UC Irvine Heads to San Diego, UNLV This Week

Wednesday, September 15

San Diego, Calif.

7:00 PM

UC Irvine

San Diego

kwabena-boateng-montanile-uci-msoc-2021-dixie-state-usd-unlv

Photo by: Matt Brown

UC Irvine Heads to San Diego, UNLV This Week

September 14, 2021 | Men's Soccer

By: Alex Roberts-Croteau

This Week in UC Irvine Men's Soccer
*UC Irvine (1-4-1) at San Diego (1-5)*		Matchup	*UC Irvine (1-4-1) at UNLV (3-3)*
Wednesday, September 15		Date	Sunday, September 19
San Diego, Calif.		Location	Las Vegas, Nev.
Torero Stadium	Tickets	*Fan Information*	Peter Johann Memorial Field	Tickets
		Promotion	Johann Memorial Classic
7:00 PM		Kickoff	7:00 PM
WCC Network		How to Watch	ESPN+
Live Stats		Live Stats	Live Stats
*Anteaters*	*Toreros*	Match Notes	*Anteaters*	*Rebels*
Social Media: @UCImsoc @UCImsoc UC Irvine Men's Soccer #RipEm #TogetherWeZot

2021 Awards Central

The 'Eaters are coming off their first two results of 2021, and now begin a three-match stretch to finish off non-conference play on the road heading to San Diego and UNLV this week.

Storylines
· UCI's first two weekly awards came as Kelvin Neumetzler's two-goal game garnered Big West Offensive Player of the Week notoriety and keeper Gordon Botterill scored a shutout and his first win as an 'Eater in a draw with Omaha and win over Dixie State stopping three shots in total to be named Big West Defensive Player of the Week.
· Anteater keeper Gordon Botterill picked up his first shutout and victory in an Anteater uniform last week giving him 61 career wins and 25 career clean sheets. He stopped 10 shots in his Anteater debut at No. 5 Georgetown producing the program's 17th match with 10 saves all-time. Among his saves was a penalty kick in the 63rd minute of MAC Hermann Preseason Watch List candidate Dante Polvara of Georgetown. Botterill is among the nation's best with 25 saves, seventh in the NCAA, and the sixth-most minutes played in the nation at 550:49. His save percentage (80.6%) and goals-against-average (0.98) both rank second among the Big West keepers.
· The Anteater offense busted out for five goals Sunday matching the most in a match under head coach Yossi Raz. Four goal scorers each earned their first career goals and points including a game-winner for Kwabena Boateng, a brace for Kelvin Neumetzler, and a goal and assist for Oscar Delgado. Jake Means added his first career goal, and an assist for Victor Sandsmark-Evensen was his first collegiate point as well.
· UC Irvine has had 11 players make their collegiate debuts including freshman starter Mathias Winum, off the bench with Francesco Montanile, Victor Sandsmark-Evensen, and Josh Kenworthy, Anteater redshirts Oscar Delgado, Mario Anaya, and Rafael Espinoza, and Barragan-Manzo as a JC transfer. Four-year transfers making Anteater debuts include Botterill, fellow starter Ryan Khedoo, and off the bench Ashish Chattha. Jake Means has come on late in the last four matches making his collegiate debut vs. UCLA. Sunday's win vs. Dixie State featured two collegiate debuts on freshmen Roman Warren along with Luke Pruter in goal making two saves in his 13 minutes of action to preserve the shutout.
· Wednesday's match coincides with UC Irvine Athletics' 10th annual Scott Brooks Golf Invitational, the department's signature event held to raise scholarship dollars and other vital support for the nationally-visible student-athletes at UCI championed by Anteater basketball great and NBA coach, Scott Brooks.

6 - The 2021 schedule includes 6 programs that have reached the NCAA Tournament in the last two years
4 - Sunday's 5-0 win saw five goals scored from 4 'Eaters scoring their first career goal and points at UCI
5 - UCI's 5 goals Sunday match the most in a match under coach Raz, largest margin of victory since 2010
6th - Keeper Gordon Botterill enters the week 6th nationally with 550:49 minutes and 7th in saves with 25
#1 - Coach Raz's 2019 recruiting class was ranked #1 in the nation with two now playing pro and six on the 2021 roster
2 - 2 'Eaters (Alvaro Quezada, Daniel Crisostomo) have made MLS debuts for LAFC in the 2021 season

This Week's Matches
· The 'Eaters start a three-game stretch on the road starting this week at USD Wednesday and Sunday night playing at UNLV at the Johann Memorial Classic.
· The week begins Wednesday at Torero Stadium taking on San Diego for the 31st match all-time. San Diego dominates the all-time series, but UCI has earned four wins and two draws in the last seven meetings. USD stumbled out of the game losing 7-1 to UC Santa Barbara in the opening match, and now stand 1-5 going 1-3 against the Big West, snagging a win from Bakersfield, and three more matchups with the Big West. Nicklas Clausen has been part of all four goals on the season including scoring each of the last three and eight of his 14 shots on target. Marley Mascarenas in net has stopped 18 shots, and has a sturdy senior crew in front of him in Praise Maduekwe, Till Stockman, and Michael Barrow.
· UNLV and UCI meet for the 25th time in their histories. UNLV has won 17 of the previous matches, but the 'Eaters are riding a four-match win streak in the series. The Rebels went 4-5-2 in the abbreviated season last year, and have started 2021 3-3 winning against its two Big West opponents, UCSD and Sac State, and close losses at Saint Mary's, Cal, and Pacific. Sunday will be just the second home match for UNLV and conclude their non-conference slate. The senior trio of Aedon Kyra (4 G, 1 A), Marco Gonzalez (2 G, 3 A), and Nicolas Likulia (3 G) have powered the offense. Keeper Lukas Betz has started five matches stopping 14 shots, but he has split the last two matches with fellow fourth-year Miguel Duenas Jr.

2021 To This Point
· UCI had a pair of shutouts drawing with Omaha and winning 5-0 vs. Dixie State last week.
· UCI's five-goal match matches the most goals scored under head coach Yossi Raz tying with the first win over coach Raz's UCI career in 2017 at Northern Kentucky, 5-2. The five goals at home and five-goal margin of victory are the first since the same match in 2010 defeating Cal State Fullerton, 7-2.
· UCI's four losses have seen three come on the road, three by one goal, and two against ranked squads.
· The Big West revealed its Preseason Coaches Poll and All-Big West Preseason squad last week. The 'Eaters are projected to finish third behind UCSB and UC Davis who are tied for first. The 'Eaters received one first-place vote and were one of six programs of the 10 in The Big West that earned a vote. The 11-player All-Big West Preseason squad featured a pair of Anteaters for the third straight season. Sophomores Eddy Berumen and Oscar Cervantes represented after each finished 2019 as members of the Big West All-Freshman Team.
· Returning to the roster are 13 Anteaters, 10 that have played minutes for UCI. Scoring leaders return including Michael Orozco with three goals and eight points. Lawrence Yamaguchi and Oscar Cervantes each bring six career points scoring twice and adding two assists. Cervantes has scored game-winners with each of his two goals. The 'Eaters enter 2021 with three keepers, but none that have any experience with the program. Joining the 13 returners are 14 newcomers; seven joined the squad in 2020 for the season that never happened, and seven more joined the fold for 2021 with 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 returns for his fifth year with the program and fourth Division I soccer season. Raz is 26-21-12 in his three seasons at the helm without any losing seasons including a Big West title and trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2018.

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, four-year transfers in Gordon Botterill, originally from Switzerland, and Ryan Khedoo, originally from Canada while also recently playing with the Guyana National Team. Another freshman, Francesco Montanile crossed stateliness from Arizona, and Luke Pruter grew up in Ireland. 'Eaters also have international ties to Mexico, India, Hong Kong, Japan, and Germany.
· With no soccer in 2020-21, men's soccer still pushed through graduating five Anteaters, and 16 'Eaters made Dean's List between Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters. Eddy Berumen and Kelvin Neumetzler were Anteaters that appeared on all three quarters of Dean's List in 2020-21. Three return of the seven that were Big West All-Academic in 2019 including Berumen, Beto Alvarenga, and Lawrence Yamaguchi.
· Of the 22 'Eaters that have declared a major, 12 different majors are represented with the most common as Business Economics and Sociology / Social Ecology with six members each.
· The pair of grad transfers to the program will each be working towards their grad school degrees during the season. Gordon Botterill begins the highly-acclaimed Master's in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Ryan Khedoo is pursuing DASA, or the Master's in Demographic and Social Analysis
· A pair of Anteaters are currently double majors in Lawrence Yamaguchi for International Studies and Sociology while Kelvin Neumetzler is in Psychology and Business Economics.
· Among the other fields Anteaters 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
· Gordon Botterill is among the nation's best with 25 saves, seventh in the NCAA, and the sixth-most minutes played in the nation at 550:49. His save percentage (80.6%) and goals-against-average (0.98) both rank second in the Big West
· Two veterans lead the way in matches played with fifth-year forward Lawrence Yamaguchi at 56 matches starting 23 while scoring leader Michael Orozco has started 44 times of the 45 matches he's appeared in. Others include Beto Alvarenga - six starts in 36 caps, Axel Adler - 32 caps with six starts, and six starts in 27 career appearances for Christian Bond-Flasza.
· Third-year sophomores played big roles in 2019 with Ricardo Ibarra, Oscar Cervantes, and Eddy Berumen all playing over 17 matches. Berumen started 13 times with a pair of assists, Ibarra made five starts, but collected five points including a goal, and Cervantes had a pair of game-winning goals and two assists while starting 10 times and earning Big West All-Freshman honors along with Berumen.
· The 'Eaters lose quite a bit including 20 of their 27 goals scored from 2019. Cervantes and Orozco each scored two of the seven returning goals. Orozco and Boateng also return to the back line that loses two center backs,
· In goal, the 'Eaters equip three keepers, all newcomers to the program with a pair of freshmen in Cody Aung and Luke Pruter, and Gordon Botterill was a four-year starter and four-year all-league at Fairfield posting 24 clean sheets in 60 career matches who joins as a graduate student.
· 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 those remaining in Eddy Berumen, Kwabena Boateng, Mario Anaya, Rafael Espinoza, Ricardo Ibarra, and Oscar Cervantes.

Fans In The Stands
· UC Irvine soccer and Anteater Stadium welcomes back 100% capacity attendance for the 2021 season. 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. The first match vs. UCLA brought in 858 fans, the fourth-largest crowd during coach Raz's tenure.
· All home soccer matches in 2021 will be broadcasted on ESPN+ following the Big West's new deal. Play-by-play broadcaster David Gascon will have all the action for fans.
· Joining coach Raz on the sideline is a reformed coaching staff led by Cale Rodriguez as top assistant coach. Yonha Adrabi has elevated from volunteer goalkeeper coach to assistant. Joining 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
· 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 who now plays in Torero Stadium where UCI will be Wednesday night for the 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. 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.