FIRST TOUCHES
UC Irvine's grueling non-conference schedule finished with a promising 4-2 loss at No. 5 BYU Saturday as the 'Eaters tripled the amount of goals BYU had allowed on the season. The eight-match Big West season begins now with UCI starting at home for the first two hosting a pair of schools they drew with in 2019 beginning with UC Riverside Thursday night with ESPN3 in the building
 
88th - Carley Brown made the Starting XI in each match in Tucson making her the 88th Anteater in program history with 50 career matches

4-1-0 - UC Irvine welcomes the ESPN3 crew to Anteater Stadium for a 6th straight season. The 'Eaters have a record of 4-1-0 in the previous ESPN3 visits dating back to 2014

.702 - UC Irvine's rigorous non-conference ledger was the 4th-toughest in the nation this year with the group of opponents putting together a .702 winning percentage (68-26-10) to this point featuring eight programs with winning records of the 10 schools, five ranked schools, two others receiving votes nationally

STORYLINES
Aleah Kelley was named a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award last week, the third in program history and only from the Big West in 2019. Finalists will be named in the coming weeks to see who best exemplifies character, community, classroom, and competition

ESPN3 makes their annual trip to Anteater Stadium for Thursday night's matchup with UC Riverside. It's the sixth straight year they set up shop in Anteater Stadium for the regular season with UCI a healthy 4-1-0 in the previous matchups. The 'Eaters will also wear their pink jerseys Thursday night as part of the Breast Cancer Awareness match

The Anteaters were turned away from an upset at No. 5 BYU over the weekend in a 4-2 defeat, but the two goals were more than the undefeated Cougars had allowed all season up to that point. The offense came from Kyndal McKinney who gave UCI the lead in the second minute with her first career goal heading home a corner kick. Jessica Miclat added her sixth of her career strike, and had a chance for a second missing a late penalty kick

UCI has taken on three top-10 opponents adding No. 5 BYU to the pair of No. 9s in Virginia and Vanderbilt, the third season all-time facing three ranked foes. UCI opened with a 7-0 loss in their first trip to Virginia, the first time a coach Juniper squad had allowed more than four goals in a match. Elsewhere, the 'Eaters have lost four one-goal matches, three against schools receiving votes. The Anteater schedule has been littered with challenges with six of their 10 opponents receiving votes in the national polls. Texas Tech and Cal have joined the top 25 since the match with UCI, and two conference opponents are also currently receiving votes. UCI also had a ranked opponent on its exhibition slate falling, 2-1, to UCLA who was ranked No. 4 in the preseason. UCI's non-conference opponents together form a record of 68-26-10, and the non-conference schedule is the fourth-strongest in the NCAA

With a win or draw…
...UCI would extend its stretch of six straight home Big West matches unbeaten since 2017 where UCI is 6-0-0 in that span
...UCI could even the series with UCD who holds the 10-9-4 advantage. UCI can extend a 13-4-2 series lead on UCR Thursday

UC RIVERSIDE HIGHLANDERS
UC Riverside is a far cry from the staunch defense that took over in 2018. At 2-7-1 in 2019, UCR has fallen to tough competition like Cal, Pepperdine, and Santa Clara on the road while snagging a draw with Denver. The Highlanders settle near the bottom of the Big West on offense with just five goals and seven shots per match. The defense has held its own with senior Annie Bailey (0-5-1, 24 SV) and freshman Caela Kaio (2-2-0, 21 SV) battling in the net. Alexis Vera (2 G, 1 A) and Amanda Roy (2 A, 3 YC) have started every match.

UC DAVIS AGGIES
UC Davis returns to Anteater Stadium for the first time since 2017 when the Aggies dished out UCI's last Big West home loss, 1-0, on a PK rebound in the featured ESPN3 match. Davis is under new control with first-year coach Tracy Hamm at the helm. She has the team at 5-5-0 with results against teams like Pacific and Nevada along with a one-goal defeat at a formidable Tennessee side. UCD is the conference's leader in shots and have scored 14 goals in 10 matches led by three-goal seasons from second-years Casey Palmer and Leslie Fregoso. Jessica Lima and Nicki Rucki have split time in net stopping 45 shots with a 1.10 GAA, third in the Big West

The 'Eaters will also celebrate Senior Day on Sunday with eight seniors to be recognized following the match