The final regular season home match comes early for the 'Eaters on Wednesday night, and then a rare Sunday conference matchup at Cal Poly fills a week full of postseason implications for UCI and its six seniors


    Storylines
• UC Irvine will celebrate its senior class of Daniel Crisostomo, Ivan Canales, Luis Leon, Greg Patenaude, Jose Soto, and Darren Hamilton at Thursday's match with a ceremony beginning 15 minutes prior to kickoff
• UCI won its Big West opener for the first time since 2010. It followed with wins in its first three Big West matches for the fourth time ever (2005, 2006, 2010). It's avoided a loss through its first four Big West matches for the third time. The only longer streak to open Big West play came in 2010 when UCI went 5-0-2 through its first seven conference contests.
• UC Irvine has taken the conference lead in scoring with 29 goals
• Alvaro Quezada is tied atop the Big West with six assists while Ivan Canales' four game-winners leads the conference
• UC Irvine defeated No. 25 UC Davis on Wednesday, the 21st win all-time against a ranked school, they are now 1-1 in 2018
  
About Cal State Fullerton
• UCI's defacto rival Cal State Fullerton enters Anteater Stadium Wednesday with an overall record of 6-3-6 having beaten USD, LMU, and USF in non-conference play along with draws against the likes of James Madison, Missouri State, Cal Baptist, and FGCU
• As the Titans pass the halfway point in Big West play, it stands three points behind UCI coming off wins vs. Cal Poly and Sac State. CSF also drew with CSUN and lost at UCSB. The 2017 tournament champions were 4-2-2 last year going 10-8-4 losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as the Big West representative. The preseason poll projected them to repeat
• Fullerton's points leader, senior Samuel Goni (5 G, 2 GWG, 2 A) is coming off Big West Player of the Week honors for the squad that's already had their senior night, senior Ross McPhie has five assists to go with a pair of goals, the defensive line is led by freshmen Zico Bailey and Edward Salazar along with sophomore Irving Arvizu, and keeper Paul-Andre Guerin was also a player of the week last week as he's the conference leader with 60 saves and the national leader in minutes played with 1,455:09
• The Anteaters have a slim edge all-time against CSF at 25-23-9 splitting decisions in 2017. The 'Eaters are winless in the last four meetings at home (0-2-2) a place CSF head coach George Kuntz called home for 20 seasons as head of the UCI program along with assistant coach Carlos Aguilar who played two seasons at UCI and coached for three
 
About Cal Poly
• The Mustangs have tumbled through 2018 to a 4-7-2 record showing wins over Bakersfield and UCSB in non-conference along with two non-D1 opponents. CP has one point through four Big West matches drawing with UC Davis before losing its last three matches to UC Riverside, CSF, and CSUN.
• The 2017 Mustangs were 7-10-4, 3-6-1 in conference projected to finish 2018 in eighth. UCI dumped CP at home last year, 3-1
• Sean Goode has four of the 12 Cal Poly goals, Emmanuel Perez and Diego Alonso have helped with two goals and assists each, and Simon Boehme has taken the brunt of work in goal allowing 14 goals and stopping 50 shots in 12 games
• UC Irvine has won the last two in this series leading it overall, 18-13-9. UCI has just seven wins in 20 trips to San Luis Obispo
 
 
With a win...
• ...UC Irvine would clinch a berth in the 2018 Big West Tournament
• ...on Wednesday, UCI would also lock in a spot in the top four in the Big West standings guaranteeing a home match in the Big West Tournament so long as CSUN, Sac State, and UC Santa Barbara do not all win their Wednesday matches
• ...in both matches this week in addition to any draw or loss by CSUN, UC Irvine would claim the 2018 Big West regular season title
• ...UC Irvine would reach 10 wins on the season for the first time since 2014 and post the program's 13th 10-win campaign
• ...or draw in any of its remaining matches, UCI would guarantee a winning record in 2018
 
With a draw...
• ...on Wednesday, UC Irvine would clinch a berth in the 2018 Big West Tournament so long as the UC Davis vs. UC Santa Barbara does not end in a draw
• ...on Wednesday, UCI would also lock up a spot in the top four in the Big West standings guaranteeing a home match in the Big West Tournament so long as CSUN, Sac State, and UC Santa Barbara do not all win their Wednesday matches
• ...or win Wednesday, the Anteaters' unbeaten streak to extend to a season-high five matches currently at 3-0-1
 
Up Next
• Next week is the final week of the regular season with all programs playing just one match on Saturday, Oct. 28. UC Irvine travels to CSUN for theirs with the Big West Tournament looming the week after ready to kick off Wed. Oct. 31
 
New Normal
The new Big West schedule format comes into affect for the first time since 1986 in which each program will play the others just once during the regular season. The top six point totals will earn a spot in the Big West Tournament. The 'Eaters have not been participants in the Big West Tournament since 2015. It also marks the first time the Big West has gone without divisions since 2011. UC Irvine has won the Big West regular season title in each of the last two seasons that featured a one-division format (2010 & 2011)

First Touches
• The Anteaters' home shutout streak lasted into its fifth match totaling 474 minutes before conceding twice to UC Santa Barbara Saturday night
• Greg Patenaude registered 10 saves in the win at UC Davis for a new career high, and it marks the 15th time an Anteater keeper has made 10 or more saves and first since Michael Breslin did so in 2012
• Seven Anteaters have opened their scoring accounts this season, most recently Lawrence Yamaguchi who opened Wednesday's scoring at UC Davis. Others are Daniel Crisostomo, Jose Soto, Manny Acosta, Christian Gutierrez, Jalani Ambrose, and Michael Orozco. For Orozco, Gutierrez, and Acosta, it also represented their first collegiate points
• UC Irvine earned 14 corner kicks in the win over Pomona-Pitzer tying a program record that has been set four times prior with the most recent coming in a Big West Tournament match in 2015 at Cal Poly. The squad averages five corners per match good for second in the Big West
• Greg Patenaude is 1 of 5 Big West keepers with a goals-against-average under one (0.99) ranking fifth
• Patenaude also ranked seventh in the nation with 1,163:32 minutes played among goalies, second in the Big West
• Alvaro Quezada produced the first 2-assist match of the season for the Anteaters at UC Riverside
• Two of the top three point-getters in the Big West are Anteaters (Ortiz - 19, Canales - 16)
• The Anteaters swept player of the week accolades on October 8 with Alvaro Quezada earning offensive honors and Greg Patenaude scoring defensive honors as recognized by the Big West, the first career honor for either player
• Two Anteaters were honored in the Courtyard Marriott San Diego Central Aztec Soccer Tournament where it finished 1-1. Ivan Canales and Jose Soto were named to the all-tournament team
• UC Irvine men's soccer finished non-conference play with a 6-4-1 mark, UCI entered conference play at 5-3-1 in 2017
 
Yes He Can
Senior Ivan Canales scored his 21st career goal Saturday joining 11 other Anteaters in program history with 20 or more. His 19th career assist came at UC Riverside placing him in a tie for third all-time Canales has a chance to join Kevin Smith (22 G, 24 A) as the only Anteaters with 20 goals and assists over a career. His next assist will be No. 20 and make him just the third 'Eater with 20 or more. He's added to his point total now at 61 over his career. His next point will make him the eighth 'Eaters with 60 or more. Wednesday night's goal was also his fourth game-winner of the season which ranks fifth in the nation. He has seven over his career which slips him into the top 10 in program history
 
Starting a Trend
Junior Jose Ortiz was finally stopped at home unable to find the back of the net for the first time in seven home matches this year. He has three streaks of three straight matches with a point this season
 
Voter Turnout
UC Irvine was not part of the voting this week, but have earned votes in the United Soccer Coaches three times this season earning a high of 20 votes. Poll results are released every Tuesday. The 'Eaters have not landed in the top 25 since 2015, but do hold a 21-25-6 all-time record against ranked opponents after defeating No. 25 UC Davis on the road Wednesday
 
Exhibiting Quality
UC Irvine took to the pitch twice last week for exhibition matches starting at home Thursday defeating Bakersfield, 2-0. Ivan Canales and Axel Adler scored first-half strikes. They finished up Sunday with a trip to UCLA for the first men's soccer match in newly-constructed Wallis Annenberg Stadium. The Bruins, who are receiving votes in the national preseason poll, would take the victory scoring in the 71st minute to defeat UCI, 1-0.

Playing Professionally
• UC Irvine has 11 Anteaters making a mark on various professional circuits
• Two MLS staples continue to be Miguel Ibarra and Brad Evans. Ibarra is in his seventh pro season where he's earned over 150 caps between Minnesota United FC and Leon of LigaMX. In his sixth season with MLS-side MNUFC, he has six goals upping the midfielder's career total to 27. Evans has bounced between Sporting KC and its USL side, Swope Park Rangers, seeing action in four matches total. He's played 226 matches with 28 goals in his 11 pro seasons largely with Seattle Sounders FC and Columbus Crew SC winning an MLS title with each
• The pair also account for all of the national team appearances for UCI alums. Evans took part in 27 World Cup qualifiers, Gold Cup, Confederations Cup, and friendly matches scoring an infamous goal in stoppage time of an WCQ to defeat Jamaica. Ibarra has three caps under his belt, all in U.S. friendlies.
• Six Anteaters reside with USL clubs, most prominently Cam Iwasa as one of the league's leading scorers on Sac Republic FC scoring 27 times over four seasons. Marco Franco has joined with Penn FC while Thomas Janjigian is on the backline for Reno 1868. Mats Bjurman and Giovanni Godoy have teamed up on local side Orange County SC scoring seven goals between them this season. Tarek Morad also joined up with USL side Tampa Bay Rowdies recently after a few years with Louisville City FC
• Others still making waves Enrique Cardenas, playing with Golden State Force FC when he's not coaching at College of the Desert, Lester Hayes III and Amani Walker, each playing with at times with NPSL side Albion SC Pros SD, and Irving Garcia is still extending his career going on sixth overall as a professional and second year now with Guatemalan side, Suchitepequez.
 
2017-18 Highlights
• UCI returned to a .500 campaign in 2017 after consecutive five-win years
• The Anteaters led the conference in scoring in the regular season with 35 goals led by conference-leader Giovanni Godoy's 13. They also put up a Big West-best 41 assists, its most since the 2010 campaign, with Daniel Crisostomo and Mario Ortiz topping the conference with nine each
• UCI took down one of its two ranked opponents in 2017 defeating No. 8 Denver, 1-0, on a neutral site. It also took No. 9 Louisville to the wire on the road as the 'Eaters stand 20-25-6 all-time against ranked foes

Trending Up
UC Irvine's 8-8-3 campaign and fourth place finish in the Big West South in 2017 doesn't jump off the page, but its a move in the right direction after back-to-back five-win seasons in 2015 and 2016. The goals rose with the results with the team scoring 35 goals, up from 20 in 2016 and 23 in 2015. The Anteaters also dropped 41 assists on those goals last season, its most since 2010's total of 42 assists.

Back for More
Here for his second season as the head coach of the Anteaters is Yossi Raz. He made great strides within his first two years as the head of Cal Poly Pomona taking a program that won three matches prior to his arrival, pushed them to a 7-7-3 mark in his first go, and jumped to a 17-1-2 record in his second season leading to a national title appearance by his third year.

What's Missing?
The right foot of Giovanni Godoy is the largest omission from the 2018 Anteaters after the reigning Big West Offensive Player of the Year graduated and is now playing alongside 'Eater alum Mats Bjurman on Orange County SC. His conference-leading 13 goals accounted for 37% of UC Irvine's production including half of the squad's eight game-winning goals.

Senior Step-Up
The Anteater core in 2018 will be strongly represented by senior leadership of Ivan Canales, Daniel Crisostomo, and Luis Leon. Canales returns following a third All-Big West selection, the midfielder centerpiece has a new number and an edge and the attacking leader going forward. Crisostomo is one of the nation's leading returners in assists after dishing out nine as a junior. Over the summer, he continued to add to his resume in the midfield playing for Orange County FC and was named to the National XI for the season of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL). Leon has rode a consistent offensive ledger accounting for multiple goals and at least six points in each of his first three years as an Anteater.

Second-Year Sensations
The Anteaters got positive dividends from its new crop of transfers a year ago with a steady hand in the midfield from Victor Falck, and also on the backline, Jose Soto stood above the rest earning an All-Big West selection. Impactful freshmen Alvaro Quezada and Lawrence Yamaguchi fit right in to coach Raz's mentality, and will be prime figures to keep the scoring at a high level for the 'Eaters

Chon Zone
Another hefty absence will be the skillful frame of Mario Ortiz who contribute nine assists a year ago, but another Ortiz, Jose, is primed to join the scoring barrage. He's contributed five goals to this point in his career including three as a sophomore

Keeper's Corner
The healthiest competition on the squad could come between the posts with senior Greg Patenaude and junior Alex Waldron each coming in with an experienced hand. Patenaude finished the 2017 season as the No. 1 guy scoring a pair of wins in the final three matches. Waldron played half of the matches in his first year, and them rolled through a majority of his sophomore campaign atop the depth chart putting together nine wins and five shutouts across the seasons. The two will likely each see time through the exhibition matches.

What does the Future Hold?
The recently-revealed nine newcomers joining the squad in 2018 for coach Raz features some very veteran talent. Three transfers enter the fray with two in line to be big parts of the 2018 plans. Senior back Darren Hamilton has commanded backlines on the junior college and Division I levels, and will provide a huge boost to pair with Soto. Jalani Ambrose has a couple of years experience from Santa Clara skating down the wings and being thrust into a defensive role. In addition to the vets, the 'Eaters bring on six freshmen that could be called upon with an abbreviated roster of 25 players at coach Raz's disposal. The likes of Axel Adler and Ben Reveno who will make their first steps onto an Anteater pitch, and the returns of redshirts Manny Acosta and Christian "GunGun" Gutierrez will also be felt in the formation

Opposing Views
UC Irvine's collective schedule might not be so daunting from first glance, but a lot of postseason experience lays in waiting for the Anteaters with squads like Pacific and San Francisco coming off tourney appearances last year. Others have been successful elsewhere such as UCF projected to win the American Athletic Conference in the preseason, James Madison the reigning Colonial Athletic Association regular season champs, and Brown finish third a year ago in a highly-competitive Ivy League. In addition, five Anteater opponents have earned votes in the United Soccer Coaches preseason rankings which includes Sunday's opponent, UCLA.