FIRST TOUCHES
14 - The Anteaters got it together offensively toward the tailend of 2016 scoring 14 goals in Big West play, 3rd-most in the conference. UCI also ended 2016 near the top in conference play with 17 assists (2nd), 16.5 shots per game (1st), and 55 corner kicks (1st)

88 - The Anteaters' non-conference opponents boasted 88 wins in 2016 and a .549 winning percentage that includes three schools that finished 2016 in the top 21 in RPI such as 20-win Denver

2 - Anteater sophomore keeper Alex Waldron has won his last 2 matches which included a shutout at Cal Poly and five saves in a home victory vs. UC Riverside in 2016. The 'Eaters as a team were unbeaten in their last 2 matches going 1-0-1

LAST WEEK RECAP
The world got its first look at Yossi Raz's Anteaters to the tune of a 2-0 exhibition victory at Bakersfield Saturday night. An eclectic group of veterans and newcomers took the field to start, and snagged a 1-0 lead in the 22nd minute from Giovanni Godoy's header from an Erick Gallinar cross.
 
The second half was more of the same as the defense continued to make a statement not allowing a shot on target throughout the match, and the attack rang home a second goal in the 59th minute as freshman Alvaro Quezada linked up with fifth-year senior Mario Ortiz for the eventual, 2-0 final.

Nearly every healthy Anteater saw action on the field, many making their debuts, and quite a few as starters including transfers Jose Soto, Haakon Heltne, and Victor Falck manning the backline. Gallinar was also present, as we redshirt junior Ignacio Ramirez who had made two appearances and no starts entering the season.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
The season opens much like 2016 with a big-time test across the country in Kentucky.
 
First up are the talented Louisville Cardinals ranked ninth in the nation. They put up a 14-win season a year long ending in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. UL already has three exhibitions under their belt drawing with Oakland, falling to fellow ranked school Indiana, and a shutout win over a common opponent to the 'Eaters, Lipscomb.
 
Louisville is run by senior All-American Tim Kubel (7 G, 5 A), All-ACC goal field Mohamed Thiaw (12 G, 7 GWG), and senior midfielder Geoffrey Dee (2 G, 4 A) from a squad that returns seven players with at least 12 starts. The Cards will be tested at keeper as none on the roster have any experience. Fellow redshirt freshmen Will Meyer and Jake Gelnovatch have each gotten equal time through the exhibitions looking to be the starting frontrunners.
 
The trip finishes across the state at Northern Kentucky, a program in a very similar situation to the Anteaters. They went 1-13-4 in 2016 leading to a change in leadership, and Stu Riddle has provided that bringing on 13 players while 10 returners remain.
 
Notable returners include the leading scorer Campbell Morris (3 G) and top defenders in terms of minutes played in Dylan Carss (1,698 mins) and Calvin Murphy (1,666 mins) who each started all 18 matches. Four keepers saw time last season, only one remains in junior Christian Carey.

COACH'S CORNER
On the current status of the program — "We inherited a bright group, lots of talent, hungry, focused, dedicated. Our 12 returning upperclassmen are hungry to develop success and show their talent at Irvine. A very fun, talented group. We have a lot to show for, great leadership internally that have given us some nice direction. We're hoping to mix the talent and creativity with the toughness and be balanced, and hopefully the mix will be successful in the Big West"
 
Assessment of the exhibition at Bakersfield — "A good first day together on the field in an actual NCAA setting against a quality opponent. It's easy to see, after reflecting on the game, that there is plenty to work on. The good news is that we see points we've worked on in the preseason. If we had nothing to improve on, we could not become the team we want to be."
 
Outlook on the coming weekend in Kentucky — "Winning is not the goal, winning is the final product of fulfilling what we want to do. We want to see growth, we want to see that we've developed from Bakersfield to Louisville. We want to defend better in different parts of the field and attack better in different parts of the field, enhance our understanding of set plays and how we execute them, and hopefully when its all said and done and we reflect on the game, we have a good result there. We understand with the climate and travel and two quality opponents, its going to be a challenging trip and we're going to need to regroup ourselves - fix the bodies, fix the minds -  and prepare one game at a time striving towards self-fulfillment."

THROW-INS
+ UCI and Louisville have met twice - once a 2-1 Louisville victory in 2012 ranked No. 14 in the nation, and a 1-0 Anteater victory in 2013 as Lester Hayes III scored in the 69th minute to down the 16th-ranked Cardinals, both matches coming at Louisville
+ The Anteaters are attempting to win their first game out-of-state since 2014 when they won at UNLV, Utah Valley, and West Virginia
+ A lot of international flair will collide this weekend. Along with UCI's representation, its opponents will outfit players from Morocco, France, the UK, Senegal, Germany, Sweden, Ireland, Russia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Italy, South Africa, and Bermuda.
+ UC Irvine did not play its first overtime match in 2016 until the season finale which resulted in a 1-1 draw with Cal State Fullerton
+ The 'Eaters fired 13.26 shots per game and put 6.16 on goal per match which led the conference
+ Giovanni Godoy led the conference with 2.5 shots per game and 1.39 shots on goal per game
+ In 2016, Alex Waldron and Elliot Farmer split time in net with each starting at least seven matches and putting in over 600 minutes. The last time two keepers played as much in a season was 2009 when Andrew Fontein and Victor Chinchilla each started 11 matches and logged nearly 1,000 minutes
+ The Big West South has a very connected coaching tree. Head Coach Yossi Raz spent nine years as an assistant coach at CSUN in addition to his time as a student-athlete for the program. Assistant Brian Lanoye spent eight years with Cal State Fullerton as an assistant coach along with a grad and undergrad assistant. Cal State Fullerton's head coach, George Kuntz, spent 19 seasons as head coach for the Anteaters and is joined by former Anteater coach and player, Carlos Aguilar, and another fellow player, Kyle Schmid. UC Riverside recently hired Chris Volk as its assistant coach after Volk spent 20 years as a coach with the UC Irvine program which included 17 years as an assistant coach and the last three years as the head coach.