The regular season champion Anteaters will start the Big West Tournament at home on Saturday, November 3, to take on the first round winner between CSUN and UC Davis. The 6-team field begins play Wednesday, and the 'Eaters have the inside track with a first round bye and home field advantage throughout should it advance to the final on November 10

 
   

Storylines
• UC Irvine won its fifth Big West regular season title and first since 2013, and the program has won the last three regular seasons titles that featured a one-division format in the Big West (2010, 2011, 2018)
• Ivan Canales was named Big West Offensive Player of the Year finishing the regular season as the conference's points leader with 25 and is tied atop the goal leaders at 10. His six game-winning goals remain the conference's best and second-best in all the NCAA. He is the second straight Anteater to take home this award (Giovanni Godoy) and the first Anteater to appear on All-Big West all four years
• Daniel Crisostomo became the fourth Big West Midfielder of the Year in program history and first since 2013 after amassing three goals and assists along with his defensive handiwork. He joined Canales on the All-Big West First Team, his second career all-conference award
• Three Anteaters represented on the All-Big West Second Team including Jose Ortiz (8 G, 4 A) and Darren Hamilton (3 A, 6 clean sheets) each making their first appearance while Jose Soto (1 G, 1 A) made his second appearance in two years with the squad. Alvaro Quezada, the Big West's co-assist leader with six graced the Honorable Mention squad as a sophomore, and freshman Michael Orozco (1 G, 1 A, 6 clean sheets) made All-Freshman Team as the fifth 'Eater in the six years the team has been named
• Head Coach Yossi Raz claimed Big West Coach of the Year honors in just his second season at the helm. It's the first coach of the year at UCI since 2008, the seventh honor for UCI, fifth in the Big West, and third coach overall joining George Kuntz and Derek Lawther
• The program was included in the United Soccer Coaches poll last week coming in at No. 21, the program's first ranking since 2015. UCI had been receiving votes in four polls this season prior and added a fifth this week. UCI has been ranked in Top Drawer Soccer's Top 25 poll for the last four weeks dropping this week from No. 13 to No. 19
• The program comes is receiving votes for the sixth time this season in the United Soccer Coaches poll falling out of the rankings after coming in at No. 21 last week. It remains in the Top Drawer Soccer poll at No. 19, a fourth straight week recognized by TDS
• UC Irvine has a solid standing when it comes to an at-large bid. Entering the week with an RPI of 18, UCI is in position to earn an NCAA Tournament berth even without a Big West Tournament title as, historically, programs within the RPI top 40 have earned an NCAA bid
 
 
Setting the Stage
• UC Irvine's Big West title has locked up the No. 1 seed throughout the Big West Tournament next week as well earning a bye through the first round to the semifinals held on Saturday, Nov. 3. The Big West Final is Sat. Nov. 10 that will also be held at Anteater Stadium should the Anteaters advance in the tournament
• UCI's opponent in the semifinal will be the winner of the matchup between UC Davis and CSUN at Northridge Wednesday night
• All-time, the program is 10-2-1 in Big West Tournament matches, 5-1-0 in the semifinal, and unbeaten in the final (4-0-1)
 
The Tournament Field
• UC Irvine is back in the Big West Tournament earning a first round bye alongside UC Riverside, the No. 2 seed, reaching the heights of the top two for the just the second time in the tournament's history. UCR and UCI won't meet unless its in the championship match on November 10, but UCR has raised its game after just two non-conference wins it is 6-9-2 making its sixth appearance in the Big West Tournament. Daniel Aguirre earned First Team All-Big West nod as the team's scoring leader with 12 points and five goals. Edwyn Gutierrez has 50 saves in net for the team that has shutout five of its seven conference opponents
• UCI's Saturday opponent will be the winner of the CSUN vs. UC Davis played Wednesday night at Northridge. CSUN took the regular season matchup, 3-0, and also defeated UCI in the finale, 2-0, while UC Davis was upended at home by the 'Eaters, 2-1, early in conference play while ranked 21st. CSUN boasts the Big West Goalkeeper of the Year in Henrik Regitnig along with first-teamers Daniel Trejo (10 G) and Andrew Rizeq on defense. UC Davis is a bubble squad in terms of NCAA at-large status. Senior defender Roy Boateng was named the conference's Defender of the Year while joining six other Aggies on the All-Big West squad
• The other side of the bracket contain annual tournament powers in Cal State Fullerton and UC Santa Barbara. A George Kuntz-led squad has won the tournament seven times in its 10 years including three of the last four by the Titans. UCSB has just one tournament win (2010) in its illustrious Big West run. Between the two squads, one of them has shown up in the tournament final in all but one year (2012). Neither program took home any major awards besides UCSB keeper Ben Roach as a co-Freshman of the Year. Sophomore Rodney Michael made his second All-Big West First Team as a sophomore joined by midfielder Ross McPhie from the Titans also on the First Team for a second time.
 
With a win...
• ...UC Irvine would reach its sixth Big West Final and first since 2014
• ...UCI would improve to 6-1-0 in Big West Semifinals
• ...UCI would improve on its 7-1-1 record in Big West Tournament matches at Anteater Stadium
 
Up Next
• The Big West Tournament begins Wednesday, Oct. 31, with the first round matches at host sites. The winners move on to the Big West semifinal on Saturday, Nov. 3, with the final falling on Saturday, Nov. 10, also on host sites
 
First Touches
• 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
• Alvaro Quezada produced the first 2-assist match of the season for the Anteaters at UC Riverside
• The Anteaters swept player of the week accolades for a second time this season with Ivan Canales taking home offensive praise and Darren Hamilton on the defensive side for the first weekly award for each player
• 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
• The Anteaters' had a home shutout streak 474 minutes before conceding twice to UC Santa Barbara, a streak that stretched over the course of five matches
• 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
 
Joining The Club
• Senior Ivan Canales' offensive outburst put him in an exclusive club joining Kevin Smith (22 G, 24 A) as the only two Anteaters in program history with 20 goals and 20 assists over a career
• Canales' 25 career goals tie him with Spencer Thompson for sixth-most in an Anteater career after his four-goal week. He produced two braces giving him four in his career now.
• His 20th career assist came on the 'Eaters' second goal on Sunday making him the third Anteaters with at least 20 assists
• He's added to his point total now at 70 over his career. He's now the fourth Anteaters with 70 or more points standing just three behind P.J. Polowski and Brad Evans for a career
• Canales accounted for both game-winners last week giving him nine for his career. He's tied Thompson also for that, third-most in program history. Another GWG will put him among Brad Evans (10) and Matt Murphy (11) for the only 'Eaters with double digits
 
Taking The Lead
• UC Irvine is the conference leader in goals (34), goals per match (1.89), shots (14.1 per match), and have been issued the least amount of cards (20)
• Ivan Canales stormed into the conference lead for points (25), three ahead of CSUN's Daniel Trejo, the first to 10 goals this season in the Big West, and his six game-winning goals are three more than any other Big West player and as many or more than four entire teams (UC Riverside, Cal State Fullerton, Sac State, Cal Poly). Just in conference matches, he leads with six goals, 14 points, and his three game-winners make him the only player with multiples in Big West action
• Canales nationally sits third with his six game-winning goals, 24th in points, and 29th in goals
• Jose Ortiz sits third in points (19) and goals (8) in the Big West
• Alvaro Quezada is tied for the conference lead with six assists, just ahead of Canales' five. Quezada and Darren Hamilton each have three in Big West matches to lead all players
• Greg Patenaude is second in the conference and nation in minutes played at 1,665. He also ranks within the conference fourth in saves (59) which is also 29th in the NCAA
 
Voter Turnout
• The Anteaters broke into the Top 25 of the United Soccer Coaches poll last week for the first time since 2015. UCI was No. 21 after receiving votes in four previous polls this season.
• UCI defeated No. 25 UC Davis and lost at No. 10 Saint Mary's on the road this season for a 21-25-6 all-time record against ranked opponents.
• Other previously unranked opponents are now in the polls such as UCF at No. 19 and James Madison receiving votes. Saint Mary's has since risen to No. 6
• UC Irvine is also ranked according to Top Drawer Soccer's poll at No. 19, the fourth straight week in the poll, previously at No. 13 and No. 22
 
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 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
 
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)

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.