SENIOR SPOTLIGHT

Laura McGrail earned her stripes with a three-goal weekend including a pair in Sunday's win over Cal State Northridge to keep the Anteaters in the hunt for a Big West Tournament berth. For McGrail, it was her fourth two-goal performance in her career, and she added an assist for her first career five-point match.

McGrail became the 11th Anteater to reach the 20-goal plateau scoring Nos. 19, 20, and 21. She stands four points shy of the top-10 in program history. She is third in game-winning goals with nine.

She will be celebrating her final match in Anteater Stadium on Thursday alongside eight other senior Anteaters:

Jenna Pellegrino has played in 75 of the 77 matches in the last four years with five goals and five assists to her name.

Cami Privett has shown her longevity as well with 69 matches under her belt and 59 starts totaling nine goals, three of which game-winners, and 11 assists from the once Big West Freshman of the Year.

Jenn Randazzo resurfaced in net recording her 26th career victory. She stands sixth in 'Eater history in wins along with 13 career shutouts. Her next match will be her 56th career match and 54th start, both third most among UCI goalkeepers, and can eclipse the 5,000-minute mark with 67 minutes of action in net.

Defensive cornerstone Alana Sooy will wrap up her career. She has just one point in her career, but has served as a catalyst in center back preserving eight shutouts in her 34 starts and 42 matches overall.

Jasmine Nickelberry returns from a red card suspension for her final home tilt. She has 38 career matches to her name including 34 in the last two years. Those seasons have included her two goals, a game-winner at Cal Poly and a PK this season along with a pair of assists.

Bianca Frontino has flourished since joining the backline. She scored a pair of goals last weekend giving her four in her career, all in Big West matches, adding an attacking aspect to the defensive strategy. Like Nickelberry, she has played 34 of 35 matches since transferring to UCI.

In addition, Michelle Bagheri and Victoria Russo will be recognized. Bagheri has played four matches in the last two seasons since transferring from CSU San Bernardino. Russo has served more of a developmental and coaching role this season after patrolling the midfield in six matches over the past two seasons.

Altogether, the class has gone 40-27-10 with a 19-7-5 mark in Big West play. Over the last four seasons, the senior class has earned a Big West Tournament spot in each with the 2014 still in the balance. They took home the regular season title once along with an NCAA Tournament berth in 2011. At home, the class has gone 19-10-5.

STANDING TALL

The reality is simple for the Anteaters down the stretch, it must win its final two matches and will still need some help in the form of a draw or win from Hawai'i in its final match on Sunday at Cal State Northridge. Cal Poly, Long Beach State, and Cal State Fullerton are already squarely in the tournament field.

The 'Eaters got a massive boost from sophomore Tatyana Garrett who, despite playing only 11 minutes of the match, buried her first two career goals including the game-clincher in the 109th minute to extend the Anteaters' season.

The 'Eaters will have to do something that has eluded them in 2014 - win on the road. UCI is 0-6-1 away from Irvine which includes a notable draw at Long Beach State. It's road opponent, UC Davis, has scored just three goals in eight home matches this season.

UC Irvine set the table well in non-conference play. The trying schedule, ranked 55th-toughest in the nation, saw UC Irvine at 4-5-2 with a 2-3-1 record against squads in the nation's top-55 of the RPI rankings at its conclusion.

COPA DEL MUNDIAL

A pair of Anteaters were summoned to the under-20 Women's World Cup. Juniors Clarissa Robles and Claudia Lopez represented Mexico in August in Canada.

Robles played the entirety of all three matches on the backline. Lopez started two matches as a forward. Mexico failed to advance past the group stage following 1-1 draws to Nigeria and England and a 2-1 loss to South Korea.

HAWAIIAN PUNCH

The 'Eaters have never lost to Hawai'I in five matches, 4-0-1, including a 2-1 road win in 2013. Hawai'I has endured two wildly different seasons in 2014 to get to its 6-10 mark. The Rainbow Wahine went through non-conference play with a 5-5 mark with an average of 5.1 goals being scored in their matches. Big West play has seen a different style with UH going 1-5 so far with every result finishing at 2-0 or 2-1. The havoc has been seen in each match as well:

Holding 1-0 leads over Arizona State, Texas and Washington State before losing 5-2, 2-1, and 3-1, respectively
Trailing Northern Illinois, 1-0, before responded with three goals in nine minutes for an eventual 3-2 victory
Relinquishing leads of 1-0 and 3-1 to Weber State before eventually winning, 4-3, in overtime
Holding leads of 2-0 and 4-2 over Idaho State before giving up an 84th-minute winner to fall, 5-4
Equalizing against UC Riverside in the 80th minute before scoring the game-winner in double overtime
Falling to UC Santa Barbara, 2-1, after allowing a goal with nine seconds remaining in the match

The Rainbow Wahine offense is paced by Storm Kenui's six goals and Kama Pascua's five goals. Sonest Furtado and Krystal Pascua have each put up four of their own while the entire quartet have also accounted for nine of the squad's 14 assists. The offense puts up nearly 14 shots per match, but put 45% of them on target as opposed to 56% of its opponents shots landing on target.

Erica Young stands behind the defensive backfield of Paige Okazaki, Ryan Daniel, and Lidia Battaglia stopping 45 shots in 12 starts. Between her and Monk Berger, however, they have a 2.47 goals-against-average. The team also commits the most fouls in the conference and has conceded five penalty kicks while not earning any themselves.

DAVIS DRIVEN

UC Davis has been at a loss for scoring with 11 goals in 18 matches en route to a 5-10-3 record. The Aggies have faltered for the most part in 2014, but have risen to the occasion with a 2-0 win at Cal Poly and a draw vs. CSUF.

The Anteaters busted out a 3-1 win over the Aggies last season, but all-time UCD holds the 8-7-3 edge. The 'Eaters have three wins in 10 trips to Davis.

Haley Hughes has sparked the offense with four goals in just 10 matches this year. Sienna Drizin has a pair while Mari Pastor as contributed with three assists. The Aggies' three shot leaders, Lexi Poppoff, Kayla Collins, and Andrea Damian, have yet to score a goal between the three of them.

Senior Taylor Jern has spent all 1,705 minutes in net allowing 21 goals while stopping 69. She leads the conference with 36 saves since Big West play began. Jern and the backline allow just 41% of shots to be put on frame.