COUNTER ATTACKS
1st - UC Irvine was picked 1st in the Preseason Big West Coaches' Poll with All-Big West honorees Winum, Montanile, and Pruter
9 - In UC Irvine's 9 2023 wins, they had 9 different game-winning goal scorers including an own goal against CSF

THROW-INS
 #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
3 - The 'Eaters see 3 opponents among the preseason rankings. UCI was 1-1-1 against ranked foes in the 2023 regular season

SET PIECES
5th - In 2023, UC Irvine won its 5th Big West Championship title and first since 2013 winning in the PK shootout ninth round
7th - UC Irvine reached the NCAA Tournament for the 7th time, second under coach Raz and all program trips made since 2008

 
· The season opener was a challenge traveling to No. 4 Oregon State, a College Cup participant a year ago. UCI weathered the Beaver attack, but a deflected pass and a long-range wondergoal put the 'Eaters behind. Agaton Pourshahidi poked up a goal off a brilliant sequence to draw within one late.
· The Big West unveiled their Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll and Team with the Anteaters selected to finish first. Most recently, the 'Eaters shared preseason first in the 2022 poll, and were picked to win the South Division back in 2015. UCI scored four first-place votes with three each to second place Cal State Fullerton and third place UC Santa Barbara. The preseason team features three Anteaters, the senior trio of Luke Pruter, Mathias Winum, and Francesco Montanile who was honored for a second time. They were joined by trios from Cal State Fullerton and UC Santa Barbara
· The 2024 Anteater schedule is a grind to start out with three ranked opponents in the first four matches with No. 4 Oregon State and No. 19 UCF on the road, No. 14 Vermont in the home opener, and UCI took on No. 11 LMU in their final tune-up exhibition

New Rules for 2024
· New rules have been instituted for the 2024 season and especially on the men's soccer side. Notably, the last 15 minutes will be treated differently. Previously, any sub including a winning team in the final five minutes meant the clock would stop. That now includes the final 15 minutes of the second half, and will be in play for any sub during a tie game
· Teams now also have six windows to sub a player through the entire match. Including those substitution windows, there will be no reentry of a player except for during halftime. In prior years, a player could be subbed off in the second half and return once.

Thursday vs. the Catamounts
· UC Irvine and Vermont have met once that came in 2022 in falling 2-1, the same trip when UCI visited New Hampshire. The only other America East opponents UCI has had was UMBC as recent as 2006. Vermont is the first America East school to play at UC Irvine
· The 2022 match saw UVM take a fourth-minute lead from returner Max Murray, tied up in the 10th minute by Pourshahidi, before the eventual winner in the 45th minute. The Catamounts return four players that saw minutes - Murray, Yaniv Bazini, and now captains Zach Barrett and Adrian Schulze Solano. Ten Anteaters from that match return including eight starters.
· The Catamounts began the year at No. 14 losing its opener at No. 12 Western Michigan, 3-1, in a match where Bazini tied things up, 1-1, 73 seconds into the match. They finished with the 17-14 shot advantage, but put only three on frame. They finish up in California against SDSU Monday.

Sunday vs. the Lakers
· UC Irvine and Mercyhurst play in the third-ever Division I match for the Lakers. Mercyhurst, from Erie, Pennsylvania, has enjoyed 15 straight winning seasons in Division II with eight trips to the NCAA Tournament, most recently a 19-1-1 season in 2022. The Lakers are actually picked fifth in the eight-team Northeast Conference preseason poll. They fell at Pittsburgh in its first Division I match Sunday, 2-0, and will play at San Diego State Thursday before coming to UCI. They play exclusively on the road in non-conference beginning Division I with nine road matches until hosting Chicago State on October 6.
· The Lakers' top talent is Dylan Sumner, an All-American last year who scored 14 goals. Assist leader Frank Lovett also returns as does key Spaniards Ignacio Gallego and Gonzalo Onrubia Delgado