IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine men's soccer opened the 2024 Anteater Stadium season with a dramatic 1-1 draw against Vermont Thursday night
- Vermont were the side flying out of the gate with early possession, but the Anteaters put up the first four shots including saves against Francesco Montanile and Samuel Atiye
- The Catamounts' first attempt off the short corner needed saving off the Anteater backline backing up Alex Shields in goal making his collegiate debut
- The half finished scoreless with the 'Eaters taking the shot edge, 7-6, and were issued 1 of the 4 first-half yellow cards
- Neither side mustered any remarkable chances early in the second half while the 'Eaters picked up a second caution
- Vermont found the breakthrough in the 64th minute. A cross from the right win glanced of an Anteater defender and right to Yaniv Bazini at the back post to head it home and lead, 1-0
- Bazini nearly doubled the lead immediately after the goal, but Shields was there for his first career save, one of four on the match for him including a pair of superb plays
- The 'Eaters kept pounding away and got an equalizer in the 80th minute. Isaiahs Gutierrez lifted a ball to the waiting Isaac Powell whose header was turned away by the Vermont keeper, but Marcus Lee pounced on the rebound, created space, and sent a dart into the back of the net for his first career point and goal and a 1-1 tie
- The cards continued to pile up, and it bit the Anteaters in the 88th minute as Nolan DiCenzo fouled a Catamount player and was issued a second yellow card leaving UCI at 10 men
- UCI was on the attack, however, and less than a minute later earned a penalty from a foul in the box. Roman Warren went to the spot, but his try was saved as the match finished out, 1-1
- Lee was joined by Gutierrez who each earned their first career points on the night assisting on Lee's goal. Isaac Powell's assist was also the first of his career
- Alex Shields in net stepped in for Luke Pruter stopping four shots in his collegiate debut. His defense helped with two saves of their own off the goalline. Vermont finished with the 17-15 advantage in the shots, but UCI had more chances on frame as Vermont's keeper finished with seven saves
- Elsewhere for the Anteaters, two collegiate debuts were made alongside Shields as Isaac Nixon and Darwin Lopez each came on late in the second half
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UCI is now 0-1-1 on the young season against two programs receiving national votes, and next have a chance to get in the win column Sunday, September 1, taking on Mercyhurst at 4:00 p.m.
Postgame Thoughts
Alex Shields -
"It was a lot of fun getting my first minutes here at UCI. It was a little hectic in the first five minutes, but after about the first 10 I got my nerves out, and after that it was just routines and what we've been working for and everything we've done as a group."
"Obviously just doing my job, but definitely that save at the very end and tipping it over the bar was probably the highlight of my night; a big-time save in the last couple minutes, couldn't ask for much more from myself than that."
Marcus Lee -
"The ball just happened to roll out to me and everything happened so quick, but I've been working on my skills and I shot it and it went in. I'm super blessed to have scored in a game like this and with all my family watching. I'm proud of the boys for fighting until the end. I know we're disappointed about it because it feels like a loss, but we'll be back again on Sunday."
"I thought we played pretty well. We had a lot of good chances in the first half that we didn't capitalize on, but we've been training really hard these past few weeks and especially the preseason, so we played pretty well today I thought because of it."
