Anteaters Fall Just Short of Tourney, Add Another Winning Season

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  • Nine of UCI's 20 opponents this season made the NCAA Tournament field. Four were conference champions (BYU, SDSU, Princeton, CSUN) and five received at large bids (Texas A&M, Pepperdine, Denver, LBSU, Auburn).
  • Since 2009, UCI is 13-4 in matches with the final score of 1-0, the best win percentage of Big West schools (.765).
  • UCI's 30 one-goal wins and .667 win percentage in one-goal games leads all Big West schools since 2009. Cal Poly is second with 24 and a .615 win percentage.
  • Laura McGrail scored four game-winning goals of her five goals on the year, tied for most in the Big West.
  • UCI defense allowed just 27 shots on goal in 10 Big West matches and 74 in all 21 matches. The next closest is LBSU with 34 shots on goal allowed in nine Big West matches and 98 shots on goal in 19 overall matches.
  • UCI's 8.5 fouls per match is lowest in the Big West.
  • Four of UCI's five shutouts have come vs. teams that were either ranked or receiving votes (Auburn, Oregon State, Long Beach State, Cal State Northridge).

FAR POST

  • UCI went 5-4-0 on a nine-game road trip that covered 39 days, 4,454 miles, and four states.
  • UCI have faced five MAC Hermann Watch List players in 2012: Chelsea Buckland (Oregon State), Nadia Link (LBSU), Lindsi Cutshall (BYU), Kelley Monogue (Texas A&M), and Michelle Pao (Pepperdine).
  • Natalia Ledezma, Rachel Wood, and Dana Sanderlin were named First Team All-Big West for 2012. Corey Tobin landed on the Second Team while Haley O'Brien was UCI's lone representative on the All-Freshman Team.
  • UCI's four ties are the most for the program under Coach Juniper and the most since 2003 when it drew five times.

ATTACKING IN NUMBERS

  • UCI finishes with its fourth consecutive winning season. It has reached the conference tournament in five of Coach Juniper's six seasons as head coach.
  • The Anteaters finished the season with a seven-match unbeaten streak and a five-match streak in which they went to double overtime.
  • Natalia Ledezma is fifth all-time in UCI history with 17 assists; Dana Sanderlin is tied for seventh with 14.
  • UCI has defeated five ranked opponents in the last three seasons: No. 21 Oregon State and No. 21 Auburn in 2012, No. 11 Texas A&M and No. 25 Portland in 2011, and No. 17 San Diego in 2010.
  • Corey Tobin went 4-0-4 vs. the Big West this year. She finished the season allowing one goal in her final 545 minutes and 29 seconds in net.
  • Jenn Randazzo's is one save from 100 career.

THROW-INS

  • MINUTES WATCH - Haley O'Brien led UCI with 1,989 minutes played. Zoya Farzaneh (1,962) and Mady Solow (1,911) also eclipsed the 1,900-minute mark. O'Brien and Farzaneh are joined by Rachel Wood and Jordan Bruce as the only 'Eaters to play every conference minute.
  • HIGH FIVE - Seniors Dana Sanderlin and Devon Delarosa finished tied atop the Anteater record books with 85 career matches played.
  • ON THE SPOT - Rachel Wood finished the season with five penalty kick goals. She's the first Anteater to make five in a season, and surpassed Judy Christopher's record of four career PK goals.

PRESEASON

  • UC Irvine was picked to finish second in the Big West behind LBSU. The 49ers earned eight of nine first-place votes with UCI earning the ninth.
  • Junior forward Natalia Ledezma and sophomore midfielder Cami Privett were voted to the Big West Preseason All-Conference Team.
  • Natalia Ledezma was ranked 84th among the Top 100 college players to watch according to @TopDrawerSoccer.

SOCCER AT THE NEXT LEVEL

  • UCI alums Danielle de Seriere and CoCo Goodson both play for FC Twente, a soccer club stationed in the Netherlands.
  • FC Twente is currently in first place in the BeNe League Orange at 6-0-2. Goodson has started all seven matches at center back, and scored the game-winner in a 2-1 win over Ajax last month.
  • Rachel Flemming, a 2008 alum, started her first season as a defender for LA Strikers FC. Anteater alums Judy Christopher and Sarah Devine are together on the San Diego SeaLions.

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