UPCOMING MATCHES
Game Notes
No. 23 Santa Clara Broncos at UC Irvine Anteaters
Friday, September 25, 2015
7:00 PM - Anteater Stadium
Live Stats Tickets Game Program
FLOW RIDERS
Coach Juniper and the Anteaters saved its longest trip for the end of its eight-match road marathon flying all the way to southeast Florida to earn a split.
The 'Eaters had to wait an extra hour to kick things off with a lightning delay pushing back the start at Florida International. UC Irvine jumped on their chances offensively, but FIU drew the first blood scoring on their opening shot in the 27th minute. They added a second in the 43rd minute, and rode the momentum through the second half for the 2-0 victory.
The Anteaters turned the tables on Sunday when they rolled into Boca Raton against a Florida Atlantic program heading upward. The clubs played a relatively balanced match through the first 80 minutes. Alex Karlowitsch had a dynamite chance in the 18th minute ringing a shot off the crossbar.
The tie was finally severed in the 81st minute following a foul in the box putting Kiana Palacios on the spot, and she put it away to earn the 1-0 win.
"We stayed committed to each other and the game plan," said an inspired coach Juniper. "We are getting better in every area, one layer at a time. With so many new players, we have been doing a ton of teaching."
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Coach Juniper has utilized his influx of young talent to its fullest early on. Of the 33 on the roster, 23 have put in less than two years with the program and 17 of them are only in their second year on the collegiate level.
Head Coach Scott Juniper understands the undertaking that has been, but he knows his team is firmly entrenched on the right path.
"As a team, we focus on the performance being at the high level that we set for ourselves. This team is good enough to compete with anyone so we give our best competitive performance, the wins come as a result of that."
Five sophomores have made an appearance in all 10 matches.
Seven freshmen have appeared in at least seven matches.
Four underclassmen have made at least nine starts including starts in all 10 matches from Kiana Palacios and Andrea Mensen.
Sophomore Grayson Galbraith is third on the team in minutes with 814, second among field players (Robles - 877).
Freshman Brittany Nguyen has started eight consecutive matches while fellow freshman Shelby Lee has appeared off the bench in all 10 contests.
TECHNICAL SQUAD
UC Irvine's Sunday, Oct. 18th match at home against Long Beach State. The match will be broadcast on ESPN3 as one of four live streamed Big West matches this season.
WELCOME WEEK
UC Irvine is finally back from its marathon trip that spanned eight matches and four states. The 'Eaters haven't played a match at home since August 24, and when they hit the field on Friday, it will have been 32 days since Anteater Stadium turned on the lights for them.
It also coincides with Welcome Week on campus and will be a nice way to end the first week of classes. Coach Juniper understands the science behind having the support at your back. "The home advantage in sports has been quantified by researchers in all sports at all levels. The combination of crowd support, familiarity with the environment, and the consistency of your preparations give you a slight edge. Our job is to press home that advantage whenever we can, and a big home support helps us do that."
The 'Eaters have benefitted from the large home crowds going 5-1 in matches with 1,000+ fans in Anteater Stadium never losing in regulation and putting home at least two goals in those five wins.
UCI's limited amount of home matches continue to dwindle. Between the two exhibitions and pair to open the season, the 'Eaters have just five home matches remaining of their seven on the regular season slate. The seven matches match the 2007 for the least amount in a season under Juniper.
On top of all the hoopla will be a sizable opponent in No. 23 Santa Clara coming in for the final non-conference match of the season Friday night. UCI and Santa Clara have met 12 times in their existences dating back to the opening year of the Anteater program in 1984.
The Broncos have taken the matchup 11 of those times including most recently last year to open up the 2014 season, 2-0. UC Irvine have taken a draw from them, 1-1, back in 2011. Coach Juniper and volunteer coach Janelly Farias remain from that squad who will look to regain that edge as they welcome SCU into Anteater Stadium for only the fourth time ever and first time since 1992.
A trip to UC Irvine will break up a string of seven straight home matches for the Broncos. They have won five of their last six and have a 6-3 record this season including wins at UC Davis, and vs. CSUN, Oklahoma, and Stanford most recently.
Four Broncos command the scoring for SCU led by senior Dani Weatherholt and her three goals. Other shooters include junior Jenna Roering, freshman Grace Cutler, and junior Julie Vass with a pair of goals each. Megan Crosson has added three assists.
The defensive duties lie between an array of Broncos, namely sophomore Kellie Peay, freshman Jazmin Jackson, sophomore Anjel Brown, and senior Ali Jones. Together with senior keeper Andi Tostanoski, the unit has allowed five goals in all but 15 minutes of the nine matches producing five shutouts. Tostanoski has added 47 saves to her 74 from 2014 where she went 14-6 with a 1.06 goals-against-average.
Other Broncos returning to the area include eight SoCal products with Costa Mesa-native Megan Crosson making an appearance back in Orange County.
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