
• The 2012 scoring breakdown has seen eight goals from sophomores, eight from juniors, and four from freshmen.
• UCI is 2-3-0 all-time against the Big East. It lost at South Florida last season, 2-0. It's last win came in 2009 over Marquette, 1-0.
• UCI is 0-5-0 against ranked teams in 2012. All five losses have come by one point; three going into double overtime.
• UC Irvine has not lost at Fullerton since 1999 (2-0). UCI is 8-0-2 during that time outscoring CSUF 30-11. UCI has won 15 of its last 18 matches against the Titans.

FAR POST

• The Anteaters play 10 regular season non-conference matches: seven on the road, five outside California, and three against 2011 College Cup participants (UCLA, New Mexico, and Louisville). They are currently 3-5-1 in non-conference.
• In UCI matches this season, 81% of the goals scored have come after halftime. UCI has scored 17 of 21 goals in the second half.

THROW-INS

• The Big West Conference has been split into the North and South Divisions with the addition of its eighth member, Sacramento State, in 2012. The top two teams in each division will make the Big West Tournament.
• Everett Pitts has been named a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award. Andrew Fontein was a finalist in 2011.
• Gor Kirakosyan earned Big West Offensive Player of the Week honors on September 3rd.
• Redshirt freshman keeper Michael Breslin ranks second among Big West keepers with 70 saves.
• Freshman midfielder Matthew Tilley was recently named to the Freshman Top 100 according to @TopDrawerSoccer coming in at No. 75. on the list.

ATTACKING IN NUMBERS

• UCI was the only Big West school with two players (Miguel Ibarra, Christian Hernandez) to compile 24+ points in 2011.
• UCI keeper Andrew Fontein played all 2,160 minutes in net for UCI. Only five keepers played more minutes in 2011 than Fontein; all of them reached the Elite Eight and none of them played every one of their school's minutes.

IN THE BOX

• GLASS HALF FULL: UCI still plays each Big West South opponent once trailing Cal State Fullerton by just four points for the last spot in the tournament.
• LONE RANGER: Sophomore Cameron Iwasa remains the only 'Eater to appear (and start) in every match this season. He has played in 1,431 of the 1,521 total minutes in 2012.
• CROWD PLEASERS: UCI is averaging 2,061 fans in road matches, second-most among Big West schools. Overall, its 1,311 fans per match is third in the conference. On October 5th, UCI and UCSB played to the second largest crowd in the nation thus far of 7,822 fans.

PRESEASON

• UC Irvine began the season with its highest ever ranking in the NSCAA/Continental Tire Preseason rankings at 13th in the nation.
• UC Irvine found its way onto the College Soccer News' (15th) and TopDrawerSoccer.com's (13th) preseason rankings.
• The 'Eaters were picked to finish first in the Big West South Division receiving six of eight first-place votes
• Senior defender Everett Pitts and junior midfielder Christopher Santana represented UCI on the Preseason All-Big West squad.

SOCCER AT THE NEXT LEVEL

• Brad Evans and the Seattle Sounders FC are 15-7-10 having clinched a playoff berth. Evans has four goals and four assists in 28 starts with the Sounders. He scored twice in a 3-1 win over FC Dallas and played defender in a shutout of Real Salt Lake last week to earn MLS Player of the Week honors.
• Evans ranks tied for fourth all-time in games played (104), in goals (17), and in assists (16).
• Two Anteaters were drafted in the 2011 MLS Supplemental draft. Miguel Ibarra went in the second round to the Portland Timbers with Andrew Fontein following in the third round to the Vancouver Whitecaps.
• Ibarra has accrued four goals and four assists playing alongside Amani Walker with the Minnesota Stars FC of the NASL to compliment Walker's nine goals and five assists while Fontein is currently with the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
• The Stars and Rowdies face each other in the NASL finals. The finals began Oct. 20th as Minnesota took the first leg, 2-0, last Saturday. Amani Walker scored the game-winner for the Stars as the finals swing to Tampa Bay for the final leg Sat. Oct. 27th.