No. 11 Long Beach State 49ers at No. 5 UC Irvine Anteaters
No. 13 Loyola Marymount Lions at No. 5 UC Irvine Anteaters
OPENING SPRINTS
The Anteaters have clinched the No. 1 seed in the Big West Tournament and will play the winner of the LBSU-UCSB match on Sat. Apr. 26 at 1:30 p.m. The Big West Tournament will be held at Long Beach State in 2014.
UC Irvine has three players with triple-digit career goals: Jessy Cardey (211), Hannah Croghan (150) and Danielle Warde (145).
Three Anteaters currently have 40+ goals led by Danielle Warde's 47. Jessy Cardey with 45 and McKenna Mitchell with 42 also top the 40-goal mark.
UCI has failed to score in eight periods all season. It averages 10.9 goals per match.
UCI is allowing 6.11 goals per match including a 3.58 goals-against-average from Annika Nelson in 170 minutes.
Jillian Yocum stands unofficially with 600 career saves, third all-time.
POWER PLAYS
UC Irvine's win over No. 4 Arizona State matched the highest-ranked opponent UCI has defeated in the program's history. The 'Eaters upset No. 4 Hawaii in February of 2007, 10-4.
UCI had its highest finish in the UC Irvine Invitational finishing sixth.
The Anteaters have three wins in which they needed to overcome a halftime deficit. UCI beat UC Davis 8-5 after trailing 3-2 at the half, defeated SDSU 13-6 after trailing 5-4, and most recently came back from down 2-1 at Hawai'I to win 9-5.
McKenna Mitchell became the sixth Anteater with six goals in a match joining current 'Eaters Jessy Cardey and Hannah Croghan, and Erica Horman's seven-goal match from 2002.
KICKOUTS
UC Irvine captured Big West Player of the Week five times so far with Danielle Warde, Hannah Croghan, Jillian Yocum, and McKenna Mitchell twice.
The Anteaters began the season ranked sixth in the nation and have been ranked as high as fifth. UCI finished 2013 ranked seventh in the nation with a record of 21-9.
UCI captured a share of the Big West regular season title in 2013, its fourth to match the four Big West Tournament titles.
PRIMETIME POLO
UCI finishes the regular season with some night competition at Anteater Aquatics Complex.
The 'Eaters begin with the end of their Big West matches hosting No. 11 Long Beach State Thursday night at 7:00 p.m.
The 49ers are 18-9 on the year, 3-2 in conference play. Notable results this season have come in a pair of losses to CSUN, an 11-0 shutout win over Bucknell, and a split in two matches with UCSD.
Chelsea Parks leads the 49ers with 46 goals. Coriann Snyder and Justine Morgan also have eclipsed the 40-goal mark.
Kelly Ringel patrols the net and sports a 6.11 goals-against-average in 644 minutes and has 151 saves to her credit.
The 49ers average 9.9 goals per match while allowing 6.1.
The two teams squared off earlier in year at the UCSD Triton Invite where the Anteaters won, 7-4.
Rounding out the season will be a visit from the 13th-ranked Lions of LMU on Friday, Apr. 18, at 7:00 p.m.
The Lions come in at 19-11 and 5-1 in the newly-formed Golden Coast Conference. An up-and-down season as seen wins over Hawai'I, UCSD, and topping San Jose State twice while losing to schools like Hartwick and San Diego State.
LMU's scoring threat is senior Alexandra Honny with 63 including three against UCI in a 9-6 loss in the UCSD Triton Invite. She also leads the squad with 63 steals and has contributed with 26 assists.
Elsewhere, the Lions boast 30-goal scorers Laura Lopez, Ivana Castro, and Mackenzie Beck, while Erin Manke's 43 top the team.
Claire Wright has garnered a majority of the time in cage stopping 219 shots and allowing 181 in 22 matches played.
LMU averages 10 goals per match while allowing 8.03.
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