WEEKLY MATCHUPS

UC Irvine Anteaters (1-0, 0-0 Big West) vs. Cal State LA Golden Eagles (0-0)
Anteater Stadium (2,500) - Irvine, Calif.
Thursday - 6:00 PM | Live Stats 

UC Irvine Anteaters (1-0, 0-0 Big West) vs. North Florida Ospreys (1-1, 0-0 Atlantic Sun)
Anteater Stadium (2,500) - Irvine, Calif.
Sunday - 4:00 PM | Live Stats 

Match Notes
Promotional Schedule

COUNTER ATTACKS
11 - UCI is 22-14-5 all-time in season openers now including, 21-6-4 at home winning 11 consecutive home season openers
 
5th - Thursday's crowd of 1,734 fans is the 5th-largest crowd in men's soccer history and 25th crowd of 1,000 or more fans


THROW-INS
4th - UC Irvine's win Thursday was its 4th all-time over UCLA and first since a 2013 win at Anteater Stadium
 
3 - Isaac Powell put home his fourth career goal against UCLA and 3 have gone in for game-winners


SET PIECES
6 - UCI's season opens with 6 straight home matches in including 3 matches vs. 2024 tournament teams and 1 ranked foe
 
5 - The Anteaters received 5 votes in the national rankings on Tuesday following last week's result

· UC Irvine's match to open the season was a momentous victory over UCLA in Anteater Stadium:
+ The Anteaters scored a 2-0 win from a pair of second-half goals starting with Isaac Powell's solo drive in the 64th minute, and Nolan DiCenzo swept in a ball in a congested box off a corner kick in the 82nd minute.
+ UC Irvine held most of the advantage on the stat sheet from the 12-6 shot edge to the three corners to UCLA's two
· The season-opening goal scorers were some unconventional names
+ Isaac Powell buried his fourth career goal and his third recorded as a game-winner. Powell was rewarded with Big West Offensive Player of the Week honors, his first collegiate honor of any kind. The 'Eaters had three weekly awards through the 2024 season
+ Nolan DiCenzo had one career goal and two points in his three-year career until the senior captain and defender scored Thursday, and the last one came back in his freshman season
· New faces to UC Irvine and Division I soccer were abound starting with four names in the starting XI - true freshmen Gustavo Gonzalez and Zac Smuck made collegiate debuts at kickoff. Joe O'Shaughnessy in goal made his UCI and Division I debut while Hunny Yoo did the same coming from the junior college level. Off the bench, new faces were Division I transfers Gage Lyons making his UCI debut in the 40th minute and Cristian Gallo making his collegiate debut.
· Joe O'Shaughnessy's start to his Division I era saw him capture the win and his first collegiate shutout stopping two shots from the Bruins.

Thursday vs. the Golden Eagles
· Cal State LA and the 'Eaters renew their series that's laid dormant for 37 years. The sides met five years in a row from 1985-89 alternating wins and losses with all five matches won by the home team. CSULA has the 3-2 edge in the series. The Division II power were national champions in 2021, and since have gone 45-6-12.
· The Golden Eagles are coming off a 12-3-6 season a year ago that ended in the NCAA Quarterfinals. They put home 33 goals in 21 games led by Oscar Warne's seven and Andrew Portis who had four goals, all game-winners

Sunday vs. the Ospreys
· North Florida and UC Irvine play for the third time in their histories. The 'Eaters will have hosted them in all three meetings when they play Sunday, and UCI won previously in 2005 and 2008.
· The Ospreys are coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance losing in the first round despite a wild 7-8-4 season. Last year, UNF scored 33 goals and allowed 37 including 12 of their 19 matches where both sides put home a goal.
· Early in 2025, the Ospreys are really spreading their wings starting in Wisconsin with a win over the Badgers followed by a loss at Marquette, and now set a course for California to face UC Santa Barbara before traveling down to UCI. The preseason favorites out of the Atlantic Sun are led by preseason player of the year David Perez along with fellow preseason All-ASUN members, Anton Khelil, Rentaro Miyakawa, and Jaylen Yearwood, and don't leave out the only goal scorer to this point, redshirt senior Jaxon Reinhardt.