Senior Day Sunday vs. Cal State Fullerton Comes with Postseason Possibilities

UPCOMING OPPONENTS

Game Notes

Cal State Fullerton Titans (10-4-3, 3-2-1)
at UC Irvine Anteaters
Sunday, October 29, 2017 - 2:00 PM
Anteater Stadium - Irvine, Calif.
Live Stats | Tickets

Series: Cal State Fullerton leads, 13-8-5 - 2016 meeting: Oct. 30 at Fullerton - L(OT), 2-1

FIRST TOUCHES
+5 - Some of the tiebreakers to determine spots in the tournament come down to goal differential in Big West games. UC Irvine's differential is +5 to start the week which is best in the conference. CSUN (+1), UC Davis (+2), and CSF (+3) are the only others in the positive

1,699 - Sophomore keeper Maddie Newsom ranks 14th in the nation with 1,696 minutes played among keepers, but the team's minutes leader is Aleah Kelley at center back who has put in 1,699 minutes this year after missing the entire 2016 campaign with an injury

70% - Since the conference went to nine programs in 2013, schools that have earned 10 or more points have made the Big West Tournament 70% of the time (16 of 23). No school has missed the tournament when earning 12 or more points

LAST WEEK RECAP
The 'Eaters couldn't solve the reigning Big West regular season champs falling, 1-0, in their only match of the week relinquishing the top spot in the standings to CSUN.

The Matadors pressured early, and broke through in the 33rd minute as a long throw-in was headed home in the box by Sydney Gilbert proving to be the deciding tally.

BIG WEST BUMPER CARS
The Anteaters' extended layoff will mean the squad will have another day to watch as the rest of the Big West rises and falls around them before returning to the pitch Sunday for the regular season finale and Senior Day celebration vs. Cal State Fullerton.

The Titans built up a solid record in non-conference going 9-2-2 including a win at BYU and OT loss to Utah. Conference play has been a little rocky with losses to UC Riverside and Cal Poly while shutting down CSUN and LBSU. UCI relinquished a lead falling in overtime in the matchup last year, but exacted its revenge in the Big West semifinal moving on via penalty kicks. The trio of seniors Sarah Fajnor (6 G, 4 A) and Samantha Koemans (5 G, 5 A) and sophomore Atlanta Primus (5 G, 5 A) have led the offensive charge of the squad that leads the conference in scoring offense and ranks seventh in the nation averaging nearly 7.5 corners a game. The defense also leads the conference led by senior keeper Morgan Bertsch (0.74 GAA, 50 SV) and a backline of Kaycee Hoover, Jessica Simonian, and Nano Oronoz.

As the Big West turned on Sunday, UCI landed in second place a point behind conference-leading CSUN and four clear of the fifth place UC Riverside trying to jump back into the mix.

The Big West mixer will churn up again Thursday night with three matches and a second off date for the 'Eaters while UC Davis travels to UCR, LBSU and CSUN square off, and Hawai'i tangles with CSF before the Titans come to Anteater Stadium.

There is a chance for the Anteaters to clinch a tournament berth on Thursday. A UCR loss coupled with a LBSU loss or draw would put UC Irvine into the tournament next week.

The Big West title is still within reach for UCI, but can only be attained with a win Sunday. They would also need a pair of losses or a loss and a draw from CSUN in its final matches as well as UC Davis failing to win both of their remaining matches.

TELL ME ABOUT TIEBREAKERS
A loss or draw in the final match of the season will leave a lot to chance in the tournament picture. Should the 'Eaters finished tie with anyone, the simple tiebreaker would who won the head-to-head matchup which UCI would hold against UCR, but does not possess against CSUN and UCD. Should the 'Eaters be tied with multiple squads, the total record against them would weed out one of the teams.

+ A tie with UCD and CSUN bumps UCI down to third
+ A tie with UCD and UCR pushes UCD above and UCI then takes the tiebreaker over UCR from the head-to-head matchup
+ A very real tie with UCD, CSF, and CSUN could happen in which case UCI would drop below all three of UCD, CSF, and CSUN
+ Another very real tie with UCD, CSF, and UCR could happen in which case UCI would be at the mercy of the conference goal differential

Ending in a tie with LBSU or CSF who have or could potentially draw with UCI would move things to a second tiebreaker of conference goal differential as mentioned before. Entering the weekend, UCI held a two-goal advantage over CSF and six goals over LBSU.

THROW-INS
+ Kiana Palacios ranks 6th all-time with 61 points, one behind Kim Cusimano. Her 24 career goals are tied for fourth-most with Shawna Berke and Tanya Taylor. One more game-winning goal will make her the fourth Anteater with 10 or more over her career.
+ Noel Baham will become the fourth Anteater with 20 career assists with the next one she registers. She is the active matches played leader on the squad with 76, and is three matches away from entering the all-time top 10 at 78 alongside Mar Rodriguez and Zoya Farzaneh. Andrea Mensen stands two matches behind Baham with 74.
+ Maddie Newsom tied Amee Chapman with her 22nd career win vs. UCR. Her next shutout will push her past a tie for three with Chapman with each currently at 15. Her 127 career saves is 17 away from entering the top 10.
+ Kiana Palacios scored three times in the U20 CONCACAF championships finishing third and earning a spot in the U20 Women's World Cup. She added three more goals in the U20WWC in which Mexico reached the Quarterfinals of the knockout round. From there, she has earned a spot with the Mexican National Team playing in friendlies over the offseason in Canada and Sweden
+ Lili Andino has also earned some national team experience playing with the Puerto Rican national squad over the summer
+ Last season was the fourth time since 2000, all under coach Juniper, that the squad scored 30 or more goals. UCI allowed less than 20 goals in a season in 2016 for the seventh time in program history and third under coach Juniper

Schedule

Senior Day Sunday vs. Cal State Fullerton Comes with Postseason Possibilities

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Players Mentioned

Lili Andino

Noel Baham

Aleah Kelley

Andrea Mensen

Maddie Newsom

Kiana Palacios

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