WEEKLY MATCHUPS

UC Irvine Anteaters (6-3-5, 3-1-1 Big West) vs. UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (10-2-3, 3-0-2 Big West)
Anteater Stadium (2,500) - Irvine, Calif.
Thursday - 6:00 PM | ESPN+ | Live Stats

UC Irvine Anteaters (6-3-5, 3-1-1 Big West) vs. Cal Poly Mustangs (5-2-8, 3-2-1 Big West)
Anteater Stadium (2,500) - Irvine, Calif.
Sunday - 1:00 PM | ESPN+ | Live Stats

Match Notes
Promotional Schedule

COUNTER ATTACKS
8th - UCI's 0.500 goals-against-average is 8th-lowest in the nation along with the 19th-best save percentage from the keepers
3.43 - UCI's defense allows the least amount of shots on goal in the conference at 3.43 per match (41 saves, 7 goals allowed)

THROW-INS
70 - Suus de Bakker and Mihaela Perez each hit 70 career matches played vs. CSUN, the 49th and 50th Anteaters to do so
107th - Ella Colombini played her 50th career match at LBSU, and Mia Colombini will do so Thursday making her the 107th 'Eaters with 50 or more matches played
 
SET PIECES
3-2-4 - UCI finished with a 3-2-4 non-conference record including a draw with Washington and wins over Washington State and GCU
11 - UCI returns after an 11 days off. Their last match they were tied for 1st place and enter Thursday 1 point behind the leaders

· UC Irvine is back in action after 11 days without a match
+ The week prior featured a win and a draw in the first week of October. UCI got a two-goal game from Suus de Bakker for a 2-0 win at home vs. UC Davis. The most recent match was a Sunday night rivalry meeting at Long Beach State that saw Mia Colombini equalize in the first half. UCI had a second-half penalty saved as the match would finish out, 1-1.
· When we left off, UC Irvine had 10 points in five Big West matches in a tie for first place. After a week of play, the Big West leaders of UC Santa Barbara and CSUN sit just one point ahead of UCI with five matches remaining for all three and 15 points still to be had. The 'Eaters are tied at 10 points with Cal State Fullerton and Cal Poly
· Mia Colombini's five goals leads UCI and is tied for third-most in the Big West. Her 11 points are tied for seventh. Ella Colombini with six assists stands second in the conference
· UC Irvine's defense is paving the way allowing 0.5 goals per match, tied for best in the conference and eighth-best nationally. UCI also saves 85.4% percent of shots on goal, 19th-best in the NCAA. The Anteaters are only allowing 3.43 shots on goal per match which is lowest in the Big West
· Notable milestones begin with Suus de Bakker who recently reached 4,000 minutes and her next start will be her 50th. Her last goal also gave her 20 points for her career. De Bakker and Mihaela Perez each hit 70 matches played earlier and are approaching 75 with Perez up over 5,600 minutes and hit 60 starts at LBSU. Ella Colombini reached 50 matches as an Anteater at LBSU and her sister on track to reach 50 on Thursday to put the all-time total at 107 'Eaters. Mirayah Villalpando also reached 50 this year and recently eclipsed 2,000 career minutes.

Thursday vs. the Gauchos
· UC Santa Barbara is on the rise with a 10-2-3 mark at one point with a nine-match unbeaten streak and seven straight wins for last year's Big West champions. They've picked up points in all five Big West matches winning all their home matches vs. Cal Poly, CSUB, and Cal State Fullerton with a road trip in the middle where they tied at UC Davis and Hawai'i
· All-time, UCSB has the edge, 23-14-4, but the 'Eaters have had the upper hand since coach Juniper took the reins with a 9-7-2 mark and are unbeaten under coach Juniper in Anteater Stadium in the regular season going 8-0-1. UCSB does have two wins and a draw in the last three matchups including erasing a 2-0 hole in their last trip to Irvine
· The Gauchos boast the highest goal differential in the Big West at 14 with juniors Olivia Howard (5 G) and Hayden Halscheid (4 G, 1 A) a big part of that. Maddie Buckley in net has stood allowing six goals and saving 40 with six of the team's nine shutouts

Sunday vs. the Mustangs
· Cal Poly enters at 5-2-8 with a trip to LBSU before coming to Irvine. Their eight ties have including to BYU and Cal as they finished non-conference unbeaten. Their two losses have come to UCSB and Hawai'i while they've picked up wins over UC Davis, CSUB, and Fullerton
· CP are under new management from Bernardo Silva who coached Bakersfield to a pair of wins over the 'Eaters in 2024. UCI has won the last two against them while down in the all-time series, 21-15-2
· The Mustangs lead the Big West with 24 goals including seven each from Annika Smith and Jessie Halladay. Freshman Shannon Porubski has shone in net (5 W, 5 SHO, 10 GA, 29 Sv)