COUNTER ATTACKS
327:35 - Mid-season roster add Paul Jing has stopped the first 17 shots of his career and posted a shutout streak of 327:35 
3rd - UC Irvine's 3rd Big West award went to Paul Jing with 2 shutout wins joining Agaton Pourshahidi and Marcus Lee

THROW-INS
123 - 'Eater field players have played 123 minutes in goal this year - Abraham Brown at UCR, Braden Ferreira vs. UCSB
5 - UC Irvine has had 5 goalkeepers including walk-on Paul Jing and two field players with zero previous GK experience, and three have earned wins

SET PIECES
#1 - Mario Anaya remains from coach Raz's #1-ranked recruiting class of 2019 with 7 of those class members gone on to play pro
11th - The 'Eaters went 3-4-1 through the 11th-toughest non-conference schedule facing four programs earning national poll votes

 
· The 'Eaters earned a 2-0 week last week winning 1-0 over first-place CSUB and 1-0 at CSUN. Isaac Powell and Misael Gonzalez both punched home crosses from just in front of the goalmouth for first-half game-winners.
· The legend of Paul Jing grows with a Big West Defensive Player of the Week honor after two shutout wins. Jing has been thrust into duty starting four matches, winning three, and has not allowed a goal with a 327:35 shutout streak with 17 saves. Jing was a student on campus and playing for the intramural squad before being added to the roster September 2. The native of Beijing is a double major in film & media studies and sociology
· UC Irvine's goalkeeping odyssey this season has been worth a rundown:
Þ  Luke Pruter came into the year as the starter and was injured after the first match. He returned to make five saves in two matches and secured a shutout victory at UC Davis before another injury last week
Þ  Alex Shields filled in admirably for six matches winning twice, stopping four shots a match on average including a high of eight, facing two ranked squads, and all in his first collegiate minutes in his third season. His season ended on September 21 when he tore his meniscus in the 17th minute vs. Utah Tech, but played the full 90 minutes for the win with a pair of saves.
Þ  A fourth Anteater keeper, Cody Aung, was ready to start his senior year before the aspiring aerospace engineer was offered a full-time position with the company he was interning for over the summer.
Þ  UC Irvine dipped into the field player pool with substitute and defender Abraham Brown at UC Riverside and midfielder Braden Ferreira starting vs. #23 UCSB after Jing's red card ejection and suspension. The duo stopped eight shots in  a pair of 1-0 defeats with neither playing any goalkeeper minutes at the club level
· The Anteaters finished non-conference play with an overall record of 3-4-1 with three losses coming to ranked teams. UCI's non-conference schedule ranks as the 11th-toughest in the nation and the overall schedule is the 26th-toughest. The 'Eaters sit with an RPI of 68, third in the Big West (UCSB - 31, CSF - 57). The Anteaters sit with nine Big West points, tied in fourth with UCSD and Sac State, two points behind UCSB, CSUB, and Cal Poly.

Wednesday at the Mustangs
· UC Irvine and Cal Poly battle in Spanos Stadium Wednesday night. All-time, the 'Eaters have a 22-14-9 advantage helped along by coach Raz's success since coming on board going 5-1 against Cal Poly.
· The 2023 matchup looked all Anteaters from the scoresheet winning 2-0 thanks to a Mario Anaya long ball and Samuel Atiye in the second half. UCI doubled up CP on shots while CP doubled up on fouls committed
· The Mustangs have turned it around in 2024 at 6-4-5 and tied for first with 11 Big West points. After an 0-4-1 road trip to the start the year, Cal Poly has flourished at home going 4-0-1 and outscored opponents 9-1. Nicky McCune in goal has stopped 82.5% of shots allowing just two goals in conference. The offense is spread around to 10 different goal scorers with Quinn Mahoney and Diego Guerra topping the list with three each

Saturday vs. the Hornets
· UC Irvine and Sac State finish out UCI's home season Saturday. The 'Eaters are 13-8-4 in the series losing just once in seven matches since coach Raz took over. The 2023 matchup in Sacramento was a 2-0 win thanks to a brace from Pourshahidi started from a PK after keeper Mac Learned drew a red card in the 47th minute.
· The Hornets are 6-7-2 to this point turning around a dreadful 0-4 start. They have nine points in a whirlwind Big West season that includes wins of 5-0 over CSUN and 3-1 of UCSB last week. Sac State is 2-6-1 on the road and winless in Big West road matches being outscored 8-1. Big West Offensive Player of the Week Donovan Sessoms has erupted for nine goals including a hat trick against the Gauchos and five of their game-winners
· Saturday will be Senior Night for the 'Eaters in the home finale of the regular season with 10 players recognized prior to the game: Mario Anaya, Francesco Montanile, Josh Kenworthy, Mathias Winum, Samuel Atiye, Roman Warren, Noah Clarkson, Danny de Lorijn, Luke Pruter, and Paul Jing