Second week of the season completes the Anteaters' stretch of three straight Pac 12 opponents to start the season hosting Arizona and Utah in Anteater Stadium
   
Storylines
• UCI fell to No. 12 USC, 1-0, last week opening the season with a loss for the sixth time in seven seasons
• Thursday night saw a women's soccer program record 1,704 fans in attendance breaking the old mark of 1,611 set in 2011
• The 1,704 fans were also the largest Anteater Stadium crowd for a regular season match. It's the fourth-largest stadium crowd on record as the men's program has drawn more, but all for postseason matches
• Three freshmen graced the starting XI in their collegiate debuts Thursday night - Kala McDaniel, Amber Huff, and Alex Jaquez

About Arizona
• The Wildcats were upset in their season opener Friday falling at home to Albany, 1-0. U of A nearly had an equalizer in the final minute that was waved off from an offside call. Arizona also won their lone exhibition match, 5-0, over UTEP
• Arizona finished fourth in the Pac-12 in 2017 at 10-5-4, 7-2-2 in conference play, Arizona was picked to finish sixth this season and was receiving votes in the national preseason poll
• Seven Wildcats had six or more points a year ago with four returning
• UCI and Arizona drew, 0-0, at Arizona last season. The teams also met in 2009, a UCI win, and 2004, an Arizona win. This will be the first contest of the series held in Anteater Stadium
 
About Utah
• The Utes are two games into their season registering a home loss to Minnesota, 1-0, and road win at Weber State, 2-0
• Utah finished dead last in the Pac-12 a year ago at 5-11-3 with no conference wins, they are slated to finish in ninth in 2018
• Senior Paola van der Veen returns after her eight goals for the club ranked fourth in the conference and earned her All-West Region and All-Pac-12 honors. The Utes also suit up senior Hailey Skolmoski and junior Tavia Leachman who were All-West Region caliber the season prior
• UCI and Utah have met once, a 1-0 UCI loss at Utah in 2016, where Skolmoski scored the Ute game-winner in the 51st minute
 
With a win...
• The Anteaters would reach 20 all-time wins against Pac-12 competition
• UCI would win its 312th match as a program and 168th home match
 
Up Next
• UC Irvine finishes its four-game homestand to begin the season on Friday, Aug. 31. UCI will match up with LMU at 4:00 p.m. as the first of a doubleheader with the men's program
 
Record Heights
• UC Irvine's season opener attracted 1,704 Anteater fans to Anteater Stadium setting a new single-game record for a women's soccer match.
• The previous record of 1,611 fans had stood since 2011 in a 3-1 victory over Portland
• The crowd was the ninth in program history to surpass 1,000 which includes two a season ago.
• The mark fits in as the fourth-largest crowd in the history of the stadium with the three higher marks all belonging to the men's soccer program
• Thursday night's crowd, however, is the largest of any team for a regular season contest

Numerology
• UC Irvine opened the season with a loss at the hands of No. 12 USC. UCI is now 0-3 against ranked opponents to open a season, 0-2 in Anteater Stadium.
• No. 12 matches the highest-ranked opponent to take on the 'Eaters in Anteater Stadium along with the 12th-ranked Hartford squad in 1995
•  UCI stands at 6-8-0 all-time against ranked opponents.

Match Making
• Six freshmen were thrust into their collegiate debuts against the ranked Trojans
• Three true freshmen made the starting XI with Amber Huff in the defensive midfield, Kala McDaniel along the backline, and Alex Jaquez patrolling the attacking third
• Two more true freshmen came off the bench as Scarlett Camberos entered late in each half for fellow freshman Jaquez totaling seven minutes of action, and Piper Wurth entered in the 60th minute and played down the stretch
• Second-year midfielder McKenzie Madison was the final 'Eater making her first appearance entering in the 72nd minute. She redshirted the 2017 season
• A pair of veteran Anteaters were also making their starting debuts in Claire Grouwinkel and Carley Brown. Brown's came in her 25th career match, and Grouwinkel in her 19th
• Another Anteater was added to the list of players with 50 career matches played as Jonnae Joseph was part of the Starting XI. She becomes the 69th Anteater with 50 or more caps and fourth on the current squad joining Alex Karlowitsch (58), Lili Andino (58), and Shelby Lee (52).
 
Anteaters Around the Globe
• UC Irvine's professional squad grew last week with Mady Solow's signing with Swiss side FC Basel just after it was eliminated from UEFA Champions League qualifying. Solow is with her third professional squad which began in Iceland with Throttur Reykjavik in 2015 scoring one goal in 11 matches. She then leapt to Italian club Chievo Verona for the 2017-18 season starting 21 matches and scoring three times. Solow has even seen action for the Polish national team earning a cap during the 2017 UEFA Women's Championship
• Maria Magaña is part of independent side Einherji FC in Iceland where she's earned a win in limited action
• Kiana Palacios is ready to begin with Spanish side Real Sociedad as their season gets going in September 
• Noel Baham has helped her Lithuanian side, FK Gintra Universietas, qualify for the Champions League scoring once in her team's three qualifying wins. Baham and FK Gintra will start league play this week, and have been matched up with Czech club Slavia Praha in the knockout stage of the competition that gets underway September 11
 
Preseason Pub
• The Anteaters were voted the favorites to win the Big West Conference in 2018 edging out a projected top four of Long Beach State, Cal State Fullerton, and CSUN
• UC Irvine was 1 of 2 programs (UC Riverside) without a player voted on the Preseason All-Big West squad
• UC Irvine will host the 2018 Big West Tournament after claiming the 2017 regular season title. It will be the fourth time the Big West Tournament has come to UCI
• The 'Eaters return two from the 2017 All-Big West squad - forward Claire Grouwinkel earned All-Freshman Team honors while Maddie Newsom scored Honorable Mention for the second straight season
• Head Coach Scott Juniper returns after earning his second Big West Coach of the Year honor
 
2017-18 Highlights
• UC Irvine claimed its third Big West regular season title joining the 2010 and 2011 squads
• Last season marked the eighth time in 11 seasons under head coach Scott Juniper that the Anteaters have finished with a winning record and seventh time with at least 10 wins
• The Anteaters were responsible for the Big West's Offensive Player of the Year (Noel Baham) and Midfielder of the Year (Kiana Palacios)
• The 'Eaters finished as the conference leaders in assists (32) and shutouts (10) and a tie for the least amount of goals allowed (17) while finishing just behind in second for goals, GAA, and corner kicks
• Coach Juniper became the program's winningest head coach when he won his 114th career match over Oregon, 1-0

Count It
UCI played an exhibition match against Long Beach State at Championship Soccer Stadium in the OC Great Park. After three 30-minute periods, the Anteaters came through with the 1-0 victory on a Claire Grouwinkel goal in the second period. There were 32 Anteaters that made an appearance in the match including 12 freshmen and three different goalkeepers that preserved the shutout. All-time under coach Juniper, UCI is now 2-0-4 in exhibition matches
 
Top of the Heap
Head Coach Scott Juniper enters as the team's head coach for his 12th season. He overtook the program's lead in head coaching wins last season, and enters 2018 with 121 to show for it. Under Juniper, the 'Eaters have won three Big West regular season titles, reached the NCAA Tournament twice, had eight winning seasons, and won as many as 10 games seven times.

Triumphant Returns
The Anteaters get a big boost in key areas by the returns of seniors Alex Karlowitsch and Jonnae Joseph. Karlowitsch sat our 2017 with an injury, but the former All-Big West player as a freshman is back to command the midfielder. Joseph was cut down with an injury before conference play in 2017 missing over half the season. Her tenacity along the wing and senior leadership will fuel each third for the Anteaters

What does the Future Hold?
Coach Juniper has brought in 15 newcomers to the squad this season, 13 of which are freshman. Alex Jaquez and Scarlett Camberos have risen through the ranks quickly looking to earn some minutes as forwards. Midfielders earning some looks have been Amber Huff along with a slew of second-year Anteaters. Defensively, more of the same with a lot of second-year talent ready to make the jump along with the freshman presence of Piper Wurth. Maddie Newsom's grip on the keeper spot is formidable, but the competition for second-in-line is white-hot between senior Idalis Gonzalez, third-year Madi Puliafico, and freshman Glo Hinojosa.

Defending the Crown
The stout reminder of UCI's regular season glory from a year ago is seen by the returning presence on the backline of Aleah Kelley, Reema Bzeih, and Maddie Newsom. Kelley led the team in minutes a year ago while Bzeih added to her breakout sophomore season with five more assists, and Maddie Newsom continues to be the class of the Big West in net posting eight shutouts in each of her first two seasons

She'll Be Back
Shelby Lee has made a lot of noise on and off the field over the last 12 months. She came into her own as a junior playing all 20 matches and scoring her first three goals in addition to assist on a pair. She also has held the title of NCAA Regional SAAC representative for a year now as head of the Big West. She's made a lot of efforts to organize student-athlete life managing time between academic and athletic priorities for all student-athletes, and looks to make a strong final impression all-around in her senior campaign

What's Missing?
The Anteaters graduate their two top scorers from a year ago in Kiana Palacios and Noel Baham, the Big West Midfielder and Big West Offensive Player of the Year, respectively. Each scored six goals and accounted for three game-winners and 11 assists between them. The attacking presence will be dotted with veterans pieces such as juniors Lili Andino, Jessica Miclat, Carley Brown, and Claire Grouwinkel

Opposing Views
The Anteater non-conference schedule is as beefy as ever. The United Soccer Coaches rankings were unveiled Tuesday, and from it two Anteater opponents were issued top-25 status starting with UCI's season-opening guest, USC, at No. 12. Pepperdine starts the year at No. 18 as the 'Eaters will travel to them later in September. One other opponent was receiving votes landing it just outside the top 25 in Arizona, and that could change after the first weekend of play.