FIRST TOUCHES 
UC Irvine was unable to capture a second straight Big West title falling in its regular season finale, 1-0, to CSUN in Anteater Stadium Saturday. The Anteaters will have a chance for immediate payback hosting the Matadors in the first round of the Big West Tournament    
#12 - UCI's RPI sits at 37 while taking on the #12 toughest schedule to this point in the nation. The Anteaters finished 2018 with the 22nd-toughest schedule nationally and an RPI of 23

40% - Saturday night's shutout loss snapped a string of 10 straight matches with a UCI goal dating back to Sept. 20. UCI's 10 goals in conference were second behind UCSB (13), but UCI scored 40% of their goals in Big West play, more than any other school with UCSB 2nd (37%) and CSUN last (15%)

10-2-2 - UC Irvine is in the Big West Tournament for the eighth time in program history boasting a 10-2-2 record. The 'Eaters are 7-1-2 in tournament matches in Anteater Stadium, 4-0-1 when reaching the final winning four titles, and combined record of 8-2-2 against teams in this year's field including a win in the only meeting against CSUN
 
STORYLINES 
The Anteaters finished the regular season 7-6-5 and with 13 points in Big West play (4-2-1) to finish in third place. It's the 12th time the 'Eaters have finished in the top three in the Big West and third time since 2012. UCI was projected to finish second in the preseason.

The Anteaters return to the Big West Tournament for the ninth time where they have an all-time record of 10-2-2. UCI is making its third appearance in the first round where it is 1-1. The Anteaters made the tournament for the first time under head coach Yossi Raz in 2018 failing to advance in the semifinals as they played to a 0-0 draw with UC Davis who advanced on penalty kicks

Entering the tournament, the 'Eater offense scored 25 goals, third-most in the conference, while taking the most shots, 260 and 14.4 per match. The team's scoring leader, Christian Gutierrez, is seventh with his six goals and 10th with 12 points. His 48 shots are third with 2.67 per match, seventh. The Anteaters' assist leader, Eder Oliva, is also 10th with four. On the defensive side, UCI's 1.03 goals-against-average is third-best while allowing 3.94 shots on goal per match, third-least behind UC Davis (3.88) and Cal Poly (3.44). Ford Parker has all seven Anteater wins and four shutouts on the season ranking third in the conference in keeper minutes (1,633) and sixth in saves (45). As a team, UCI commits the least number of fouls, 10.8 per match, and issued the least number of yellow cards with 24

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

CSUN MATADORS
CSUN turned their entire season around with a 1-0 win at UC Irvine Saturday night breathing new life with a Big West Tournament berth, and now looks to replicate Saturday's result and advance. They come in at 7-7-3 overall and in sixth place. The Matadors were fourth place finishers in 2018 bowing out of that tournament in the first round The schools have met once in previous tournaments coming in Anteater Stadium in the 2013 Big West Final, that UCI won, 1-0. CSUN is riding a five-match winning streak against the 'Eaters having won all four matches in the Yossi Raz era. Freshman Marvin Arias provided the big goal Saturday night, the first of his career and fourth CSUN goal in conference. CSUN ranks second with 27 goals overall while its 1.41 GAA is second-highest allowing 25 goals and 96 total shots on goal.

BIG WEST TOURNAMENT
UC Davis locked up the regular season title and No. 1 seed. They'll match up with the winner of Cal State Fullerton at Cal Poly in the semifinals. UC Irvine earns a trip to No. 2 seed UC Santa Barbara on Saturday should it advance. The 2018 champions, UC Riverside, did not make the cut. UCI last made the final in 2014 falling on PKs. The last tournament title for the Anteaters was the 2013 win over CSUN

With a... 
...win or advancing on PKs, UCI would head to UC Santa Barbara for the semifinal to be played Saturday, November 9
...win, UCI would win its 11th tournament match improving on its lead in Big West Tournament victories among the conference schools
...loss, UCI would be eliminated from the tournament and await their fate of the NCAA Selection Show on Monday, November 17