No. 24 'Eaters Visit UCR, Host No. 20 CSUN in Senior Sendoff
November 04, 2013 | Men's Soccer
UPCOMING MATCHES
No. 24 UC Irvine Anteaters at UC Riverside Highlanders
Date / Time: Wed., Nov. 6, 2013 / 7:00 PM
Site: Riverside, Calif. / UCR Soccer Field
Live Stats
Twitter Updates: @UCImsoc / #MSOC
Series: 16 wins, 7 losses, 3 draws
Home: 9-3-2 Away: 7-4-1
Last meeting: W, 2-0 (Home - Oct. 23)
No. 20 Cal State Northridge Matadors at No. 24 UC Irvine Anteaters
Sat., Nov. 9, 2013 / 7:00 PM
Irvine, Calif. / Anteater Stadium
Live Stats
Twitter Updates: @UCImsoc / #MSOC
Series: 17 wins, 19 losses, 5 draws
Home: 7-10-4 Away: 10-9-1
Last meeting: W, 1-0 (Away - Oct. 26)
HEADERS
- The Anteaters have locked up a berth in the Big West Tournament beginning Tues. Nov. 12th.
- The Anteaters have allowed 60 shots on goal, lowest in the Big West and nine fewer than the next school (69 - UC Santa Barbara).
- The 'Eaters are unbeaten (9-0-2) when scoring a goal in the second half.
- Michael Breslin leads all Big West keepers with seven overall shutouts. He stands at second amongst Big West keepers in minutes played (1,608), goals-against-average (0.90), and conference saves (31).
- CSUF's goal Saturday snapped a 290-minute scoreless streak, one of three 200-minute streaks, and broke a string of 11 straight shots on goal saved by Breslin.
FREE KICKS
- The Anteaters were 1-6 vs. ranked opponents in 2012. UCI is currently 3-0 against ranked schools in 2013 and have a four-match winning streak against ranked foes: 1-0 at No. 5 Cal State Northridge, 3-1 over No. 11 UCLA, 1-0 over No. 16 Louisville, and 1-0 win over No. 21 CSUN to end the 2012 season.
- This season marks the sixth time in the last seven years UCI as collected five or more non-conference wins.
- The 'Eaters' stand at a No. 38 RPI rating. They are 5-2 against schools in the top-60. UCI has 12 of its 16 scheduled opponents inside the RPI top-100.
CORNERS
- The Anteaters have been named Big West Player of the Week four times this season. Mats Bjurman's goal and assist against CSUF earned him Offensive Player of the Week status. He joins Mitchell Alvarez and Enrique Cardenas on the offensive side and Marco Franco on the defensive end.
- The 'Eaters bring back 10 starters from the 2012 squad including preseason award-winners Cameron Iwasa and Marco Franco.
- UCI has four players over the 1,500-minute mark; Marco Franco, Tarek Morad, and Thomas Janjigian along with keeper Michael Breslin who is the lone 'Eater to play all 1,608.
- Enrique Cardenas converted two penalty kicks vs. No. 11 UCLA. UCI has converted seven of its last eight PK tries dating back to 2009 including three this season.
IN THE BOOKS
- Michael Breslin recorded his 10th career shutout last week becoming the sixth Anteater with 10 or more.
- Enrique Cardenas has two three-match point streaks in 2013. He accounts for the three of the last four streaks of this length dating back to 2011.
- UCI's win over No. 11 UCLA was the 250th in the history of the program.
- UCI's 2-1 victory over CSUF was its 150th in Anteater Stadium.
- No. 11 UCLA was the 12th top-20 opponent UCI has defeated in program history.
- Cameron Iwasa scored his fifth career game-winning goal tying him for 10th in program history.
- Cameron Iwasa's game-winning goal in the seventh minute Friday night against Cal Poly was the 1,000th UC Irvine goal in the history of Anteater Stadium.
RIVERSIDE RECAP
- UC Riverside comes in at 8-6-3, 3-4-1 in Big West play, but has just one win in its last four home matches.
- UCI dropped UCR at home, 2-0, on Oct. 23. Since then, the Highlanders have one-goal road victories over Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Northridge.
- Romario Lomeli's seven points lead the team. He and Aaron Long are each tops with three goals.
- Eight different Highlanders have a game-winner.
- Ashkan Khosravi and KC John have each seen considerable time in net. Khosravi played most recently recording a shutout over Cal State Northridge.
- UCR is middle of the pack in the Big West in most categories except for a Big West-low 67 corner kicks and Big West-leading 43 yellow cards.
MATADOR MARKS
- CSUN has dropped in the rankings with back-to-back losses now 12-4-1 on the year, 4-3-1 in conference.
- UCI shutout a sixth-ranked CSUN Oct. 26, 1-0, at Northridge where all four losses have come.
- Sagi Lev-Ari's 11 total lead a potent Matador offense that is third in the nation in points per match.
- CSUN is No. 1 in the nation with 48 assists including 11 players with three or more assists in 2013.
- Four players sport double-digit point totals.
- Adam Hobbs has started all 17 matches stopping 52 shots while sporting a 0.95 goals-against-average.
SOCCER AT THE NEXT LEVEL
- Brad Evans has earned a spot on the U.S. National squad this year. He has made 11 total appearances including three World Cup qualifiers in 2013. He scored his first international goal in a WCQ against Jamaica, a game-winner in stoppage time.
- Evans is also the captain of the Seattle Sounders FC. He scored in the team's knockout round match to move them into the semifinals. Evans ranks in the top five in all major Sounders career categories while playing 24 matches in 2013 with five goals and eight assists.
- Amani Walker and Andrew Fontein are teammates on the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the North American Soccer League. Walker has two goals, one game-winner, and two assists in nine matches. Fontein has 14 saves in three starts.
- Ibarra is a member of the Minnesota United FC. In 28 matches, Ibarra has one goal and three assists.
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Players Mentioned
Midfield/Forward
/ Men's SoccerMidfielder/Defender
/ Men's SoccerGoalkeeper
/ Men's SoccerMidfielder/Forward
/ Men's SoccerDefender/Midfielder
/ Men's SoccerForward
/ Men's SoccerDefender
/ Men's SoccerDefense/Midfield
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