Big West Coach of the Year - Yossi Raz: 2nd honor (2018) | 5th for UCI
Big West Goalkeeper of the Year - Gordon Botterill: 3rd honor (2011 - Fontein, 2006 - Schoeni)
Big West Freshman of the Year - Francesco Montanile: 2nd honor (2008 - Fontein)

All-Big West
First Team
Gordon Botterill
Ashish Chattha
Second Team
Francesco Montanile
Mathias Winum
Honorable Mention
Beto Alvarenga
Ricardo Ibarra
All-Freshman Team
Francesco Montanile
Mathias Winum
 
The Anteaters' season ended in a loss in the Big West Final ending 2021 with an 8-8-4 record and share of Big West regular season title

Season Notes
· UC Irvine men's soccer's 2021 season ends in the Big West Final falling to fellow regular season champs, UC Santa Barbara, on their home field.
· UCI finished 8-8-4 giving head coach Yossi Raz a non-losing record in all four seasons. The Anteaters have earned 60 Big West points in four seasons with three straight top-3 finishes. Along with a 6-1-2 Big West record to earn a share of the Big West regular season title, coach Raz won his second Big West Coach of the Year honor and fifth for UCI in the Big West.
· Kelvin Neumetzler leads the Anteaters with five goals and 12 points. His team-best goal total has come on only 16 shots (.500 SOG%). Ashish Chattha ranks second with four goals and 10 points, while Oscar Delgado, Ricardo Ibarra and Oscar Cervantes are tied for the team lead with three assists each.
· Goalkeeper Gordon Botterill took home Big West Goalkeeper of the Year status, third time in UCI history, as he ranks eighth in all of NCAA Division I with a .810 save percentage. He was among the Big West leaders with a .908 GAA, four saves per match, five shutouts, a 6-5-4 record, and 0.40 GAA in Big West action. Together with freshman Luke Pruter, UCI's goalkeeping led the conference with 93 saves, each with a 10+-save match
· Another major award earned by the Anteaters was Big West Freshman of the Year for Francesco Montanile. The attacker appeared in all 20 matches starting 15 and 1 of 9 'Eaters to play over 1,000 minutes. Montanile posted all six points in Big West play scoring twice including the game-winner over CSU Bakersfield and a second in the Big West Semifinal. He added two assists, all for his first goal, assist, and point of his collegiate career.
· UCI won eight weekly awards on the season with four Offensive Players of the Week—Kelvin Neumetzler, Beto Alvarenga, Ashish Chattha, and the final week of the season for Ryan Khedoo—three Defensive Players of the Week—all going to keeper Gordon Botterill, and the program's first Big West Freshman of the Week for Jake Means.
 
6th - UC Irvine won a share of its 6th Big West regular-season title, 2nd now under head coach Yossi Raz
93 - UCI keepers led the Big West with 93 saves between Botterill and Pruter, including three outings with 9+ stops
0 - Head Coach Yossi Raz has led the Anteaters for four seasons and had 0 losing seasons finishing 2021 at 8-8-4
 #1 - Coach Raz's 2019 recruiting class was ranked #1 in the nation with six on the 2021 roster and two now playing pro
19 - The 2021 Anteaters had 19 different players earn a point, 15 different goal scorers, and 11 first-time goal scorers
8th - Gordon Botterill finished 8th in the nation and tops in the Big West with a save percentage of 81%
 
Student-Athlete Notes
· Among the new Anteaters is some international flavor including a pair of freshmen from Norway in Victor Sandsmark-Evensen and Mathias Winum, and four-year transfers Gordon Botterill, originally from Switzerland, and Ryan Khedoo, originally from Canada while also recently playing with the Guyana National Team. Luke Pruter grew up in Ireland, while the 'Eaters also have international ties to Mexico, India, Hong Kong, Japan and Germany.
· With no soccer in 2020-21, the 'Eaters still pushed through graduating five, and placing 16 on the Dean's List between Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters. Eddy Berumen and Kelvin Neumetzler appeared on all three Dean's Lists in 2020-21. In 2019, Berumen, Beto Alvarenga and Lawrence Yamaguchi earned Big West All-Academic honors.
· Of the 22 'Eaters that have declared, 12 different majors are represented with the most common being Business Economics and Sociology/Social Ecology with six members each.
· The pair of grad transfers to the program will each be working towards their master's degrees during the season. Gordon Botterill begins the highly-acclaimed Master's in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, while Ryan Khedoo is pursuing a Master's in Demographic and Social Analysis (DASA).
· A pair of Anteaters are currently double majors in Lawrence Yamaguchi for International Studies and Sociology, and Kelvin Neumetzler in Psychology and Business Economics.
· Among the other fields UCI men's soccer players are studying toward are three Criminology, Law, & Society majors, two International Studies, two Business Administration, and solos in Education, Public Health Science, and Computer Game Science.

Anteater Numbers
· Anteater veterans led the way in matches played topped by fifth-year forward, Lawrence Yamaguchi at 68 matches starting 25 times. Senior Michael Orozco made his 50th start in the Big West Final finishing with 59 matches. Other notables were Beto Alvarenga playing his 50th career match in the Big West final which included 21 starts. Axel Adler ended his five years as an 'Eater with 45 caps and nine starts. Fellow fifth-year Christian Bond-Flasza started his 15th match in the Final finishing with 41 appearances. Twenty of 24 Anteaters earned a spot in the starting XI at some point in the season with 11 'Eaters earning 10 or more starts.
· Anteater newcomers made major impacts on the 2021 season. Two freshmen made an appearance in all 20 matches - Francesco Montanile and Mathias Winum - who were each honored on the All-Big West squad and All-Freshman Team.
· The Anteaters began the regular season going 0-4-1 with one goal scored, and entered Big West play at 2-6-1. Those losses included three on the road, three by one goal, and two vs. ranked squads. The tough non-conference competition paid off with a 6-2-3 record against the Big West including an eight-match unbeaten stretch. Including Big West's representative UCSB, the 'Eaters finished with four opponents making the NCAA Tournament in addition to UCLA, Loyola Maryland, and national seed, Georgetown.
· UCI had a pair of five-goal matches this season, tying the most goals scored under head coach Yossi Raz. The 2021 Anteaters defeated Dixie State (Sept. 12) and CSU Bakersfield (Oct. 16), 5-0. The team's previous five-goal performance was in Coach Raz's first win in 2017, when they defeated Northern Kentucky, 5-2. In addition UC Irvine's five-goal margin of victory was the most since a 7-2 win over Cal State Fullerton on Oct. 23, 2010.
· Entering the 2019 season, coach Raz's recruiting class was ranked No. 1 in the nation by Top Drawer Soccer. From that class, two players are currently on pro sides - Roberto Molina at Las Vegas Lights FC and Jorge Hernandez with L.A. Galaxy II - and six are still 'Eaters in Eddy Berumen, Kwabena Boateng, Mario Anaya, Rafael Espinoza, Ricardo Ibarra, and Oscar Cervantes.
 · Head Coach Yossi Raz is in his fifth year with the program and fourth of competition (2020 season was canceled). Raz is 42-35-17 in his four seasons at the helm without any losing campaigns. His teams have won two Big West regular-season titles (2018, 2021) and made a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2018.
· Joining coach Raz on the sideline in 2021 was a reformed coaching staff led by Cale Rodriguez as top assistant coach. Yonha Adrabi has been elevated from volunteer goalkeeper coach to assistant. Joining the program as the new volunteer assistant is Kostas Kyriazis, and director of operations Gemar Lezeau, both coming from the New York Red Bulls coaching ranks.

'Eaters Playing Professionally
· Former Anteaters have made big strides in the professional ranks recently, including Daniel Crisostomo, who has 17 appearances and five starts with LAFC this season. Alvaro Quezada was also drafted in the third round by LAFC, and has played alongside Crisostomo on one occasion. Roberto Molina made his debut with the El Salvador national team in a friendly, and started in another friendly vs. Guatemala, while also continuing to compete with and captain the USL Las Vegas Lights FC.
· UC Irvine men's soccer alums currently account for 16 'Eaters playing professionally across five countries. The United States holds the largest contingent of Anteaters still playing. Alvaro Quezada was drafted in early 2021 by LAFC and signed with them. He is currently being loaned to Las Vegas Lights FC alongside fellow 'Eaters Daniel Crisostomo and Roberto Molina for the USL Championship side. On Wednesday, August 6, LAFC added Crisostomo to the club signing him. Later that evening in LAFC's match vs. Sporting KC, he was on the bench alongside Quezada before Quezada heard his named called for his first MLS minutes entering in the 68th minute and finishing out the match nearly collecting an assist in his debut. Quezada becomes the seventh Anteater all-time to record minutes with and MLS club. Crisostomo later became the eighth Anteater to play in an MLS game entering for LAFC in the 81st minute August 15 at Atlanta United FC.
· Molina earned a call-up to the El Salvadorian National Team last month playing in a friendly against Costa Rica hoping for an invite to the World Cup Qualifiers in September. Other 'Eaters on national teams have been Lester Hayes III playing for the Puerto Rico national team in World Cup Qualifier wins over Bahamas and Puerto Rico. Miguel Ibarra also spent time with the U.S. national team entering in three friendlies. Brad Evans also played in 21 caps adding a goal in a WCQ vs. Jamaica.
· The USL Championship level is home to eight Anteaters including the three in Las Vegas. Cameron Iwasa continues his run with Sacramento Republic FC which will make the jump to MLS  soon. Elsewhere is Thomas Janjigian with Hartford Athletic, Tarek Morad at Oakland Roots, Ford Parker at Birmingham Legion FC, and long-time MLS pro Miguel Ibarra at San Diego Loyal FC.
· Below the USL Championship is USL League One containing a pair of 'Eaters with Victor Falck in his second season with Richmond Kickers and 2020 grad Luca Mastrantonio with FC Tucson. Within the NISA league stands two more 'Eaters with Giovanni Ramos-Godoy at Stumptown AC and Los Angeles Force's Seamus McLaughlin.
· Four Anteaters are thriving globally starting with the most successful in Lester Hayes III. He's found himself in Denmark with new club Dalum FC before heading to his current Danish club, Middlefart. He took part in Gold Cup qualifiers with Puerto Rico scoring once in his two matches. Prior to that, he spent three years in Spain with two different ninth-tier clubs as one of their top goalscorers. Darren Hamilton continues his career back in England now with Whitley Bay FC of England's ninth tier. Making his way with Latvia's Super Nova is long-time forward Renato Torquato. Former keeper Bryan Tian Keat See, who spent one season with the 'Eaters, is on his third club in southeast Asia now with Pulum Pinang in Malaysia.