Women’s Soccer Adds Twist to Tiger-Filled Season Opener
UPCOMING MATCHES
Game Notes
Auburn Tigers at UC Irvine Anteaters
Friday, August 21, 2015
12:00 PM – Anteater Stadium
Live Stats Radio Game Program
Idaho State Bengals at UC Irvine Anteaters
Monday, August 24, 2015
7:00 PM – Anteater Stadium
Live Stats
QUICK DRAWS
UC Irvine put in a full week of preparation for the beginning of the 2015 season with a pair of home exhibition matches both resulting in draws much to the delight of Anteater head coach Scott Juniper.
“Great start to the 2015 season. Amazing to think that the season is already 10% complete! We had a slow start against Richmond, but the organization against CSUN was a lot better. The players are fighting for one another, and the harder they work the less they will accept anything but their best.”
UCI and Richmond battled it out at an 11:00 a.m. start time on Tuesday. The Spiders found the webbing just before the end of the first half by putting away a rebound for the 1-0 lead. The Anteaters would equalize in the 77th minute after a fine passing combo from Clarissa Robles and Lili Andino found Noel Baham who lifted a header over the oncoming keeper.
The second match saw Big West counterparts square off in UCI and CSUN. Defense reigned supreme on Friday night in a scoreless draw that saw a total of 11 shots and two on goal.
“I think they connected,” coach Juniper observed of his squad. “I think the shape is connected. They understand the system in play and they understand what we’re trying to do. We’ve got a team that’s hungry to learn. The coaching staff is working their butts off to teach and assist in this short amount of time. It’s a very short runway, but they’re playing in a connected way.”
Juniper prides his team on playing as one cohesive unit which showed throughout the week, more so perhaps on the offensive end, but also stressed the importance of capitalizing on their form.
“Working the final third. We need to convert all the possessions that we have into meaningful quality chances. We’ll put a lot of work on that this week and hopefully put in some goals against Auburn.”
PERSONNEL REPORT
Coach Juniper has stressed the fact that the ‘Eaters brought in 14 new players to the fold, three transfers, and having them acclimate with the system hastily would be vital to the program’s success in 2015. Senior defender Clarissa Robles can see the progress.
“I feel like we’re getting better as a team each and every practice. We still have a lot to improve on, and I’m really excited to get this season going. As long as we can get the little things put together, I know we’ll be ok.”
Six true freshmen got their feet wet during the exhibition matches including starts from Lili Andino, Shelby Lee, and Kelsee Pottorff. Pottorff started the opener and subbed in against CSUN. Andino and Lee were introduced as subs against Richmond, but had an immediate impact, including an assist from Andino on the Baham goal, and found their way into the starting lineup Friday.
Jonnae Joseph entered as a sub into each match. Victoria Buda came on in the Richmond match putting up a shot while Aleah Kelley entered late in the competitive CSUN match.
Transfer forwards showed their stuff including junior Nayeli Requejo subbing into each contest and sophomore Brittany Doan showing her motor against CSUN.
Even a pair of frosh got a look in midfielder Lindsay Hennon entering as a sub against CSUN and midfielder Elizabeth Hutchison earning the start in both preseason affairs.
TRANSATLANTIC TURBULENCE
Head Coach Scott Juniper has a unique experience coming up travelling across the Atlantic between matches, to open the season nonetheless. Following Friday’s match, he will be hustling onto a plane to make the trip back to England to attend his sister’s wedding and return just in time to finish the weekend Monday night vs. Idaho State.
“Family is very important in our program so the team understands that I will be on a whirlwind trip to be at my sister’s wedding with Jill and baby Glen.” Coach Juniper has not let this deter the team’s preparation for the opening matches. “We will prepare the same way that we always do. We will prepare a scouting report, review video from our last matches, and prepare practice sessions to clean up any grey areas and lay out a plan to win both games.”
EARNING THEIR STRIPES
Those games the ‘Eaters are preparing for happen to be against a pair of Tiger foes in Auburn and Idaho State.
“The first two games will be tough as always. Every team across the country will be hungry to get off to a good start, and Auburn and Idaho State will be no exceptions. We will take them one at a time. Having had a tough time with Auburn twelve months ago, we hope to take the opportunity to be better this time around.”
UCI and Auburn renew their recent rivalry playing for the third time in the last four seasons. Auburn trumped UCI, 3-0, last season at Auburn after suffering a 1-0 defeat in Anteater Stadium back in 2012. Auburn joins Texas A&M and Mississippi State as SEC schools to square off with the ‘Eaters.
The Tigers finished fifth in the SEC at 5-3-3 in 2014 and 12-7-3 overall. The coaches have Auburn slotted to finish No. 7 in the conference’s preseason poll. They earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament in 2014 defeating Florida Gulf Coast to open things up before falling at No. 16 Texas Tech.
The Tigers only lose two players from 2014 that put in over 200 minutes including eight points of Chelsea Gandy-Cromer and team-leading five goals from Tori Ball. Sophomore Courtney Schell and juniors Brooke and Casie Ramsier return along with four goals each from 2014 while leading point-getter, sophomore Kristen Dodson, and her 16 points stemming from 10 assists makes it back as well. Redshirt junior keeper Alyse Scott returns to the net after playing all 2,067 minutes and stopping 76 shots.
The second opponent wraps around the weekend to Monday as the Idaho State Bengals visit Anteater Stadium. UCI and ISU have yet to face off and will make the ninth out of 10 Big Sky opponents the ‘Eaters have gone up against leaving recently-minted North Dakota as the lone outlier.
The Bengals’ five Big Sky titles are the most among its members. Last season, ISU put up a 10-9-1 record and finished fifth, but rolled all the way to the tournament final before falling to Northern Arizona. ISU was shutout just twice in 2014 and only pitched one of their own posting 78 combined goals in their 20 matches.
Big Sky MVP Amanda Ellsworth and her 16 goals are gone so much of the burden will fall on senior Lauren Bermudez and juniors Jessica Sanchez and Katherine Roberts. Senior keeper Sheridan Hapsic will return to net after nearly 1,700 minutes and 76 saves in 2014.
Two local products from Auburn return to the Southland with junior Samantha Solaru, Northwood High School grad and Irvine native, who played alongside JJ Vogel and Kiana Palacios at Slammers FC, and new Tiger Gianna Montini who hails from San Diego where she trained alongside Lee and Andino on Del Mar Sharks. Idaho State fields seven Californians including Irvine-native sophomore Samantha Rodriguez