UC Irvine Shifts Gears in Big West Race at UC Davis, vs. CSUN
October 11, 2016 | Women's Soccer
UPCOMING OPPONENTS
UC Irvine Anteaters at UC Davis Aggies
Thursday, October 13, 2016 - 3:00 PM
Aggie Soccer Field - Davis, Calif.
Video | Live Stats
CSUN Matadors at UC Irvine Anteaters
Sunday, October 16, 2016 - 2:00 PM
Anteater Stadium - Irvine, Calif.
Live Stats | Tickets | Program
Broadcast Information
Online
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+ 11 Big West players have 10 or more points this season, three from the Anteaters (Palacios - 23, Baham - 13, Andino - 11), only other school with three is UCSB
+ Eight Anteaters have appeared in all 14 starting lineups (Palacios, Baham, Galbraith, Texeira, Karlowitsch, Mensen, Bzeih, Newsom)
+ Nine Anteaters have played over 1,000 minutes equaling the total from the 2015 squad. Two other 'Eaters (Miclat 892, Andino 814) are within striking distance of the 1,000-minute mark
+ The Anteaters are 1 of 31 schools with three or more players with multiple game-winning goals (Palacios - 4, Texeira - 2, James - 2)
+ UC Irvine is the only team in the conference with two players each with 10+ shots on goal and a SOG percentage of 50% or higher (Palacios - 25 / 50%, Andino - 10 / .77%)
+ UCI's eight non-conference wins match the most under Juniper with the 2009 and 2010 squads
+ UCI and UC Davis have met in each of the last 13 seasons, the Aggies joined the Big West in 2007 which was also coach Juniper's first season
+ Both losses have been by scores of 2-1, one at home (2015) and one away (2009)
+ The last time UCD shutout the 'Eaters was 2006 in a 0-0 draw
+ UCI and CSUN first played in 1996 and have played every season since except 1998
+ UCI is unbeaten in the last four meetings in Anteater Stadium (2-0-2) with three of them extending into double OT
+ Eight of the last 10 matches have featured a shutout (UCI - 5, CSUN - 6)
The 'Eaters have been off for a week after a positive start to Big West play. UCI weathered rival Long Beach State who outshot them 11-5 to come away with a scoreless draw and most importantly, a point. The 'Eaters stepped things up with two first half goals in their next match at UC Riverside for the 2-0 victory and win nine on the season.
The rest of the conference duked it out with each other while the Anteaters observed from a distance. Cal State Fullerton took charge now with nine points through four matches. CSUN and LBSU have risen to seven points each, and Hawai'I clawed back into the picture with six points now, but all have two games on the 'Eaters. The match between UCI and UCD becomes a pivotal point for either team to continue the hunt for a tournament spot.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
UC Irvine's return to the field begins at UC Davis. The Aggies drew with CSUN to open Big West, then made an epic comeback to beat Cal State Fullerton returning from a two-goal halftime deficit to win before getting shutdown on a trip to Hawai'i. UCD went 4-5-2 in non-conference led by the attacking group of sophomore Crystal Crump, and seniors Celina Minissian and Andi Damian. Sophomore Alexis Smith has 49 saves in net behind her stout defensive unit of Sydney Burger, Mandy McKeegan, and Kristie Braken-Guelke.
CSUN surprised many with an OT win over UCSB to start last week coming off an OT loss at LBSU and a draw with UCD, one of five draws so far. CSUN went 5-2-4 in non-conference behind fabulous defense that has allowed just seven goal pitching 10 shutouts in front of junior Jovani McCaskill. Senior Nicole Thompson, senior Kourtney and sophomore Lindsay Kutscher, and a deep crop of defenders have denied some of the best in 2016. Five different Matadors have produced multiple goals led by senior Camille Watson with three and two assists along with 44 shots to lead the club, third-most in the Big West.
Region for the Season
After bouncing around the bottom of the regional rankings, UCI jumped to sixth last week sitting right in the middle of Big West schools Hawai'I (5th) and CSUN (7th). The Big West as a conference rates 11th in the nation while UC Irvine's RPI stands at 137. Hero Sports rates the Big West as seventh and gives the Anteaters a Power Score ranked 46th in the country
Milestone Momentum
The 'Eaters' eight wins through non-conference play match the most under coach Juniper. Saturday's shutout of UCR moves UCI one win closer to its first 10-win season since 2013. Should the 'Eaters reach 12 wins on the season, it would give the program 300 over its history. Coach Juniper won his 100th career match earlier in the season, he's raised his career record to 107-69-20
News Flash
Freshman keeper Maddie Newsom continues to rack up the experience in net. Entering last week, Newsom led the entire nation with 1,311:46 minutes played. She also falls in the top 30 with six shutouts and a 0.64 goals-against-average on the heels of 200 consecutive shutout minutes the previous week. Her 34 saves on the season rank eighth in the conference as she's averaged just under 2.5 saves per match having faced just 43 shots on target for the entire season.
Praise for Dre
UCI scored a second Big West Player of the Week award with a stellar defensive effort by junior Andrea Mensen. The shutout week in a pair of road matches headlined by her and the rest of the backline didn't go unnoticed. She's the second 'Eater to score their first career weekly accolade joining Noel Baham in mid-September on the offensive end.
THROW-INS
+ This is the fourth time under Juniper that the team has opened Big West play with a shutout (2009, 2010, 2015)
+ The only other year under Juniper the squad opened conference with multiple shutouts was 2010 when it scored shutouts in its first three Big West matches
+ The nine goals allowed are the lowest through 14 matches under Juniper. All-time, it's the fifth season allowing nine goals or less through 14 matches (1995, 1998, 2000, 2003)
+ The 2003 squad set the low allowing eight goals through 14
+ The single-season low under Juniper is 16 goals allowed (2007)
+ In program history, the 'Eaters have allowed under 20 goals in six seasons (1990, 1994, 2000, 2003, 2007, 2010) with the low coming in 1998 of 14 goals
+ The low for a single season under Juniper is 16 coming in his first season, 2007
+ Under coach Juniper, the Anteaters are now 4-4-2 in Big West openers, 5-4 in home openers, and 3-4-3 in road openers
+ UC Irvine's draw against Long Beach State extended its drought in Big West road openers, now winless since 2012
+ The 'Eaters have allowed 3.14 shots on goal per match, the lowest amount in the conference
+ Both matches this week will be played during the day where UCI has won six times this season
+ UCI has trailed at the half just once this season, against San Jose State, a match they would come back to win in overtime, 2-1
+ The team has put home multiple goals in the 46th, 72nd, and 88th minutes
+ UCI has seven goals in the 10 minutes before and after halftime
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