COUNTER ATTACKS
86th - Ashley Naylor came up big with a penalty save in the 86th minute last match to preserve a 2-1 win
7 - Desiree Mendoza's free kick golazo moved her up to 9th in program history in game-winning goals now with 7
 
THROW-INS
2,516 - Anteater freshman have amassed 2,516 minutes this season with 25 starts between 7 players to see minutes
104 - Last week, Aislynn Crowder and Mihaela Perez played their 50th matches as 'Eaters driving the all-time total to 104

SET PIECES
1st - UCI became the 2nd team to beat a 1-seed in the first round in 2023, but is now the 1st to also reach the Sweet Sixteen
7 - UCI joins UNC, Florida State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, BYU, and Memphis as the 7 programs to reach the last 2 Sweet 16s

 
· The Anteaters introduced video replay for the first time at home last match which came into play. A suspected handball in the box against UC Irvine was reviewed early in the second half and upheld. Later in the 86th minute, another handball was reviewed and awarded to CSUN leading to a penalty shot in a 2-1 match that Ashley Naylor saved to preserve the victory
· Anteater milestones continue to fall in 2024:
Þ Last week, another Anteater reached 50 career matches in Mihaela Perez on Sunday. She joins Emilie Castagna and Aislynn Crowder as 'Eaters to reach the milestone in 2024 raising the total to 104 Anteaters to play 50 or more matches with the program.
Þ Kiera Smeenge and Desiree Mendoza each eclipsed 70 matches as an Anteater. Smeenge hit 70 career starts at UCSD becoming the 18th Anteater to reach that mark
Þ Lawson Willis' eclipsed 80 collegiate matches at UCSD and also surpassed 5,000 career minutes. Six 'Eaters now have over 3,000 minutes with the program after Castagna did Sunday
· Anteater freshmen have been called upon to play 2,516 minutes through 10 matches. Starting lineups have been graced by freshmen on 25 occasions spread out among seven different 'Eaters, and one more made their collegiate debut Sunday in Kamryn Taylor playing 18 minutes off the bench
· UCI was on the road for almost the entirety of September going 28 days without a home match. On the trip, UCI went 1-0-2 with a win at Pacific and draws at Washington St. and UCSD.

Thursday at the Mustangs
· UC Irvine and Cal Poly meet Thursday night for the 38th time in the series. Cal Poly has the 21-14-2 edge all-time and a slight 10-9 edge since coach Juniper took over.
· In 2023, the sides met twice with Cal Poly coming from behind to win 2-1 at UCI in the regular season. The final meeting in the Big West Final went UCI's way winning 1-0 in Titan Stadium
· The Mustangs had high hopes entering 2024 but sit at a 3-7-2 record. A tough schedule has included losses to No. 6 UCLA and No. 12 Santa Clara, and as Big West play starts they have three points in three matches with losses to UCSB and at Fullerton while winning at UCR. Sophomore Annika Smith has led the goal charge with five while the crew of Brennan Cole, Kiki Vostermans, and Emily Lieber have 10 of the team's 12 assists

Sunday at the Gauchos
· UC Irvine and UCSB have a storied history with UCI winning 14 times in the series. Sunday will be the 41st all-time meeting with UCI looking to turn things around at UCSB where they're 3-12-2
· The 2023 match was going UCI's way leading 2-0, but two Gaucho goals in the final 26 minutes finished the match, 2-2. Castagna was instrumental scoring the first goal and assisting the other
· The Gauchos are unbeaten in their last four (3-0-1) and have 7 of 9 Big West points helping them top the table. They sputtered to a 2-3-4 non-conference record but have roared back to life behind leading goal scorer freshman Devin Greer (3 G) and 15 different Gauchos collecting a point. Maddie Buckley is back in net with 30 saves and an 0.84 GAA in 10 starts this year