UC Irvine Kicks off Big West Tournament on Thursday

Thursday, November 4

Irvine, Calif.

7:30 PM

UC Irvine

UC Santa Barbara

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UC Irvine Kicks off Big West Tournament on Thursday

November 02, 2021 | Women's Soccer

Big West Tournament Semifinals
No. 1 UC Irvine (13-5-0, 8-2-0 Big West) vs.
No. 4 UC Santa Barbara (8-8-3, 6-3-1 Big West)
Date: Thursday, Nov. 4
Time: 7:30 p.m. (PDT)
Location: Anteater Stadium - Irvine, Calif.
Watch on ESPN+ // Live Stats // Tickets

UC Irvine Notes // Big West Tournament Central

Serving as the host institution for the Big West Tournament, top-seeded UC Irvine begins its postseason journey on Thursday, Nov. 4, when it faces No. 4 seed UC Santa Barbara in a semifinal match at Anteater Stadium.

Storylines
· UC Irvine is making its 13th appearance in the Big West Tournament, and 10th under 14th-year head coach Scott Juniper. The Anteaters are 4-6-2 all-time in semifinal games, advancing to the championship in 1996, 1997, 2010, 2011 and 2016. They have won one Big West Tournament title, which came in 1997 with a 3-2 double overtime win against Cal Poly.
· Scarlett Camberos registered at least one point in each of the last seven matches of the regular season. During that stretch, she had eight goals and three assists. She produced the 15th and 16th hat tricks in program history at Hawai'i (Oct. 14) and at CSU Bakersfield (Oct. 21), joining Hall-of-Famer Nicole Bucciarelli as the only 'Eaters all-time with multiple three-goal games. Camberos also jumped into the UC Irvine records in single-season scoring with 31 points so far to rank sixth all-time. She is the first 10-goal scorer for the Anteaters since Laura McGrail in 2014, and the seventh with 12 or more goals scored. Camberos currently leads all Big West players in goals and points, and is tops on the team in assists (7).
· Camberos and Amber Huff both surpassed 50 career matches played over the final week of the regular season. They are the 91st and 92nd Anteaters all-time to reach that milestone. Nine 'Eaters have also logged over 1,000 minutes in 2021, led by Gianna Creighton at 1,609. Camberos also has 1,543 minutes played, and is joined by Glo Hinojosa, Maddy Chavez, Chloe Ragon, Lilli Rask, Destinee Manzo, Alex Jaquez and Kiera Smeenge.
· Senior keeper Glo Hinojosa enters the tournament as the Big West leader in wins (13), goals against average (0.78), save percentage (.790) and shutouts (7).
· UCI has seen a lot of firsts in 2021 with 12 different players recording their first career point and 10 scoring their first career goal. Most recently, Suus de Bakker recorded her first career goal and points at CSUN on Oct. 24. In goal, Hinojosa has earned her first career wins and shutouts in 2021.
· There have been 14 UCI debuts this season, 12 making collegiate debuts, including four from international players with Laila El Behery from Egypt, Sophie Gillies from England, Aveka Singh from India, and Suus de Bakker from the Netherlands. El Behery played in qualifiers with the under-20 Egyptian squad earlier in the season, and just recently earned her first call-up to the senior national team playing in the African Women's Championship.

13 - UCI has won 13 Big West Player of the Week awards in 2021; 4 offensive, 2 defensive and 7 freshman honors
82 - The Anteaters have totaled 82 points (25-10-7) in conference play over the last five seasons, the most of any Big West school
0.78 - Fourth-year keeper Glo Hinojosa enters the tournament with a Big West-leading 0.78 goals against average
20 - Twenty Anteaters have recorded a point in 2021, along with 13 different goal scorers and 10 scoring their first-ever goal
10-2 - UCI has a 10-2 record against Big West opponents in 2021, and a 7-2 mark in road matches

Big West Tournament
· Heading into the final week of the regular season, UC Irvine was third in the standings, but with their shutout wins over UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly, the Anteaters were able to clinch a share of the conference championship and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Big West Tournament. It was the program's fourth regular-season title, all of which have come under head coach Scott Juniper.
· As the No. 1 seed, UCI will host the entire Big West Tournament at Anteater Stadium. The 'Eaters are set to open postseason play in Thursday's second semifinal match, squaring off against fourth-seeded UC Santa Barbara at 7:30 p.m.
· UC Santa Barbara finished the regular season with an 8-8-3 overall record and a 6-3-1 mark in conference play. The Gauchos punched their ticket to the Big West Tournament with a 2-1 win at Long Beach State in the regular-season finale on Sunday, Oct. 31. UCSB has 17 goals on the year with 12 coming in Big West matches. Those 17 goals have been spread out among 11 players. Emma Vanderhyden leads the squad with three goals, four assists and 10 points. Goalkeeper Evann Smith has anchored the defense with a 1.06 goals against average, seven shutouts and 68 saves.
· UCI trails in its all-time series with UCSB, 21-13-3, but won this year's regular-season meeting, 1-0, last Thursday, Oct. 28. Amber Huff scored the game-winner on an assist from Scarlett Camberos in the 66th minute. The two teams have met once in the Big West Tournament with the Gauchos winning a 2018 semifinal match, 1-0.
· No. 2 seed Cal Poly and No. 3 seed Cal State Fullerton are also set to face each other in the first semifinal Thursday at 5 p.m. The winners of the two semifinal matches will advance to the championship game, which is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start at Anteater Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 7.

2021 Season Notes
· UC Irvine's 13 overall victories are the most in the Big West. It marks the eighth 10-win season in head coach Scott Juniper's 14 years at the helm. UCI has also secured its 10th winning season in that span.
· On Sept. 16, the Anteaters earned their first win against Cal in the two programs' 13th all-time meeting. On the road, the 'Eaters handed the Golden Bears, who were receiving votes in the national polls at the time, their first loss of the season. In the 1-0 double-overtime victory, it was Julia Gonzalez who netted the game-winner in the 104th minute. It was the 13th result under head coach Scott Juniper against the Pac-12 (9 wins, 4 draws), and first win over a Pac-12 school since Oregon in 2017.
· The home opener was all UCI, winning 6-0 over Southern Utah on Aug. 22. It was the program's most goals scored in a game since 2010, which was also a 6-0 victory against UC Davis. The Anteaters went on to match that total in a 6-1 road win at CSUN on Oct. 24. The victory over the Matadors capped an 11-goal week as the 'Eaters also routed CSU Bakersfield, 5-0, on Oct. 21.
· Of UCI's 13 goal scorers, 10 have recorded their first career tally in Sophie Gillies, Desiree Mendoza, Chloe Ragon, Alyssa Moore, Laila El Behery, Lilli Rask, Destinee Manzo, Kiera Smeenge, Autumn Thompkins and Suus de Bakker. Eight posted their first collegiate points along with five others who did so on assists; Sarah Ralston, Maddy Chavez, Gianna Creighton, Jenae Perez, and Mihaela Perez.
· The Big West Preseason Coaches Poll projected the Anteaters to finish in a tie for third with UC Santa Barbara. It was the fourth-straight year the 'Eaters were picked in the top four in the preseason poll. They also drew four first-place votes which led all teams in the poll. The 11-player Preseason All-Big West team included fourth-year forward Scarlett Camberos and third-year midfielder Gianna Creighton.
· The Anteaters have 18 returners, including 15 who played minutes for UCI prior to the 2021 season. Joining the 18 returners are 18 newcomers, 15 of which are freshmen. Eight of those freshmen joined the squad in 2020, while 10 have joined the fold for 2021, including transfers from Oregon, Air Force, and Nevada.

Student-Athlete Notes
· The Anteaters celebrated their 11 2021 seniors - Scarlett Camberos, Amber Huff, Alex Jaquez, Maddy Chavez, Julia Gonzalez, Destinee Manzo, Glo Hinojosa, Piper Wurth, Sam Nieto, Ryan Verhoeven, and Jay Her - following the UC Davis match on Oct. 17.
· The new 'Eaters add to the team's international flavor with freshmen Suus de Bakker from the Netherlands, national team members Aveka Singh from India and Laila El Behery of Egypt, and Sophie Gillies from England. The roster is also flushed with players connected to Canada, Mexico, Ireland, Ghana, Guam, and Thailand.
· With a canceled 2020 season, women's soccer still pushed through placing 47 student-athletes on the Fall, Winter, and Spring Dean's Lists. Fifteen different 'Eaters earned Dean's List honors in at least two quarters, and 10 were recognized for all three quarters including current players Maddie Lauro, Maddy Chavez, Sarah Javorsky, Kiera Smeenge, Destinee Manzo, Alyssa Moore, Sarah Ralston, and Halli Stewart.
· Eleven different majors are represented among the 29 'Eaters who have declared, with the most common being Sociology (10). Four Anteaters are also Public Health Policy majors. UCI alum, Shelby Lee, was a PHP major toward her nursing school aspirations while she was the Big West's representative at National SAAC conferences where she has spoken on panels regarding mental health and helped toward the Time Management Plan that is currently in place to help student-athletes. Among the other 'Eaters are three Psychological Science majors, two newcomers as Biomedical Engineering majors, as well as Education, Film & Media Studies, Engineering, Social Ecology, and Literary Journalism.
· Maddy Chavez leads the way in academic exploits earning scholarships over the past year in the social justice leaders category; specifically the Houts Family and Maxine E Nevin Leider scholarships. Chavez is 1 of 4 Anteaters that are currently Criminology, Law, & Society majors.

Stats To Watch
· Scarlett Camberos leads the team with 12 goals, seven assists, and 31 points. She also leads the conference in points, goals and shots on goal (36). Her recent scoring surge has put her among the top-20 in the nation in goals (T18th) and points (T15th).
· Two veterans lead the way in career matches played as Camberos has 53 under her belt, including 36 as a starter. Midfielder Amber Huff has also played 52 career matches. The leader in starts is Alex Jaquez with 37 in 47 matches.
· Glo Hinojosa has recorded all 13 UCI wins in 2021 including her first seven career shutouts. She's stopped 49 shots, and has posted a Big West-leading 0.78 goals against average. Hinojosa saw a season-long scoreless streak of 335 minutes snapped at Hawai'i, but enters this week's tournament not having allowed a goal in the last 253:03.
· Head Coach Scott Juniper is back with his staff for his 16th year with the program and 15th at the helm. Juniper is the program's all-time winningest coach with 146 wins and four Big West titles, while his teams have produced a Big West-leading 82 points in conference play since 2016.

Fans In The Stands
· In accordance with updated public health guidance regarding COVID-19, UC Irvine Athletics events will be at full-seating capacity for the upcoming 2021-22 season. Athletics will align with the latest state guidance regarding indoor and outdoor events as well as county, city, and campus directives.
· All matches at Anteater Stadium will be broadcast on ESPN+ for 2021 following the new Big West deal. David Gascon will be on the call for each game, and links to watch and follow along can be found on ucirvinesports.com or @UCIwsoc social media.
· In 2019, UC Irvine women's soccer set a program record with a regular-season crowd of 1,704 fans on site to watch UCI take on No. 4 UCLA. It was the fourth-largest crowd in Anteater Stadium history behind three postseason matches by the men's soccer program.

'Eaters Playing Professionally
· Laila El Behery played in u20 Women's World Cup qualifying with the Egyptian under-20 National Team. She was overseas for both legs of their tie with the Republic of Congo, falling 4-2 in aggregate, and missing matches vs. UC San Diego and at Long Beach State. A second Anteater also returned to national team action as alum Jessica Miclat rejoined the Philippines national team defeating Nepal and Hong Kong, 2-1, to qualify for the 2022 Women's Asian Cup, which will serve as a qualifier for the 2023 Women's World Cup.
· Kiana Palacios and Janelly Farias have joined forces for Club America in Mexico's top league. The duo opened the season on July 18, each scoring a goal in the club's 2-1 win over Santos Laguna. This is Farias' second season with the club after previously playing with her hometown Chivas Guadalajara. Palacios joined this season after three with Spain's Real Sociedad. Both also play with the Mexican Senior National Team.
· Mady Solow has been playing professionally since graduating in 2013, starting in Italy and stints with the Polish National Team. She spent a season in Switzerland with FC Basel before settling back in Italy with Hellas Verona for a second season now.
· Cami Privett is stateside now in her fifth season with the Houston Dash as a midfielder and defender. She first joined the club after an open tryout right after graduating from UCI in 2014. She was loaned out to a Norwegian club for 2017 and then to Spain in the same league as Palacios for 2018-19 before returning to Houston where she's stayed and made 19 appearances.
· Jessica Miclat finished up in 2019 and set off on the global scene. She had been part of the Philippines National Team since her junior year and participated in international tournaments and World Cup qualifiers. She continues to work with them, but also signed on with Danish club, Aalborg, late last season. The season for her and the club began in August.