Big West Tournament Semifinals
No. 6 UC Riverside (9-7-2, 3-4-2 Big West) at
No. 2 UC Irvine (8-7-3, 6-1-2 Big West)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 6
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Anteater Stadium - Irvine, Calif.
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UC Irvine Notes // Big West Tournament Central

As the No. 2 seed in the Big West Tournament, UC Irvine received a first-round bye and will host sixth-seeded UC Riverside in a 7 p.m. semifinal match Saturday, Nov. 6, at Anteater Stadium.

Storylines
· The 'Eaters enter the postseason on a seven-match unbeaten streak as they are 5-0-2 since Oct. 6. UCI's 1-0 victory over Cal State Fullerton in the regular-season finale last Saturday, coupled with a UC Santa Barbara loss, gave the Anteaters a share of the Big West title. Ryan Khedoo scored the game-winner in the 62nd minute, while Gordon Botterill had six saves, including a huge stop on a Titan penalty kick with just over 11 minutes remaining. It marked the program's sixth regular-season conference championship and second under head coach Yossi Raz.
· The Anteaters' goalkeeping unit has been stellar, led by Botterill, who is tops in the Big West with a 0.63 goals against average and .868 save percentage. Those marks also put him at No. 7 and No. 2 in all of NCAA Division I, respectively. Botterill has been part of six of UCI's seven shutouts with five being solo clean sheets. Luke Pruter also recorded his first win at USD and saved nine shots in his first career start. He followed that up with 13 saves in a loss at Stanford for the second-highest single-game total in program history. Pruter also earned a solo shutout, while recording an assist, in a 2-0 win vs. UC Riverside. Together, Botterill and Pruter have UC Irvine at the top of the Big West leaderboard in saves (88), save percentage (.830) and shutouts (7).
· UCI's 2021 season has been a team effort with 19 different 'Eaters earning points. For 11 of them, it was their first career points, and of the 15 unique goal scorers, 11 have put home the first of their Anteater careers. In addition, six different players have delivered the eight game-winners. Overall, 11 'Eaters made their collegiate debuts in 2021 with nine producing points.
· 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.
 
6th - UC Irvine won its 6th Big West championship, clinching a share of the title in the regular-season finale
88 - UCI keepers lead the Big West with 88 saves between Botterill and Pruter, including three outings with nine or more stops
19 - The Anteaters have gotten a point from 19 different players in 2021 with 15 unique goal scorers
#1 - Coach Raz's 2019 recruiting class was ranked #1 in the nation with six on the 2021 roster and two now playing pro
5-0-2 - UCI is riding a seven-match unbeaten streak, going 5-0-2 and outscoring its opponents, 13-3, during that stretch
2nd - Gordon Botterill's save percentage of 86.8% ranks 2nd nationally, while he also has the seventh-best GAA at 0.63

Big West Tournament
· This is UC Irvine's 10th overall, and third-straight, appearance in the Big West Tournament. After locking up the No. 2 seed, the 'Eaters received a first-round bye and will square off against sixth-seeded UC Riverside in the semifinals Saturday (Nov. 6) at Anteater Stadium. UCI owns a 5-1-1 all-time record in Big West semifinal matches, and is 1-0-0 against UC Riverside in the postseason.
· The Anteaters have advanced to the Big West championship game on five occasions, and are unbeaten in those outings at 4-0-1. UCI hoisted the trophy in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2013, while finishing in a scoreless tie against Cal State Fullerton in 2014. The Titans ended up winning the title on penalty kicks.
· UC Riverside upset third-seeded Cal Poly, 1-0, on the road in first-round action. Leopoldo Hernandez scored the game-winner in the 54th minute. On the season, Oscar Penate leads the Highlanders with five goals and 12 points. Carlos Gonzalez has seen most of the action in between the posts, where he has seven wins, four shutouts and a 1.24 goals against average.
· UCI leads in its all-time series with UCR, 22-11-3. The 'Eaters won the regular-season meeting, defeating the Highlanders, 2-0, in their Big West opener on Sept. 29. It was the Anteaters' fourth-straight victory in the series, and they have outscored UCR, 11-1, during that stretch.

2021 To This Point
· UCI added its seventh and eighth weekly awards of the season with Ryan Khedoo being named the Big West Offensive Player of the Week and Gordon Botterill the Defensive Player of the Week following their performances in the 1-0 win at Cal State Fullerton. Khedoo scored the game-winner in the 62nd minute, while Botterill had six saves, including a diving stop on a Titan penalty kick with just over 11 minutes remaining. It was Botterill's third defensive accolade, while Khedoo joined Ashish Chattha, Beto Alvarenga and Kelvin Neumetzler as offensive honorees. Jake Means was also tabbed the Big West Freshman of the Week on Oct. 11.
· 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 as UCI found its stride in Big West play where over the final seven matches, it went 5-0-2 and outscored its opponents, 13-3.
· UCI has 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.
· In the 2021 Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll, the 'Eaters were projected to finish third behind UCSB and UC Davis, who tied for first. UCI was one of six teams to receive a first-place vote. The 11-player All-Big West Preseason squad also featured a pair of Anteaters for the third-straight season. Sophomores Eddy Berumen and Oscar Cervantes represented the 'Eaters after each finished 2019 as members of the Big West All-Freshman Team.

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.

Stats To Watch
· 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 ranks second in all of NCAA Division I with a .868 save percentage, and is seventh in goals against average (0.63). He has logged 1,286 minutes in between the posts and earned six of the team's eight wins.
· Two veterans lead the way in matches played with fifth-year forward Lawrence Yamaguchi at 66 matches (25 starts), and Michael Orozco at 57 (49 starts). Others include Beto Alvarenga - 19 starts in 48 caps, Axel Adler - 43 caps with nine starts, and 13 starts in 39 career appearances for Christian Bond-Flasza.
· Returning to the roster are 13 Anteaters, including 10 that played minutes for UCI prior to the 2021 season. Michael Orozco was the Anteaters' career scoring leader entering the campaign with three goals and eight points. Joining the 13 returners are 14 newcomers; seven who joined the squad in 2020 for the season that never happened, and seven more joining the fold for 2021, including three four-year transfers from Fairfield, Kansas City, and San Francisco. UCI lost seven from the 2020 roster including four signing pro contracts.
· Head Coach Yossi Raz is in his fifth year with the program and fourth season of competition (2020 season was canceled). Raz is 34-27-13 in his three-plus 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.
· 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 with the program in Eddy Berumen, Kwabena Boateng, Mario Anaya, Rafael Espinoza, Ricardo Ibarra, and Oscar Cervantes.
· Joining coach Raz on the sideline in 2021 is 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.

Fans in the Stands
· In accordance with CDPH guidance regarding COVID-19, UC Irvine Athletics events will be at full-seating capacity for the upcoming 2021-22 season. The first match vs. UCLA brought in 858 fans, the fourth-largest crowd during coach Raz's tenure.
· Effective Aug. 2, all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, will be required to wear a mask while indoors at UCI facilities.
· All home soccer matches in 2021 will be broadcast on ESPN+ following the Big West's new deal. Play-by-play broadcaster David Gascon will have all the action for fans.

Up Next
· The winners of the two semifinal matches - [2] UCI vs. [6] UCR and [1] UCSB vs. [5] UC Davis - will advance to next week's final.
· The highest remaining seed will host the championship match.