WEEKLY MATCHUPS

UC Irvine Anteaters (5-3-1, 0-0 Big West) vs. UC San Diego Tritons (0-6-2, 0-0 Big West)
Anteater Stadium (2,500) - Irvine, Calif.
Wednesday - 6:00 PM | Live Stats

UC Irvine Anteaters (5-3-1, 0-0 Big West) vs. Cal Poly Mustangs (3-3-3, 0-0 Big West)
Anteater Stadium (2,500) - Irvine, Calif.
Saturday - 6:00 PM | ESPN+ | Live Stats 

Match Notes
Promotional Schedule

COUNTER ATTACKS
#20 - UC Irvine was ranked for the first time since 2019 starting at #22 and going as high as #20 last week
9 - UCI has had 9 different scorers, four scoring their first UCI goal, and two (Smuck, Gonzalez) scoring their first ever


THROW-INS
23 - UC Irvine's defense has allowed a total of 23 shots on goal, 7 fewer than every other Big West program this season
3 - UC Irvine has 8 cautions through 9 matches with just 3 schools committing fewer (Penn, UCLA, Cornell)


SET PIECES
4 - The 'Eaters have earned 4 Big West awards with two more this week by Joe O'Shaughnessy and Gustavo Gonzalez
60 - Three 'Eaters (Pourshahidi, Babineau, DiCenzo) have 60 career matches with 2 more (Treinen, Powell) that could hit 50 this week


· UC Irvine lost twice on the road at WAC schools to conclude non-conference action:
+ The week opened with a first-ever meeting between the 'Eaters and California Baptist. The hosts won a rebound to open the scoring in the 22nd minute and then slipped home a PK in the 30th minute for a 2-0 win despite UCI outshooting 16-11 and putting seven on target
+ The non-conference finale in UNLV had similar results, a third straight 2-0 defeat. The Rebels hit one from distance late in the first half for the lead, and headed home a cross in the 69th minute in a match again UCI finished with more shots, 13-6, and corner kicks, 4-1
· Joe O'Shaughnessy and the defense have hit a bump in the road, but still have high marks for the season through non-conference play. UCI is top two in the Big West in shutouts (5) and goals-against-average (0.778) and ranked nationally in those categories at 19th in shutout percentage and 27th in GAA. O'Shaughnessy himself is 44th in GAA and 21st in shutouts with four
· UCI's offense has run through scoring leader Misael Gonzalez Lopez with four goals and eight points. Six other Anteaters have three points including assists leader, Hunny Yoo, with three. Five 'Eaters other than Gonzalez Lopez are responsible for the five game-winners
· The Anteaters' last two goals have been put in by true freshmen. Freshmen have accounted for 1,730 minutes collecting 16 starts, two goals, and five points among five 'Eaters
· UC Irvine entered the national rankings at No. 22 last week and improved to No. 20 the following. It's the first time ranked since the 2019 preseason poll and highest ranking since 2015. The 'Eaters slowly added votes each week going from zero in the preseason to five, 11, 24, and 38 before falling from the rankings last week and receiving five votes.

Wednesday vs. the Tritons
· UC San Diego has had a rough start at 0-6-2. They've taken on five opponents that have been ranked at some point managing a draw at No. 17 Cal and one common opponent, No. 23 USD, that the Tritons fell to the same week UC Irvine did
· All-time UCI has the slight 8-7-3 edge. Importantly, since UCSD became Division I, UCI is 3-0-1 with the draw coming last year as UCI erased a 2-0 deficit to send it to the postseason
· The Tritons have had a tough time scoring with just one goal in seven matches thanks to Evan Wellerstein. The defense holds it own despite allowing an average of 17 shots per match in front of sixth-year keeper Nolan Premack whose up to 224 career saves in 62 matches.

Saturday vs. the Mustangs
· Cal Poly is in year three of head coach Oige Kennedy after he helped deliver the program's first Big West title in 2024. The Big West Coach of the Year has the Mustangs at 3-3-3 with an ESPNU match ahead vs. UCD. They also have a loss at CBU, an 8-0 win over Utah Tech, and draw at UCSB
· All-time the teams have met 46 times with UCI holding the edge, 22-14-10. Since coach Raz took the helm, UCI is 5-1-1 including a 4-0 mark at home. Last year, the 'Eaters and Mustangs drew, 1-1, thanks to a second-half Gonzalez Lopez goal in a match very similar on the stat sheet
· The Mustangs have 16 goals, eight in just one match, with the 2024 Freshman of the Year Quinn Mahoney pouring in four with two assists. Tanner Casey (3 G) is among the other contributors while the Big West's top keeper Nicky McCune is back stopping 25 shots with a 0.90 GAA