UC Irvine teammates Mitchell Alvarez and Marco Franco secured Big West Men’s Soccer Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week honors with solid play that lifted the Anteaters into a tie for the conference’s South Division lead.
Alvarez Scores Two Game-Winning Goals
Junior Mitchell Alvarez (Huntington Beach, Calif./Edison HS) notched both game-winning goals for UC Irvine to garner Big West Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week accolades.
The 6-1 junior midfielder/forward tallied the clinching goals in Big West South Division victories over UC Riverside (2-0) and No. 5 Cal State Northridge, which leveled the Anteaters with the Matadors for first place at 4-2-1. His efforts also led to a spot on the College Soccer News National Team of the Week.
Alvarez, who scored his first collegiate goal on Oct. 11 against Cal Poly, opened the scoring early against the Highlanders as he pounced upon a giveaway in the box and deposited a shot inside the right post at the 5:28 mark for the 1-0 lead.
Against the nationally-ranked Matadors on their home field, Alvarez provided all the scoring UCI would need with more opportunistic play in the early portion of the match. An initial shot by teammate Mats Bjurman ricocheted off the crossbar, and Alvarez was there to out-maneuver Matador defenders, pouncing on the rebound for the contest’s only goal in the 10th minute.
Alvarez took a match-high four shots against the Matadors with a couple of attempts sailing just wide of the goal. He has recorded a least one point in four of UCI’s last five games.
Others nominated: Amara Soumah (Cal State Fullerton); Beto Velasquez (Cal State Northridge); Isaac Ikyurav (Sacramento State); Tyler Miguel (UC Riverside)
Franco Anchors Stingy Anteater Defense
Senior Marco Franco (Chino Hills, Calif./Chino Hills HS) nabbed Big West Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week honors as he led a stifling UC Irvine back line presence in a pair of shutouts against conference opponents.
Franco helped the Anteaters record their sixth and seventh shutouts of the season as UC Riverside and No. 5 Cal State Northridge were held to a combined four shots on goal in 180 minutes of defensive dominance.
The central piece in UCI’s protective wall of defenders, Franco was instrumental in keeping the Matadors, one of the nation’s most prolific offensive teams, off the scoreboard. He also played a role in shutting down Big West leading goal scorer Sagi Lev-Ari and holding him without a shot in UCI’s 1-0 victory. UCI outshot CSUN 13-6 in the win.
Franco aided UCI in a 2-0 blanking of the Highlanders as the Inland Empire foe only managed to muster one shot on goal. The seven shutouts by UCI leads the Big West.
In addition, the Anteaters have won four straight games over ranked opponents dating back to the final match of the 2012 season, dispatching No. 16 Louisville, No. 11 UCLA and CSUN twice – with rankings of No. 21 and No. 5.
Others nominated: Wade Hamilton (Cal Poly); Cesar Castillo (Sacramento State)