COUNTER ATTACKS
3 - The Anteaters have won the last 3 Big West Championships, 1 of 3 three-peats in Big West postseason history
16th - This is the 24th Big West Championship and 16th the 'Eaters have appeared in, and 13th under coach Juniper
 
THROW-INS
7 - There are 7 'Eaters that were part of the three previous Big West titles (Mendoza, de Bakker,  El Behery, Smeenge, Perez, Thompkins, Ragon)
101 - A total of 101 Anteaters have been named All-Big West under coach Juniper with 6 or more in 11 of the 17 seasons

SET PIECES
13 - The Anteaters enter Thursday with 13 Big West points in 6th place with the ability to clinch a berth with a win, draw, or loss
5 - UCI's 5 wins have all come with a goal in the first half; the team is also unbeaten
(4-0-2) when scoring in the 2nd half

 
· UC Irvine's Thursday win secured a berth in the Big West Championship, the 16th for the program in the 24th all-time tournament. Head Coach Scott Juniper has now led them to 13 of those in his 17th season heading the program. UCI has won the last three championships, and seven Anteaters are back on the roster looking to win a Big West Championship in all four years of their collegiate careers (Desiree Mendoza, Suus de Bakker, Mihaela Perez, Laila El Behery, Chloe Ragon, Kiera Smeenge, Autumn Thompkins)
· UCI is 12-10-2 all-time in the tourney with four titles. Each of the last two began in the First Round for the 'Eaters. UCI is 6-3 all-time in home championship matches.
· Anteater freshmen have been called upon to play 4,766 minutes through 18 matches. Starting lineups have seen freshmen on 43 occasions spread out among the seven different 'Eaters to see minutes. On the stat sheet, the crew has logged two goals, a game-winner, and five assists.
· UC Irvine has been hit by injuries to key veteran players. Senior defender Suus de Bakker has been out since August with a leg injury, and midfielder Aislynn Crowder was lost to a leg injury at Cal Poly. Fifth-year Kiera Smeenge had a 26-match played streak snapped after an injury vs. Bakersfield
· Anteater milestones continue to fall in 2024:
Þ Kiera Smeenge and Desiree Mendoza have each reached 70 career starts this season making it 19 'Eaters all-time with 70+, and are the 12th and 13th Anteaters with 80 career matches played
Þ Overall, 104 'Eaters all-time have played 50 matches for UCI with Emilie Castagna, Aislynn Crowder, and Mihaela Perez joining that club in the 2024 season
Þ Eight different Anteaters have now played over 3,000 minutes for their careers led by Kiera Smeenge now over 6,000 minutes, and she'll start her 79th match Sunday to pass Tanya Taylor and Simone Ferrara for sixth in program history

Sunday vs. the Roadrunners
· UC Irvine and Cal State Bakersfield have a brief history facing off five times prior. The 'Eaters lost for the first time this season now holding a 3-1-1 edge, but have a loss and a draw in matches in Anteater Stadium.
· The 2024 matchup was a grind in the middle of conference season, and also played in Anteater Stadium. Defenses held the sides to 11 total shots with Ashley Naylor stopping three, but was unable to turn back a Kim Garcia goal in the 61st minute leading to a 1-0 Roadrunner victory.
· The Roadrunners managed a single point in a draw vs. Cal State Fullerton Thursday to earn their first appearance in the Big West Championship in their fourth season in the conference. CSUB struggled in non-conference to make them 6-10-4, but turned it on in Big West play to go 4-3-3 outscoring competition 12-8. They're also just 2-8-1 away from home, but got one of those two vs. UCI. Garcia and Karen Flores each pace the team with four goals while Paige Rodriguez has contributed five assists, and in net Kamy Anaya and Hollee Hercik split Big West starts with a combined 0.80 goals-against-average between them

The Big West Championship
· For the first time in Big West history, Hawai'i took home the Big West regular season title. The Rainbow Wahine's reward is hosting the semifinals and finals November 7 and 10 at Waipi'o Peninsula Soccer Stadium in Waihapu, Hawai'i
· The Anteaters need to win Sunday to reach the semifinals where they will take on 2-seed UC Davis on Thursday in the late match kicking off at 9:00 p.m. PST. The final will be played Sunday, November 10 at 1:00 p.m. PST. The other side of the bracket sees Cal State Fullerton playing at UC Santa Barbara in the other semifinal Sunday with the winner to take on Hawai'i in the early semifinal next Thursday.
· UC Irvine is 12-10-2 all-time in the tournament reaching the final eight times and winning it four times. The Big West title has had three three-peats; twice by Cal State Fullerton and once by the 'Eaters the last three seasons