Anteaters En Route to Southern Utah

THIS WEEK IN ANTEATER SOCCER

UC Irvine Anteaters (0-2-2) at Southern Utah Thunderbirds (2-3)
Thunderbird Soccer Field - Cedar City, Utah
Thursday - 3:00 PM PT | ESPN+ | Live Stats

Promotional Schedule

Storylines

+ The Anteaters got on the board Sunday with their first goal from a field player 356 minutes into the season, a highlight-reel equalizer from Chifumi Sasaki. UCI was 1 of 2 programs joining Liberty to start their seasons with an own goal

+ Twelve collegiate debuts have been made thus far including second-year defender Malaina Duro in the starting XI vs. Utah Tech and contributing each match. Mia Rodriguez, another second-year, did so off the bench Sunday at Stanford. Together, those debutantes have played 1,415 minutes with a collective 13 starts.

+ Ten freshmen have made collegiate debuts in 2026 joining the second-year Anteaters to do so - Lianna Tsabur, Isabella Meric, Elizabeth Hayes, Cam LawsonKitchen, Samara Maldonado, Allison Rabe, Olivia Stark, Taylor Esparza, and Keira Baranski with the eighth coming Sunday vs. Grand Canyon with Iriana Griffin entered in the second half.

+ National accolades for the 'Eaters statistically feature the disciplined UCI squad committing just 5.25 fouls per match, ninth-lowest mark in the NCAA and lowest in the Big West. The team is also second in shot accuracy putting 50% of their shots on target

+ Assistant coach Wendy Espejel sets out with the under-20 Mexico women's national team as a coach for the under-20 World Cup soon. They play on the tournament's first day on September 5 and running through the final on September 27

Last Week Recap

+ Washington State hosted the Anteaters in a tough and tight matchup decided in the final minutes as the Cougars put home a good bounce in the 84th minute, and took advantage of the numbers up for UCI with a 90th-minute capper for a 2-0 win for the Pac-12 opponent

+ Grand Canyon and the Anteaters played another tight matchup Sunday afternoon in Anteater Stadium with the defenses controlling the match. A first-half Lopes goal held until Chifumi Sasaki's heroices in the 86th minute meant everyone left with one point and a 1-1 draw

Thursday at the Thunderbirds

+ Southern Utah prepares for its home opener against the 'Eaters after a 2-3 start to the season that sent them to South Carolina going 2-1 and road losses at Utah and Sacramento State. SUU will also welcome in Big West foe CSUN next week.

+ All-time, UCI has won all three matches including most recently a 6-0 win in 2021 at Anteater Stadium. It's UCI's first trip to Cedar City since 2008

+ The Thunderbirds have had a slow start statistically near the bottom in the nation earning corner kicks in shots with 8.6 per match, but like UCI committed very few fouls, 19th-least in the NCAA. They've relied on freshmen notably their keeper Tatum Trout with 18 saves and Australian Gracen Blieschke the top attacker with four points and 12 shots

Schedule