UPCOMING MATCHES
Game Notes
UC Irvine Anteaters at No. 4 Texas A&M Aggies
Friday, August 28, 2015
5:30 PM - College Station, Texas
Live Stats SEC Network Radio
UC Irvine Anteaters vs. Abilene Christian Wildcats
Sunday, August 30, 2015
8:00 AM - College Station, Texas
Live Stats
WEEKEND WRAPUP
Women's soccer made a little bit of history to open the 2015 season. Kicking off at 11:59 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 21 made them the absolute beginning to the 2015 NCAA women's soccer season. To go even further, their match also kicked off the entire 2015-16 NCAA collegiate calendar year.
UCI dropped the opener to Auburn, 1-0, allowing a lone goal just seven seconds before the halftime whistle. Combined, the teams put up a total of 12 shots and seven corners in a highly-competitive affair.
Head Coach Scott Juniper sprinted off to his next locale in England hopping on a 10-hour flight and two-hour cab ride to reach his sister's wedding in time for the nuptials. Juniper made the return trip on Sunday and was back on the sideline for Monday night's contest with Idaho State.
The Anteaters and Bengals toiled through a scoreless first half before combining for four goals in 16 minutes as part of UCI's 3-1 victory. All three scorers, Nayeli Requejo, Lili Andino, and game-winner Jenny Konishi deposited the first of their careers.
The win was the 20th all-time in 27 matches against Big Sky schools while now 3-3 against the SEC. UCI put up 19 shots, 12 on target. The teams combined to put 17 of their 26 shots on goal. UCI committed just six fouls in each match.
TALKING TACTICS
UCI found a lot out about themselves in the first two matches getting a sizable amount of play and execution from newcomers.
In addition to Requejo and Andino, Shelby Lee and Brittany Doan posted their first points as Anteaters in their debut weekend. Konishi's goal was also her first game-winner.
Others to debut were Aleah Kelley, Jonnae Joseph, Kelsee Pottorff, and Lindsay Hennon. Others like Elizabeth Hutchison and Grayson Galbraith got their first starts. Hutchison's came in her first collegiate matches while Galbraith's came as a defensive centerback.
"We know that we can play in three or four different systems and adjust between them during a half," said Head Coach Scott Juniper who even alluded to a change in formation the squad made between halves of the Idaho State match. "We know that we have a young squad full of new players who are all fighting to make an immediate impact. Some of them have already done that in a big way. We know that while we are young, we are better in many ways than we were 12 months ago."
UCI showed that progress in a tight, one-goal loss to Auburn who had trumped them by three goals 12 months earlier.
The 'Eaters scored a pair of goals over the weekend via corner kicks and nearly a third from a set piece.
"We are learning who the singers are, who the dancers are, the chefs, sleepers, forgetful ones, and those most likely to appear on "Wipeout." Such is the process of a team coming together!"
LIGHTS CAMERA ZOT
The Anteaters will be in the national spotlight Friday night when it matches up with No. 4 Texas A&M. The game will be shown on the SEC Network, part of the ESPN family of networks, beginning at 5:30 p.m. The match will be simulcast on ESPN3 and on any device with the WatchESPN app.
TEXAS TWO-STEP
The first big road trip of the season is upon the 'Eaters as they travel to the heat of College Station, Texas.
The Anteaters have played six previous times in the state of Texas, one of six states UCI has played as many matches with its most being 14 in the state of Oregon. The lone trip with coach Juniper came in 2011 when the 'Eaters defeated UT-San Antonio, 2-1, and upset No. 14 Texas A&M, 1-0, in a pair of matches at College Station.
UCI just completed its sixth match against an SEC school losing to Auburn for an even 3-3 record against them.
UCI and Texas A&M have squared off three times. The last meeting came at Anteater Stadium in 2012 as the Aggies claimed a 2-1 victory. UCI and TAMU also matched up in College Station back in 2004 with the Aggies getting the better of UCI, 3-0, back when Texas A&M was a member of the Big 12. The pair also took part in an exhibition match before the 2013 season playing to a scoreless draw in Anteater Stadium.
The Aggies reached the College Cup in 2014 with a 22-3-2 record and won the SEC regular season and tournament.
TAMU is searching for its 21st consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament entering the season as the No. 5 team in the nation and jumping to No. 4 following wins at Rice (4-2) and vs. Northwestern State (3-0).
The Aggies do lose a lot with only seven of their 71 goals and 14 of their 60 assists returning to the fold as well as 14 total minutes of goalkeeper play in sophomore Taylor Saucier.
A&M has tallied seven goals in its first two matches led by a pair from sophomore McKayla Paulson and freshman Kate Hajdu. Sophomore Haley Pounds has a goal and four assists.
UCI's second opponent on the Texas trip is the Abilene Christian Wildcats. ACU is still in the probationary period as a member of the Southland Conference after they made the move from the Lone Star Conference and Division II. ABU is 21-14-3 since joining Division I and 12-9-2 in the two years its been a part of the Southland. For UCI, it will be its first matchup against a Southland Conference opponent.
Like coach Juniper, Wildcat coach Casey Wilson is in his ninth season heading Abilene Christian having posted 93 wins.
Through the early going, ACU has dropped matches at Arizona (4-0) and UTEP (1-0) being outshot 40-12. The offense functions behind sophomore Chantal Kinsey and seniors Baylee Mitchell and Lindsey Jones who all have posted multiple shots. Mitchell led the squad with seven goals and four game-winners in 2014.
The defensive front is lined by sophomore Leslie Snider and juniors Alyssa Gerner, Kelsie Roberts, Danielle Otto, and Maria Gomez each putting in heavy minutes. Junior keeper Kelsey Dombrowski has stopped 13 shots in her two starts this season following up a 5-4-1 record, a 0.98 goals-against-average, and 52 saves in 13 matches last year.
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