WEEKLY MATCHUPS

UC Irvine Anteaters (7-4-7, 4-2-3 Big West) at Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine (4-7-8, 2-3-4 Big West)
Waipi'o Peninsula Soccer Stadium (4,500) - Waipi'o, O'ahu
Thursday - 9:00 PM | ESPN+ | Live Stats

Match Notes
Promotional Schedule

COUNTER ATTACKS
6,000 - Mihaela Perez played her 77th career match Sunday and surpassed 6,000 total minutes played as an Anteater
3.44 - UCI's defense allows the least amount of shots on goal in the conference at 3.44 per match (52 saves, 10 goals allowed)

THROW-INS
11th - UCI's defense has allowed 10 goals and sports the 11th-best GAA while allowing its first 2-goal game all year vs. Cal Poly
107 - 107 'Eaters have played in 50 career matches for UCI with three joining this year - Mirayah Villalpando, Mia Colombini, Ella Colombini

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
2nd - The 'Eaters enter the week in 6th place, but can reach as high as a tie for 2nd and claim as high as the 3-seed

· UC Irvine earned two points from drawing each of their matches last week:
+ UCI went to Cal State Fullerton on Thursday night and battled to a scoreless tie. Savanna Arruda got the start making five saves to fight back the offensive-minded Titans
+ Sunday's home finale vs. UC San Diego saw Ella Colombini net her first Anteater Stadium goal in the sixth minute. The visitors tied things up in the second half as UC Irvine finished up their home regular season slate with a record of 4-2-3
· Last week's big performers were on defense led by Savanna Arruda who made seven saves. The defense came up with an eighth save as UC Irvine continues to boast the 11th-lowest goals-against-average in the nation and 29th-best save percentage. UCI has allowed 62 total shots on goal, lowest in the Big West, averaging just 3.44 shots on goal allowed per match
· The Anteaters have some top contributors this Big West season
+ Mia Colombini has four goals in conference play, tied for the most, and is 1 of 6 players with multiple game-winning Big West goals. She has eight Big West points, tied for third-most
+ Suus de Bakker had three goals of her own in Big West play to lead all defenders. She's also one of the few defenders, along with teammate Mihaela Perez, with a Big West game-winner
· Laurynn Ziller has a 0.61 goals-against-average, 16th-lowest in the nation, and is currently tied for UCI's single-season best GAA posted by Kirsten Roy in 1998
· Notable milestones saw Mihaela Perez eclipse 6,000 career minutes. On the horizon are Ivy Williams, 15 minutes from 3,000, and Hailey Clingan, needing 80 minutes for 2,000.

Thursday at the Rainbow Wahine
· Hawai'i will not be part of the Big West Championship on just 10 points (2-3-4) and a 4-7-8 overall mark this year after finishing atop the Big West in 2024 at 12-8-1, 8-1-1. They had solid results with ties at Pepperdine and UC Santa Barbara while winning vs. Cal Poly.
· All-time, UC Irvine holds an 11-2-2 mark, 3-0-1 in the last four, and 6-1 in matches in Hawai'i.
· The Rainbow Wahine brought back three of their top four scorers who had 15 goals as a unit last year with eight this season. Brianna Chirpich and Big West Goalkeeper of the Year Kennedy Justin have split time in net each with over 750 minutes allowing 26 goals and 65 saves

Big West Championship Scenarios
· The Anteaters are in for the fifth straight year and 17th time overall to the Big West Championship. The semis and final destination has still yet to be determined, but will be played at either Cal Poly, UC Santa Barbara, or CSUN based on Thursday's results
· UCI will need to go through the First Round to have a chance for a title currently sitting in sixth. If all falls right Thursday, UC Irvine could finish as high as a tie for second place or possibly get a 3-seed in the championship if they finish even on points with UCSB and Cal State Fullerton
· UCI has a lot of scenarios to host their first round matchup as they hold the tiebreaker over UCSB and will against Fullerton if UC Irvine should win to create the tie. In addition to rooting for an Anteater win, the team and fans can see UCI play again in Anteater Stadium if Fullerton and Bakersfield play to a tie Thursday, and other results like UC San Diego defeating UC Santa Barbara or CSUN earning a point against Long Beach State would also improve UCI's standing. All other results or a UCI tie or loss would send them on the road in Sunday's first round