COUNTER ATTACKS
4th - UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara meet for the 4th straight Big West Championship, and 3rd straight time in the semifinal
80' - UCI's goal Wednesday was its 5th goal in the 80th minute or later, and latest game-winner and only 3rd GWG in the 2nd half

THROW-INS
4-0-2 - UC Irvine is unbeaten in their last six matches to lead the Big West going 4-0-2 in that stretch
191:03 - UCI has played 191:03 this season either down a man, with a field player in net, or both, with a 3-3 scoreline during that time

SET PIECES
6 - 'Eaters have had 6+ All-Big West honorees in 6 of coach Raz's 7 seasons, and at least one All-Freshman Team player each year
13-5-4 - UCI is 13-5-4 all-time in the Big West Championship appearing in 13 of the 16 tournaments and winning 5 titles

 
· UC Irvine defended home field with a 1-0 victory Wednesday vs. Cal State Fullerton and former head coach, George Kuntz. UCI's win is its 13th all-time in Big West Championship play as they improve to 3-3 in First Round contests. They're now in the semifinal for the 11th time facing UCSB for the fourth straight championship and the third consecutive year these two have met in the semifinal
Þ  Misael Gonzalez worked his magic scoring in the 80th minute giving him goals in four of the last five matches
Þ  Brady Treinen delivered the assist now with five this year and four of them have set up the game-winning goal
Þ  Luke Pruter scored the team's fifth shutout of the season, his second. All the while, he climbed in the Anteater record book to eighth all-time in saves, sixth in career wins, and tied for third in shutouts
· UC Irvine's goalkeeping odyssey this season has been worth a rundown. As a unit, five different 'Eaters have played minutes in goal pushing the team to its 8-7-3 record, five shutouts, a 1.22 GAA, and 69 total saves:
Þ  Luke Pruter has returned for the last four matches. Around two injury stints, Pruter is 3-2-2 this year with two shutouts and 20 saves. He stands in UCI's top 10 with 19 wins, 14 shutouts, and 163 saves in 52 matches
Þ  Alex Shields filled in admirably for six matches winning twice, posting an eight-save match vs. USD, facing two ranked squads, and all in his first collegiate minutes. 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  Paul Jing was a regular student when the season started before joining the squad September 2. He stepped in following all the injuries and picked up three wins, all shutouts, and 17 saves in a total of 328 minutes culminating in a Big West Defensive Player of the Week award on October 21
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

Saturday at the Gauchos
· UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara are back for an eighth meeting in the Big West Championship. UCI has the edge in previous matches, 5-2, and the only team to win on the road in those with three. The home teams has taken the last three however including UCSB wins in 2021 and 2022. All-time, the Gauchos have the series lead 36-19-8 with UCI at a 2-2-3 mark since coach Raz took over in 2017. The 2024 matchup in Anteater Stadium went to UCSB, 1-0, with a distinct note that UC Irvine had field player Braden Ferreira in net for the match following injuries and suspensions who made six saves
· The Gauchos are back where they usually are after a 10-4-4 season and second-place finish in the Big West. Their style has produced nearly two goals a match while allowing just about a goal per match while committing over 15 fouls a match, seventh-most in the NCAA, and seeing the second-most cautions. Alexis Ledoux is among the national leaders with 14 goals, five game-winners, and 33 points. In a roster full of talent, Gauchos that standout alongside Ledoux are senior midfielder and All-Big West First Team Mikkel Goeling, Nicolas Willumsen second on the team with five goals and two game-winners, and senior keeper getting his first chance in net this season playing the part with 44 saves and six shutouts having played all 1,620 minutes.

Big West Championship Time
· The Big West Championship is on to the semifinal round after one-goal wins by the higher seeds, UC Davis and UC Irvine. The 'Eaters play at UCSB Saturday while UCD and Cal Poly play Sunday afternoon with the championship Friday night, November 15, hosted by the highest remaining seed left. Cal Poly got a late goal to beat Cal State Bakersfield Saturday and claim the title, surprisingly the Mustangs' first in Big West history.
· The Anteaters are in the Big West Championship for a 13th time in this the 16th Big West Championship and fifth time in coach Raz's seven seasons looking to defend their 2023 title. UCI is now 3-3 all-time in the First Round. The Anteaters face an uphill battle as of the 18 all-time First Round winners, only six have made it to the Final, and only one of those won the title in Cal State Fullerton back in 2014 beating another first-rounder