Five Things to Know About the 2024 Anteaters
It's that time of the year again - women's soccer season. The 'Eaters kick off every athletic year as the first to arrive and first to play meaningful matches, but always seem to be the last ones to call it a season now with three straight postseason trips under their belt and entering 2024 as 1 of 7 programs in the nation to reach the Sweet Sixteen each of the last two years.
Repeating the success is not an easy task by any means, but as head coach
Scott Juniper's bunch has shown time and time again, it can be done. As with every new season, key components of UC Irvine's magical run have moved on either from graduation or pro opportunities, meanwhile a battle-hardened, experienced core remains to step up along with a whole new crop of Anteaters ready to absorb and integrate into another successful unit for the season.
Below are five of the main factors entering the 2024 season for UC Irvine women's soccer who starts their season Thursday, August 15 in Northern California:
MAJOR CONTENDERS
- The Anteaters have entered rarefied air with three consecutive Big West Championships and three straight trips to the NCAA Tournament with a victory in each. After monumental first-round upsets in 2021 over UCLA and 2022 over USC, UCI found themselves in a similar spot in 2023 taking on UCLA, a No.-1 seed and No. 2-ranked team in the nation. Despite a red card in the 75th minute, the Anteaters behind Glo Hinojosa's 31st career shutout and Alyssa Moore's 87th-minute goal, UCI pulled off another stunner and 1-0 win over the Bruins. UCI kept the momentum going winning their next match over Gonzaga, 2-1. The Anteaters reached the Sweet Sixteen for a third time all-time and join six other schools (UNC, BYU, Florida State, Penn State, Memphis, Pitt) to reach it in each of the last two seasons. UCI's historic season was highlighted by the fact that they were the second school to ever beat a No. 1-seed in the first round of the women's soccer NCAA Tournament, but the 2023 'Eaters are now the only team to ever also win their next match and reach the Sweet Sixteen that year.
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BUILDING FROM THE BACK
- The Big West Champions and NCAA Sweet Sixteen squad from 2023 ran on their defense primarily allowing 26 goals and just over four shots on goal a game. Replacing the production of the decorated Glo Hinojosa will be a tall task, but Savanna Arruda is back with three matches under her belt filling in for Hinojosa, and the addition of Ashley Naylor, a grad transfer from Notre Dame with NCAA Tournament experience, is a good start for coach Juniper's unit. Just as important, three of the stellar Anteater backline returns to fortify the defensive stance with Mihaela Perez, Kiera Smeenge, and Suus de Bakker who combined put in over 5,300 minutes in 2023.
ATTACK-MINDED
- Among the field players, heavy contributors to the team's success over each of the last three years depart with the likes of Gianna Creighton's over 2,000 minutes last season, Alyssa Moore's 19 points and multiple clutch goals, and four others that registered over 1,000 minutes in 2023. The returning core for UCI brings back over 50% of the team's minutes played and scoring with an experienced backline and a veteran midfield presence of sixth-year Chloe Ragon and the Hawaiian heartbeat of Aislynn Crowder in her fifth season, third at UCI. Reinforcements are arriving starting with two power conference transfers in Lawson Willis (Colorado) and Kaitlyn Paculba (Oregon) pacing a freshman stable of 11 student-athletes, some coming from as far as England and Japan.
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CALLING THE SHOTS
- One of the most stable coaching staffs in the country is back headed by Scott Juniper for his 18th year and 17th season. The win over Gonzaga counted as the 170th of his career as he's led the program to 12 winning seasons and 10 years of 10 or more wins. His staff also remains intact with assistants P.J. Woolridge and Danielle de Seriere on for a 10th season as a unit compiling 86 wins over that span, and a fourth season with goalkeeper assistant Ludo Antunes.
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PLAN OF ACTION
- The secret is finally out on the Anteaters now with three straight seasons of postseason runs. UCI's schedule includes four opponents from Power conferences starting with a return trip to Stanford in the first weekend. The 'Eaters also travel to perennial contenders Washington and Washington State with the lone power program to visit UCI in Arizona coming September 1. A majority of the 'Eaters' season is spent on the road including a 28-day stretch following that Arizona matchup. Big West squads that will invade Anteater Stadium begin with CSUN before a three-game homestand mid-October of Cal State Bakersfield, Hawai'i, and Cal State Fullerton before the home finale of the regular season - a Black & Blue Rivalry with Long Beach State.
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