UPCOMING OPPONENTS
Game Notes
Fullerton Tournament presented by Embassy Suites Brea N. Orange County
UC Irvine Anteaters vs. Oregon Ducks
Friday, September 9, 2016 - 5:00 PM
Titan Stadium - Fullerton, Calif.
Video | Live Stats
UC Irvine Anteaters vs. UAB Blazers
Sunday, September 11, 2016 - 2:00 PM
Titan Stadium - Fullerton, Calif.
Video | Live Stats
Broadcast Information
Video
Both matches from the Quality Inn-Placentia Fullerton Classic will be live streamed. Each match's link can be found at ucirvinesports.com.
Live Stats
Live stats are available for every Anteater soccer game through ucirvinesports.com and the UCI Sports Front Row app.
Social Media
Keep up with all things Anteater soccer by following along on social media. Be sure to 'follow' the soccer-specific accounts on Twitter and Facebook for game previews, in-game updates, recaps, and other original content.
LOCATING VICTORIES
The Anteaters suffered their first setback of 2016 on the road, but came back home to right the ship for a win against a high-profile opponent.
UCI battled through a third straight overtime match in Reno going scoreless through 90 minutes with Nevada. The evenly-played match was decided in the 98th minute as the Wolfpack slotted home a penalty kick to end UCI's win streak at four start the 2016 season with a 1-0 final.
UC Irvine returned home for a quick stop-off in the midst of eight matches away from home to line up against ACC competitor, Pittsburgh. The 'Eaters put their set piece practice to good use scoring all of their goals on Sunday from set pieces. Alex Karlowitsch hit Kiana Palacios on two occasions as she headed up goals in the 22nd and 49th minutes.
Andrea Mensen drove home the third and final goal from a long set piece in the 86th minute. Mensen and the backline shut down the Panther attack allowing just four shots while Maddie Newsom saved two en route to the team's third shutout of the season, 3-0.
The OT loss was the program's first in 10 matches, almost two years to the day. The defense stood tall allowing no goals in the run of play over the weekend. UCI has not allowed one over its last 381 minutes.
UCI played three consecutive overtime matches which ended Sunday. It's the second occurrence under head coach Scott Juniper's tenure that the team has played three or more OT matches in a row. The other came to end the 2012 season when UCI went 1-0-4 playing overtime in each of its last five matches.
SCORE CENTER
UC Irvine's sizzling 4-0 start was cooled with an overtime defeat Thursday, but the squad picked right back up with a three-goal performance on Sunday
UCI's 12 goals in its first six matches harkens back to a few years back when the 'Eaters posted similar offensive numbers. It's the most goals through the first six games of a season since the 15 scored in 2010.
Coach Juniper's crew has also scored in five of the six matches thus far which has happened three other times; once in 2009, and again in 2010 and 2011 when the 'Eaters scored in all six opening matches.
UCI hasn't scored more than seven goals in the first six matches since 2011. In fact, the 12 goals so far this season is more than the 2014 and 2015 season combined when they put up 11.
On the flip side, the defense has posted three shutouts and allowed a total of four goals.
Coach Juniper's squads have earned three shutouts in their first six matches on four previous occasions; 2009, 2012, and 2013 earning three each, and five shutouts to start the 2007 campaign.
The defense hasn't allowed as little as four goals in the first six matches since 2011. The 2007 squad also allowed just three goals to open the season, which also happened to have a freshman keeper between the pipes, Danielle de Seriere.
ANT-ALYTICS
The Anteater offense even ranks atop the Big West with 12. UCSB, having played one less match, and Long Beach State each have 11 goals. The team has also earned 13 assists overall, ranking in the top 40, nationally, assisting on nine of the 12 goals and earning double assists four times.
Palacios is one of 17 players with six or more goals on the season and one of 14 players with three or more game-winners.
Anteaters have gotten multiple assists on three occasions with Karlowitsch's two-assist effort on Sunday being the most recent. Noel Baham in the season opener and Grayson Galbraith in the win over Fairfield are the other two instances.
The 'Eaters continue to hit their mark putting 12 of their 25 shots on frame over the weekend. On the season, they have put 50.6% of their shots on goal.
UCI is among the five squads that average over 10 fouls per match (10.3) ranking fourth in the Big West while its 32 corners rank second behind LBSU (35). UCI was called offside four times vs. Pittsburgh which more than doubled its total entering the match, now sitting at seven on the entire season, second-least in the conference.
On the defensive side, UCI has allowed just 17 shots on frame which includes a total of four on the entire weekend. The total is lower than any other Big West school's save count with LBSU's 19 as the closest total. CSUN has seen 22 shots on frame as the conference's second-least in that regard.
Two Anteaters continue to play all 573 minutes to date in defender Andrea Mensen and the keeper Maddie Newsom. Three other Anteaters have reached the 500-mark in Palacios, Texeira, and Galbraith. Three Anteaters saw their collegiate debuts on Sunday with freshman Hayley Mayne and juniors Janeth Acuna and McKenna Pigoni earning minutes. Senior Sammie James made her debut this season late in the match as well. Sophomore Kelsee Pottorff earned her first two starts vs. Boise State and Nevada.
NET NEUTRALITY
The 'Eaters stay local for the Quality Inn-Placentia Fullerton Classic tournament at Cal State Fullerton for more neutral-site fun. The 'Eaters have gotten up for neutral-site matches under coach Juniper going 11-5-2 overall. The team is 2-2-1 over the last two seasons.
First up will be a 5:00 p.m. Friday match against a rejuvenated Oregon squad. The Ducks are 5-0 since drawing in the season opener at Hawai'i. The Ducks are trying to reverse a stretch of seven consecutive losing seasons which includes six, seven, and four-win seasons most recently. The 'Eaters and Ducks last met in 2013 with UCI exacting revenge for a loss in 2012. UCI won the only other meeting, 5-0, in 1996.
UO has spread the love with eight players scoring their 12 goals and four players with two each. Junior Abby Morrow has a pair, both game-winners, despite no starts this year. Sophomore Marissa Everett has one goal and two assists while leading the club with 15 shots. Freshman Katelyn Carter started the first two matches, but since, her and junior Halla Hinriksdottir have each played a half over the last four. Together, they've allowed three goals and stopped 18 shots.
UCI finishes up with UAB in a first meeting between the schools. UAB is 3-2 thus far having won its last two matches, both at home, coming off a 2-14-1 season in 2015. The Blazers also have 12 goals spread among eight players including three from sophomore Caroline Kehrer. They've put 55% of their shots on frame while the defense and keeper sophomore Kelsey Daugherty have allowed eight goals and saved 20 in all. The team has one shutout, but all five matches have featured at least three combined goals. UAB also has two four-goal performances.
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