Anteaters Square Off with Utah Valley, at UC Riverside

THIS WEEK IN ANTEATER SOCCER

UC Irvine Anteaters (3-3-3, 1-0-1) vs. Utah Valley Wolverines (5-4-2, 1-0-1)
Anteater Stadium - Irvine, Calif.
Wednesday - 6:00 PM | ESPN+ | Live Stats

UC Irvine Anteaters (3-3-3, 1-0-1) at UC Riverside Highlanders (2-7, 0-2)
UCR Soccer Stadium - Riverside, Calif.
Saturday - 7:00 PM | ESPN+ | Live Stats

Promotional Schedule

Storylines

+ Mimi Yamamoto was the offensive star last week scoring in each match for her first career goals. She provided Wednesday's equalizer in the 87th minute at Sac State, and added insurance Saturday in a 2-0 win

+ Chifumi Sasaki had missed three matches, and her triumphant return Saturday came with the game-winning goal in the 47th minute putting back a rebound, her first career game-winner

+ Fiona Shin recorded an assist Saturday giving her a team-high six points. Shin had goals in consecutive matches earlier this year and the only 'Eater with a goal and assist in a 2026 match

+ Jasmyne Wheeler has assists in two of the last three matches, her first two career points, and both coming on game-winners. She's also earned her first two career starts in the last two matches

+ Savanna Arruda picked up her second win and shutout along with three draws and 26 saves. Sara Paul's second half earned a win vs. Fresno State

+ Anteater freshmen have made a difference in 2026 with 11 seeing the field and 13 total players making collegiate debuts. In all, the newcomers have recorded 3,018 minutes of play time and put in 29 starts between them.

+ Non-conference journey finished at 2-3-2 recording wins and losses at home and on the road. 'Eaters played the No. 1 team in the nation, went 1-1 against Pac-12 competition, and a pair of draws against teams with records at .500 or better

Last Week Recap

+ Big West play started and UCI emerged as 1 of 6 teams to earn four points atop the standings. UC Irvine's defense allowed one goal on the week, least among the Big West matchups. UCI continued its second half scoring with all three goals after halftime along with nine of their 11 this season.

Wednesday vs. the Wolverines

+ Utah Valley started with a tough slate going 4-4-1 in non-conference including wins over Washington State and No. 21 Kansas. Big West, they thumped CSUB 7-1 before a 2-2 draw at UCSD

+ All-time, there's only been one meeting back in 2009, a 2-0 neutral site win with second half goals from Mar Rodriguez and Jackie Samis

+ The Wolverines outscore their opponents 2-1 and average 6.4 more shots per match. The senior trio of Nixan Jackson, Sadie Beardall, and Josie Clawson have 11 goals between them

Saturday at the Highlanders

+ UC Riverside has been shutout in their seven losses scoring only in their two wins. Big West play has opened with 2-0 losses to Fullerton and CBU.

+ All-time, UCI is up 19-4-2 in the series unbeaten (6-0-1) in the last seven meetings which included last season's 3-1 victory in Anteater Stadium

+ The Highlanders have sharpshooting Finley Aghassi with a goal and 21 of their 68 shots. It will also be a homecoming for Mimi Dominguez who was an All-Big West Highlander as a freshman

Schedule