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INDIANAPOLIS - The 64-team field for the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship was announced on Monday afternoon, and The Big West representative UC Irvine will make the short trip north to take on the USC Trojans in the first round this Saturday, Nov. 12.
The match will take place at USC’s Soni McAlister Field in Los Angeles, with kickoff set for 1 p.m. PT on ESPN+.
UC Irvine earned The Big West’s automatic berth for the second year in succession after defending its Big West Championship title on Sunday afternoon with a 3-0 shutout as the No. 6 seed over fourth-seeded Long Beach State in San Luis Obispo.
The Anteaters improved to 10-5-6 overall with Sunday’s result. They have won a season-best four in a row, including three consecutive shutouts in the conference championship. The first two went to overtime, so UCI has kept opponents scoreless for a total of 395:40 heading into Saturday. The ‘Eaters needed a come-from-behind, 4-1 home victory over Hawai’i on the final day of the regular season on Oct. 27, just to extend their 2022 campaign by grabbing the final Big West tourney spot.
USC, a No. 4 seed and at-large entrant that is ranked 14th nationally in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll, is 12-2-3 overall. The Trojans are coming off their first win over crosstown rival UCLA, the country’s No. 1 team, since 2015, as they blanked the visiting Bruins, 2-0, last Friday. That result prevented UCLA from winning the Pac-12 title, with the trophy going to Stanford, while USC wound up third with an 8-1-2 league ledger. USC has won three straight, and is 7-1 at home in 2022. The Trojans have knocked off all four nationally-ranked foes this season.
The advancing side between UCI and USC would either face No. 5 seed Rutgers (13-4-2), an at-large qualifier out of the Big Ten, or Ivy League champion Brown (12-2-2), the following week. Those two teams play in the first round in Piscataway, N.J., also this Saturday at 3 p.m. PT.
This is the Anteaters’ fourth NCAA championship appearance, all under 16th-year head coach Scott Juniper, and the second time they are making back-to-back trips, having participated initially in the 2010 and 2011 editions. The ‘Eaters are 3-2-1 in the NCAA postseason all-time.
UC Irvine is led by 2021 Big West Goalkeeper of the Year and 2022 Big West Championship Most Valuable Player Glo Hinojosa, and fellow fifth-year collegian and San Diego County product Amber Huff. Hinojosa, who has played all 1,930 minutes in 2022, paces the conference with her 10 shutouts to equal a career best from 2021.
Huff tops the league with a career-high nine assists, eight of them coming in the ‘Eaters’ last four matches. The midfielder broke The Big West Championship record with five helpers. Remarkably, Huff has played a role in at least 10 consecutive goals for UCI, going back to all four against UH. Destinee Manzo is the leading goal-scorer with five.
Last year, UC Irvine stunned No. 2 seed UCLA on the road, 1-0, in the first round of the NCAA Championship on Nov. 12, 2021, thanks to a 14th-minute header by 2022 All-Big West Second Team pick Alyssa Moore, assisted by fellow current ‘Eaters Manzo and Lilli Rask. Hinojosa, also a 2022 second-teamer, made seven saves in the shutout.
The ‘Eaters then dropped a 3-0 decision to Wisconsin in their second-ever second-round appearance a week later in Fairfax, Va. Previously, UCI played to a 2-2 draw at home with the University of San Diego before being eliminated via penalty-kick tiebreaker in the 2011 first round. In 2010, the ‘Eaters edged Arizona State, 2-1, and blanked Wake Forest, 2-0, before falling to Washington in the third round, 1-0 in double overtime. All three of those contests were also in Irvine.
UCI, which shared the 2021 Big West regular-season title with Cal Poly, is a three-time champion in The Big West's postseason event, having initially lifted that trophy back in 1997. The ‘Eaters are now 3-4 in Big West finals.
UC Irvine is 1-12-3 all-time against USC, with a 3-2 loss in the most recent meeting on Sept. 15 of this year at McAlister Field.
The 2022 NCAA Women’s College Cup, featuring the national semifinals and final, is set for Dec. 2-5 in Cary, N.C. WakeMed Soccer Park serves as host for the 10th time. Florida State is the defending champion.