The Anteaters return after the Big West Conference announced fall sports would not compete in the 2020 Fall season. Coach Juniper's squad is hungry to get back to the pitch after a successful spring season, and look forward to a challenging non-conference slate, expanded Big West schedule, and 19 newcomers on the roster.
Fans In The Stands
Health and Well-BeingIn accordance with updated public health guidance regarding COVID-19, UC Irvine Athletics events will be at full-seating capacity for the upcoming 2021-22 season. Athletics will align with the latest stateguidance regarding indoor and outdoorevents as well as county, city, and campus directives. Specific details regarding health and safety protocols at specific venues and events will be announced at a later date.
Effective August 2, all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, will be required to wear a mask while indoors at UCI facilities.
TicketingTickets are contact-less via mobile only. Prices: $8 before gameday / On gameday $10 / Kids $6. Fans can purchase tickets at ucirvinesports.com/buytix
ParkingDaily permits are $13.Fans can also plan ahead and pay hourly with ParkbyPlate at parking.uci.edu/pay
Clear Bags only allowed in the stadium Starting Formation
3-0-2 - UCI went 3-0-2 in the Spring of 2021 against Big West schools with 5 of 8 goals coming from the 18 newcomers
58 - UC Irvine leads all Big West clubs over the last four seasons by amassing 58 points in Big West matches
50% - The 'Eaters return 50% of their scoring from 2019. Scarlett Camberos was the team leader with four goals that year
662 - UCI will open the season at UCLA August 22 on Pac-12 Network marking 662 days since the last match in 2019
47 - During Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters in 2020-21, the 'Eaters played 47 student-athletes in the Dean's List
3+ - UCI continues to put out challenging schedules with 3+ Pac-12 opponents for the fourth straight season in 2021
Storylines
·Head Coach Scott Juniper is back with his staff for his 16th year with the program, 15th year as the head coach, and 14th season of NCAA soccer. Juniper is the program's all-time winningest coach with 133 wins, three Big West titles, and a Big West-best 58 points over the last four seasons.
·Returning to the roster are 18 Anteaters, 15 that have played minutes for UCI. Scoring leaders return in Scarlett Camberos who has four goals and three assists for 11 points. Alex Jaquez has a pair of goal, both game-winners, and has a pair of assists along with Amber Huff and Destinee Manzo. The 'Eaters bring in four keepers with two that have minutes in Glo Hinojosa playing 300 minutes in four matches and Taesja Paopao who has played twice including a shutout victory over Northern Colorado.
·Joining the 19 returners are 18 newcomers. Eight joined the squad in 2020 for the season that never happened. Ten have joined the fold for 2021 including three from four-year college like Oregon, Air Force, and Nevada. Sophie Gillies shone with five goals of the team's eight in the spring season where they went 3-0-2
·Among the new Anteaters are the international flavor with freshmen Suus de Bakker from the Netherlands, national team members Aveka Singh from India and Laila El Behery of Egypt, and Gillies from England. The roster is also flushed with players connected to Canada, Mexico, Ireland, Ghana, Guam, and Thailand.
Exhibition Match
· The 'Eaters begin with an exhibition match Thursday, August 12, as they travel up to Saint Mary's for a 1:00 p.m. matchup. The teams will play four 30-minute halves. There will be no stream, live stats, and social updates of the match.
Student-Athlete Notes
·With no soccer in 2020-21, women's soccer still pushed through placing 47 student-athletes on Fall, Winter, and Spring Dean's Lists. Fifteen different 'Eaters earned Dean's List at least two quarters and 10 were recognized all three quarters including current players Maddie Lauro, Maddy Chavez, Sarah Javorsky, Kiera Smeenge, Destinee Manzo, Alyssa Moore, Sarah Ralston, and Halli Stewart.
·Of the 29 'Eaters that have declared a major, 11 different majors are represented with the most common as Sociology with 10 members and another in Social Ecology
·Maddy Chavez leads the way in academic exploits earning scholarships over the past year in the social justice leaders category; specifically the Houts Family and Maxine E Nevin Leider scholarships. Chavez is 1 of 4 Anteaters currently Criminology, Law, & Society majors.
·Four Anteaters enter the year as public health policy majors. 'Eater alum, Shelby Lee, was a PHP major toward her nursing school aspirations while she was the Big West's representative at National SAAC conferences where she has spoken on panels regarding mental health and helped toward the Time Management Plan that is currently in place to help student-athletes
·Among the other fields Anteaters are studying toward are three Psychological Science majors, two newcomers as Biomedical engineering majors, and other majors represented such as education, film & media studies, engineering, social ecology, and literary journalism.
Stats To Watch
·Two veterans lead the way in matches played with scoring leader Scarlett Camberos with 35 matches under her belt, 18 as a starter, and midfielder Amber Huff, playing 34 career matches
·The leader in starts is Alex Jaquez starting 19 times in her 29 matches played
·As alluded to, Camberos leads all active Anteaters with four goals scored and three assists for 11 points total. Overall, the team returns 50% of their goals scored in 2019. Jaquez has two career goals, both coming as game-winners.
·The Anteaters enter 2021 with four keepers on the roster. Two returners in Glo Hinojosa and Taesja Paopao. Hinojosa joined the roster in 2018 and began 2019 as the starting keeper seeing 300 minutes in four matches starting three times. Paopao joined in 2019 and played in two matches starting once against Northern Colorado where she shut them out for a 2-0 victory. The remaining two keepers are new to the roster with freshman Gabby Nelms joining from Carlsbad and transfer Hannah Roberts who is originally from the State of Washington and played one match with the University of Nevada in 2019.
'Eaters Playing Professionally
·Kiana Palacios and Janelly Farias have joined forces for Club America in Mexico's top league. The duo opened the season on July 18 each scoring a goal in the club's 2-1 win over Santos Laguna. This is Farias' second season with the club after playing previously with her hometown Chivas Guadalajara. Palacios joined this season after three with Spain's Real Sociedad. Both also play with the Mexican Senior National Team.
·Mady Solow has been playing professionally since graduating in 2013 starting in Italy and stints with the Polish National Team. She spent a season in Switzerland with FC Basel before settling back in Italy with Hellas Verona for a second season now.
·Cami Privett is stateside now in her fifth season with Houston Dash as a midfielder and defender. She first joined the club after an open tryout right after graduating from UCI in 2014. She was loaned out to a Norwegian club for 2017 and then to Spain in the same league as Palacios for 2018-19 before returning to Houston where she's stayed and made 19 appearances.
·Jessica Miclat finished up in 2019 and set off on the global scene. She had been part of the Philippines National Team since her junior year and participated in international tournaments and World Cup qualifiers. She continues to work with them, but also signed on with Danish club, Aalborg, late last season. The season for her and the club begins this August.
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