FIRST TOUCHES 
A see-saw week started with a crushing loss Wednesday at rival Cal State Fullerton surrendering a halftime lead to fall 2-1 and back into the Big West mix. UCI's hopes were revitalized with a spirited home victory Saturday night topping Cal Poly, 2-0, to put the 'Eaters firmly into the Big West Tournament field in the driver's seat to reclaim its Big West regular season crown
 

#11 - UCI's RPI sits at 28 while taking on the #11 toughest schedule to this point in the nation. The Anteaters finished 2018 with the 22nd-toughest schedule nationally and an RPI of 23

31 - This group of seniors has collected 31 wins over the last four years which has included 3 wins over ranked opponents, a 17-11-7 record in Anteater Stadium, a Big West regular season crown, and NCAA Tournament appearance and win coming last season

2 - Christian Gutierrez posted his second match this season with 2 goals to help him earn a 2nd Big West Offensive Player of the Week Award. Gutierrez also has 2 game-winning goals in conference play, tied for the most, and he ranks 2nd with three total conference goals
 
SENIOR SENTIMENTS 
The Anteater senior class consists of six Anteaters, three attackers in Christian Gutierrez, Jose Ortiz, and Manny Acosta who have put in four years toiling away to earn a Big West crown and NCAA Tournament bid in 2018. Victor Falck came to the program after his first season, but the team captain has started every match since growing into a dual threat this season. Lastly are Ford Parker and Drew Boyd who are exercising their graduate years with Parker standing tall in net nearly every match and Boyd stepping in on the backline

STORYLINES 
The Anteaters stand in first place alongside UC Davis with 13 points apiece. The 'Eaters finish no lower than third place as they've sewn up a Big West Tournament berth and a home match in their first game. Any point will push them into the top two and a first round bye. UCI will claim at least a share of the Big West title with a win, and the Anteaters hold the tiebreaker over both UC Davis and UCSB in the event of any tie between the programs

Senior Christian Gutierrez had a dazzling performance against Cal Poly posting his second two-goal match of the season. He overtakes Victor Falck, who assisted on Roberto Molina's goal Wednesday night, for the team lead in points and goals. Helping with their first assists of 2019 were Seamus McLaughlin and Michael Orozco on Saturday. Ford Parker earned his fourth shutout, third of Big West play

UC Irvine completed non-conference play with a 3-4-4 record, the only Big West squad with a losing record. The team did go up against the 7th-toughest schedule in the nation with four ranked squads on the docket and two others receiving votes. The Big West Conference finished non-conference play rated the sixth-best in the nation with six programs touting a top-50 toughest schedule

The 'Eaters star freshman Kwabena Boateng missed three matches as he was training with the U.S. under-20 National Team in Slovenia in early September. Boateng played in both matches as the U.S. defeated the Zagreb Football Federation and UAE U-23s in friendlies

The Anteaters bring in a talented class of 14 newcomers rated as the top recruiting class in the nation by Top Drawer Soccer. Five of the newcomers are transfers from programs such as New Mexico, San Francisco, Coastal Carolina, and Portland, while another four Anteaters enter the mix after redshirting in their first year with the program in 2018. One newcomer, Jorge Hernandez, joined the 'Eaters after signing an NLI and playing in the exhibition matches before signing a pro contract and starting for L.A. Galaxy II since late September

With a... 
...point, UCI would lock up a top-2 finish earning a first round bye in the Big West Tournament
...win, UCI would solidify at least a share of the Big West title and be the No. 1 seed in the tournament next week
...result, UCI would end a four-match losing streak to CSUN and likely end their season in need of a win for a postseason chance

CSUN MATADORS
The Matadors are in dire straits winless in their last five matches with back-to-back draws vs. UCR and UCSB to drop them just out of a tournament spot with 5 points (1-3-2) and a 6-7-3 mark overall. CSUN had a hot scoring start to the season and even have the only win against Washington. The dangerous Daniel Trejo and Johnny Rodriguez has eight goals apiece this season, but combined for one in Big West matches. Julio Rubio's nine assists lead the conference, but just one in the last six matches. The goalkeeping has been split evenly between Paul Lewis and David Preys with Preys starting all six Big West matches allowing six goals with 27 saves. CSUN does have a four-match win streak against UCI coming into Saturday, and head coach Yossi Raz is still looking for his first point against his alma mater.

CSUN is in desperate need of a win Saturday night as a draw will not get them a bid, and even that won't guarantee a tournament berth. They would need a win coupled with either UC Riverside taking at least a point from CSF or a loss from Sac State up at UC Davis.