• The Anteaters followed up a monumental 2021 season with an even better 2022 campaign. The 'Eaters took advantage of the first season with six Big West Tournament berths and rode that to a second straight Big West title and automatic NCAA berth. UCI upset a ranked Pac-12 school in the first round for a second straight year downing USC, 2-0, and following that up by advancing to the Sweet Sixteen for a second time in program history after besting Brown University of a penalty shootout, 1-1 (4-2), and 1 of the last 2 unseeded schools in the tourney.

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• The UC Irvine firepower returns with eight starters from last year back. One of them is keeper Glo Hinojosa, one of the team's two All-West Region honorees, and she along with four other All-Big West honorees are back - Alyssa Moore, Gianna Creighton, Kiera Smeenge, and Emilie Castagna.

TOURNEY REWIND | As the ladies take on Round 2 of the NCAA Tournament, here's how we got to this point. Relive last week's 2-0 victory against [4] USC! Not done yet.

HIGHLIGHTS | https://t.co/jM3JTgiTtS#STRONGwomen pic.twitter.com/VunBku8ybo

— UCI Women's Soccer (@UCIwsoc) November 18, 2022

• With a heavy arsenal of returners, only four new faces don the Anteater roster. The only experienced member is grad transfer Madison Goerlinger who logged over 5,000 minutes in 70 career matches along with 13 points primarily in the defensive third for the University of Arizona as she returns to her native of Southern California. Another addition is Alana Odom who remains at UC Irvine after a freshman year on UCI's cross country, indoor track, and track & field rosters where she ran the 60m, 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay. Just two freshmen join the squad with a pair of versatile Californians in Kori Pickelle from the Bay Area and San Diego-bred Kelsey Swyney ready to lock in with the veteran group.

Your newest Anteater! Returning to SoCal for her grad season, welcome Madison! #STRONGwomen #TogetherWeZot

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— UCI Women's Soccer (@UCIwsoc) June 7, 2023

• The coaching staff is raring to go headed by Scott Juniper for his 17th year and 16th season. He claimed his 150th and 160th career victories in 2022 with both coming at the hand of Pac-12 opponents. His staff remains intact with assistants P.J. Woolridge and Danielle de Seriere on for a ninth year as a unit and a fourth season with goalkeeper assistant Ludo Antunes.

• The Anteaters have assembled one of it's most impressive schedules to date. Highlighting the ledger are visits from the reigning national champs UCLA in late August as well as a second all-time visit by Stanford for the team's first two Sunday matchups. Two other NCAA Tournament opponents dot the schedule as UCI travels to play San Jose State and Portland, and on UCI's trip to Oregon they tangle with a third Pac-12 foe in Oregon State. The Big West slate is competitive as always with five home matches that includes the full gamut of UC schools as well as the defending regular season champions, Cal Poly.

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