In the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2011, the UC Irvine women’s soccer team doesn’t have far to travel for its first-round match, and it doesn’t need much of a scouting report either.
The Big West Conference champion Anteaters (15-5-0) will meet perennial power UCLA (16-0-3) on Friday at 6 p.m. at Wallis Annenberg Stadium in Westwood. The match, which is a rematch of their Aug. 19 season opener, will be shown online via the Pac-12 Live Stream.
UCI is in the 64-team event for just the third time, having clinched an automatic berth by defeating Cal Poly, 1-0, in the Big West Tournament championship match on Sunday at UCI. The Anteaters, who earned a share of the Big West regular-season title as well, learned their opponent during the bracket reveal on Monday afternoon.
“We’re pretty well-rehearsed at playing a team twice in a season,” said UCI coach Scott Juniper, whose team lost the first meeting with the Bruins, 3-1. “We are 4-0 in rematches this year. We were not good at the start of that game and quite good by the end of it.
“Our team today is a much better team than it was the first game of the season, and I can tell by the team’s reaction that they’re excited to get up there and prove that they can compete.”
The goal UCI scored in the season opener was the only goal any nonconference opponent scored against UCLA and the only goal the unbeaten Bruins allowed in their first nine matches. UCLA is the No. 2 seed in the 16-team quadrant, behind top seed Duke (13-3-1).
This is UCLA’s 25th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins have advanced to the Round of 16 or beyond in seven of the last eight seasons, including two College Cup appearances in the last four seasons (2017 and 2019). UCLA has reached the semifinals 11 times overall and the title match five times, winning the national championship in 2013.
The Bruins are led by Hermann Trophy candidates Mia Fishel (12 goals) and goalkeeper Lauren Brzykcy, who leads the Pac-12 with a 0.52 goals-against average and nine shutouts.
UCI is led by junior midfielder Scarlett Camberos (13 goals, seven assists) and sophom*ore goalkeeper Glo Hinojosa, who has nine shutouts and a 0.70 GAA.
The UCI-UCLA winner will advance to a Nov.19 second-round match against the winner of a match between Wisconsin (8-5-6) and Butler (15-4-1). Stanford (13-5-1), and reigning national champion Santa Clara (11-5-2) are in the same quadrant as well.
Two other teams from the region made the field. USC (13-3-2) received a No. 3 seed and meets WAC champion and first-time participant Grand Canyon (16-3-2) on Saturday at 1 p.m. Pepperdine (15-3-1) received a No. 4 seed and will host South Dakota State (14-3-1) on Saturday at noon.
The Atlantic Coast Conference was awarded three of the four No. 1 seeds, with Florida State and Virginia joining Duke. Big Ten champion Rutgers received the other No. 1. North Carolina, Arkansas and Michigan joined UCLA as the No. 2 seeds, while Georgetown, Notre Dame and Tennessee joined USC as No. 3 seeds. Auburn, BYU and TCU joined Pepperdine as the No. 4 seeds.
The ACC led all conferences with nine teams in the field. The SEC had seven and the Big Ten grabbed six spots. The Pac-12 has four teams in the field.
Third-round matches are scheduled for Nov. 21, with quarterfinals on Nov. 26 or 27. This 40th annual NCAA Women’s College Cup will be played Dec. 3 and 5 at Stevens Stadium in Santa Clara.
HOW UCI GOT HERE
Alex Jaquez scored the game-winner for UCI in the 32nd minute on Sunday – her first goal of the season – as the Anteaters posted their fourth consecutive shutout. Cal Poly (13-8-0) applied pressure late, with six of its 10 shots coming in the final 20 minutes, but Hinojosa and the UCI defense withstood the challenge, extending their scoreless streak to a season-long 433 minutes, 3 seconds.
“We were expecting a really tough game from Cal Poly,” Juniper said. “It was not the prettiest game we’ve played, but it was the most competitive game we’ve had to play from start to finish. I’m super proud of our squad for how they played, particularly how they played in that last 20 to 25 minutes when I just thought they were warriors.”
Jaquez scored when a long throw-in from Amber Huff made its way into the box. The Mustangs got a foot on it, but the clearance went right to Jaquez, who delivered a beautiful shot to the upper right corner from about 20 yards out.
“The ball was coming, it was bouncing, and in my head, I said just keep it low, and it went in,” Jaquez said. “The whole season, my goal has been to at least score one goal, and it was nice to get it in this game.”
The win gave UCI its second Big West Tournament title (the other was in 1997, also against Cal Poly). The Anteaters, whose only other NCAA appearances were in 2010 and 2011, are on a six-match winning streak.
Maddy Chavez, who anchored the UCI defense in its pair of shutout victories, was named the Big West Tournament MVP.
