UPCOMING MATCHES
Game Notes
UC Riverside Highlanders at UC Irvine Anteaters
Sunday, October 4, 2015
1:00 PM - Anteater Stadium
Live Stats Tickets Game Program
LAST BUT NOT LEAST
The 'Eaters had a lone match with No. 23 Santa Clara over the weekend to close up non-conference play falling 4-0 in Anteater Stadium.
"Outside of the goals, I thought we did alright. We're not happy when we lose by four goals. The first 15 minutes we played really well, stuck with the game plan, and after that first goal went in, I feel like we just went back on our heels a little bit and that caused the second one and now we're up against it. We came out well in the second half and started to get on the front foot. Between the 18s, outside of the goals, I think we can take a lot of positives, but we've got to improve before next Sunday."
Head Coach Scott Juniper saw a lot of positives despite the result Friday night, and a lot of it can be attributed to the distribution of minutes.
Fourteen players have made multiple starts on the year. Another 11 have over 500 minutes. Three of the top minutes-getters have come in the form of sophomores in Grayson Galbraith, Kiana Palacios, and Andrea Mensen.
The youth movement marches on. From the 11 non-conference matches, there were seven goals scored and 11 assists leading up to them. Underclassmen accounted for three of the goals and six assists while first-year players alone knocked home two of each.
BIG WEST BALANCING ACT
The real season is about to begin with Sunday's match against UC Riverside as Coach Juniper and his prideful bunch look toward a return to the Big West Tournament this season held at Cal State Fullerton.
Each school played at least 10 non-conference matches with most playing 11. CSUN was the only squad to compete in 12.
The conference itself is rated 10th in the country finishing with a 50-34-13 non-conference record. The Big West was one of 12 conferences to win at least 50 matches, and its 34 losses are the fifth-least in the nation.
The Big West found success against the Big Sky (11-1) and Mountain West (8-3-2) conferences along with spotless marks against the Summit League (5-0) and WAC (4-0). It matched up against the West Coast Conference the most going 5-12-7 in 24 matches. It also fared 2-10-2 against the Pac-12.
The top of the heap thus far is Cal State Fullerton. The defending champs racked up eight wins with its lone loss coming to Washington State, a school currently rated No. 26 in RPI. The Titans haven't faced the toughest of competition, but have taken the lead in scoring while being issued just two cards.
Closely behind CSUF is Long Beach State following a daunting schedule. A win to start the year against UCLA was coupled with draws against formidable USC and Cincinnati sides. LBSU did slip up to LMU, but most of its losses came to top schools in No. 4 BYU and No. 10 Auburn while staying middle of the road in most stat categories.
Cal Poly has fared well with draws against No. 4 BYU, No. 10 Auburn, and Pepperdine, three of their five draws so far. Gritty losses to No. 8 Stanford and No. 15 Virginia follow the squad that leads the conference in cards and fouls.
UC Davis follows along LBSU as far as stats are concerned. They have managed just three losses to No. 6 Santa Clara, No. 8 Stanford, and a shocker against Nevada. The Aggies looked good in wins over San Diego State and handing Eastern Washington its only loss of the year.
UC Riverside won six matches, all to schools rated lower than No. 128. One-goal losses to No. 16 Arizona, No. 18 Cal, and USC bode well for a squad that takes a lot of shots and fouls.
CSUN drew with the 'Eaters, 0-0, in an exhibition match. Since then, they have become a scoring threat with two per match. Losses to Santa Clara, Texas Tech, Pepperdine, and Washington tested the Matadors, and they did manage a win against Portland.
UCSB floated through non-conference snagging seven wins of their own. The Gauchos lead the Big West earning eight corners per match, and its only competition rated higher than 100 were No. 72 Texas, which they defeated, and San Francisco who lands at No. 87 and topped Santa Barbara by a goal.
Hawai'i brings up the rear bringing with it the two lone red cards in the conference. Its best result came as a draw to Wyoming along with losses to Stanford and Cal. The Rainbow Wahine also fell to Nevada, and its three wins have come against a DII school and a pair of programs with one win between them in Bakersfield and Denver.
UC Irvine has plenty to be optimistic about its early play. Five losses to teams rated in the top 100 and four to top-50 squads filled the competitive slate. UCI's best result can be seen in a one-goal loss to No. 10 Auburn which has dropped just one match this season in a schedule that's the 34th-strongest in the nation. The 'Eaters' least-fortunate result looks to be its draw with Abilene Christian, a school rated No. 231 with a 2-7-2 record.
TECHNICAL SQUAD
UC Irvine's Sunday, Oct. 18th match at home against Long Beach State will be broadcast on ESPN3 as one of four live streamed matches featuring Big West women's soccer.
SUNDAY FUNDAY
UC Riverside kicks Big West season off Sunday at 1:00 p.m. in Anteater Stadium. UCI has the edge overall winning 10 of 15 matchups between the two, but UCR has taken the last two including last year in Riverside, 1-0.
The Anteaters have shutout Riverside in three of the last four meetings in Anteater Stadium, all wins, including a total score of 7-0 in the last two meetings.
Fourth-years Tyler Cunningham, Alexa Bustamante, and Blanca Barrio pace the offense with eight points apiece.
The backline is a rotation of eight different Highlanders teamed up with senior foundation Amber Marani. Together, they help senior keeper Elizabeth Silas whose posted a 0.90 goals-against-average in 1,000 minutes stopping 41 shots and four shutouts along the way.
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