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What 2 Watch 4
- The opening matches of Big West competition are in the books as more conference matchups commence this week while non-conference clashes continue around the pitch. Seven of the Big West’s nine matchups on the week feature conference clashes.
- A trio of teams secured three points with Cal Poly, Hawai’i, and UC Riverside earning wins to open league action.
- UC Davis, the lone team yet to face a Big West opponent, travels to CSUN and Cal State Bakersfield for its opening pair of league tilts this week. UC Santa Barbara and Hawai’i hit the road for both of its Big West contests this week.
- A total of eight matches are set to air on ESPN+; check the listings here.
Last Week Today
- UC Irvine and Long Beach State played to a 1-1 draw in the latest installment of the Black & Blue rivarly. Redshirt forward Alyssa Moore converted on the team’s first shot of the night (11:02) off a feed from junior midfielder Tati Fung from 30 yards out for the 1-0 Anteater advantage. With about nine minutes remaining in regulation before the final horn (81:51) sophomore midfielder Julia Moore knocked a low finish past UC Irvine goalkeeper Glo Hinojosa to even the score, 1-1 and secure a draw with the Beach.
- UC Riverside earned its first win of the year in its conference opener against Cal State Fullerton in a 3-1 triumph. The Highlanders dominated scoring three unanswered tallies (‘25:44, ‘34:28, ‘61:13) to secure the victory in front of the home crowd. Spenser Gonzales, Daphane Mendez, and Charisma Benitez rounded out the list of goal scorers for UC Riverside. The contribution helped the junior forward claim Big West Offensive Player of the Week recognition.
- UC Riverside junior forward Daphane Mendez tallied five points this week to claim Big West Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week honors. In total, Mendez produced one goal and three assists to cap off the impressive performance of the week. This is Mendez’s first career weekly distinction.
Mendez notched an assist on the Highlander’s lone goal against Portland State during the squad's 1-3 setback. The Murrieta product has now assisted on three of UC Riverside’s six goals on the year and has goal involvement in three of the team's last four matches after a goal versus San Francisco and an assist against Nevada.
In the Big West conference opener against Cal State Fullerton, the junior forward contributed on all three UC Riverside scores. Mendez dished out feeds on the first and final Highlander goals but found the back of the net on her own during the 35th mintue on the teams second score. Mendez became the first UC Riverside player since 2019 with multiple assists in a Big West match and also guided UC Riverside to its first three-goal performance in a Big West match since 2018’s conference opener against the Titans.
Raibon converted on a corner kick sent in by teammate Isabella Cruz to give the home team a 1-0 advantage in the 56th minute of the match and clinch Cal State Fullerton’s first victory of the year in front of the Titan crowd. The sophomore came up clutch once again the following match converting a hard-kicked blast from the penalty strike during the 75th minute to escape the Bay Area with another dub on the week, this time against Cal. Raibon’s four goals account for the most on Cal State Fullerton and is currently tied for second place amongst all Big West student-athletes.
- Cal Poly swept the week behind a pair of 3-1 triumphs highlighted by a big win on the road versus UC Santa Barbara in both squad's Big West opener.
Junior goalkeeper Mackenzie Samuel stopped four shots and played all 180 minutes of action on the week en route to earning the second Big West Defensive Player of the Week honor of the season. This is Samuel’s fourth Player of the Week honor (Oct. 4, 2021 | Oct. 17, 2022 | Aug. 28, 2023).
During the pair of Mustang victories, Samuel allowed just two goals in two matches after facing 22 shots on the week. During the 24th minute of Cal Poly’s conference opener versus UC Santa Barbara, Samuel stepped in front of a scorching shot from the Gauchos leading scorer, Lauren Helwig, that prevented the opposition from getting on the board first.
- Cal Poly freshman forward Annika Smith recorded three points this week to claim Freshman of the Week accolades. This is the first Big West weekly honor of Smith’s career.
Smith sent an assist during the Mustang’s third and final goal against UC Santa Barbara to clinch Cal Poly’s first conference win of the 2023 campaign.
- Hawai’i locked up its first conference win after fending off CSUN, 2-1. Freshman midfielder Izzy Ayala netted the first goal of her college career in the 34th-minute courtesy of a corner kick. Moore leads UC Irvine with five goals and recorded the last three tallies for the team. Less than five minutes later, senior midfielder Nohara Takayama scored the first goal as a member of the Bows after converting a long-range shot into the left corner. Senior goalkeeper Sophie Augustin denied three CSUN shots in all 90 minutes of play. For the fifth time this season, Augustin played all 90 minutes in net for the Bows.
- Cal State Bakersfield and UC San Diego battled to a 1-1 decision during both squad's Big West season opener. With just under 15 minutes remaining in the first half of play, sophomore midfielder Lindsey Park found the back of the net for the first time in 2023 off a beautiful feed from freshman midfielder Alexis Nguyen. Nguyen has started in all eight matches for the Tritons this season. The Roadrunners responded with a tally of their own during the 54-minute mark with sophomore defender Jette Zimmer knotting the contest at one-all. The Tritons have three draws on the year while the Runners have recorded two ties thus far.
Lurking Among the Nation's Best
- During week four and five of the season, NCAA DI Untied National Soccer Coaches Poll, Long Beach State is receiving votes to crack the nation’s Top 25. Previously, UC Irvine also earned votes in the preseason and week two of the national poll.
Preseason Prognostications
- In a tightly contested battle at the top of the standings, Long Beach State has been selected as the top team in the Big West heading into the 2023 season, as voted on by the league’s 11 head coaches.
The Beach (8-7-6, 5-2-3 BW) earned 87 points and two first-place votes in the polling to claim the top spot in the preseason table after appearing in The Big West Championship title match a year ago.
Coaches in the league also voted on a 12-person Preseason All-Big West team. Long Beach State claimed two spots on the preseason team with the pairing of Cherrie Cox and Maddy Perez earning the honors. In 2022, Cox became the sixth Big West Freshman of the Year in Long Beach history after tallying 15 points (5 goals, 5 assists) on the season, 12 of which came during conference play. Perez returns to the picture behind a 2022 campaign that was capped off with a 2022 Big West All-Conference First Team selection and All-West Region Third Team accolades for a stellar performance on the back line. Perez also earned Big West Freshman of the Year recognition during the 2021 season.
Cal Poly (9-7-3, 6-1-3 BW) was left from the top spot on the poll after notching one less point (86) than the Beach but still holds the advantage in first-place votes with four. The defending regular season champions will look to climb their way back to the top after falling in a hard-fought Big West Semifinals match to the eventual conference champion UC Irvine. Emma Brown boasts preseason honors after contributing to a Cal Poly defense that secured 10 shutout victories a year ago, the most in program history since 2009. Brown was selected to the 2022 All-Big West First Team, and 2022 United Soccer Coaches All-West Region Third Team, respectively, behind 1,786 minutes of play on the back line, qualifying for the most in program history since 2017.
One point also separated the third and fourth spots on the preseason list between UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton as the Anteaters accumulated 79 points (3 first-place votes) to rival the Titan's 78 points (oen first-place vote).
Defending conference champion UC Irvine (11-6-7, 3-2-5 BW) will look to clinch its third consecutive Big West Championship title after going on an NCAA Tournament run that included a berth to the Sweet Sixteen after dethroning No. 14 USC, 2-0, and advancing past Brown in PK’s, 4-2, during the first two rounds on the national stage. UC Irvine’s three representatives on the preseason team account for the most of any Big West institution. Gianna Crieghton started and played in all 24 matches last year to tie a single-season program record with 2,191 minutes played. The Anteaters will look towards the leadership and play of goalkeeper Glo Hinojosa, who returned to the team for a graduate year. Hinojosa was named MVP of the Big West Championship and set the single-season high for saves at UC Irvine with 86. Alyssa Moore also returns to the field after being tied for the team lead with six goals and earning a spot on the 2022 All-Big West Second Team and 2022 National Team of the Week for the week of Aug. 21st.
Cal State Fullerton (6-2-2, 9-6-5 BW) takes command of the list with its two honorees, Makenna McGill, and Kaylin Raibon. Raibon returns after making 18 starts as an outside back on the Titan's defense that produced a 1.088 GAA, placing third in the Big West a year ago. Raibon also celebrates a 2022 Big West Freshman of the Week honor after recording two assists in a crucial conference win on Oct. 6. McGill arrived at Cal State Fullerton from Washington State a year ago where the forward saw action in 12 matches in a Titan's uniform.
UC Davis (9-6-4, 6-2-2 BW) finished fifth in voting with 69 points. Senior Midfielder Leslie Fregoso led the Aggies in scoring with goals (6), ranking seventh amongst all players in the conference last year, clinching a spot on the 2022 All-Big West First Team.
UC Santa Barbara (5-9-6, 4-3-3 BW) received a lone first-place vote behind its 58 points and is projected to secure the sixth and final spot in the Big West Championship according to the votes. The Gauchos return Lauren Helwig as their top goal scorer (7) from a year ago earning 2022 All-Big West First Team honors. The Midfielder placed fifth in the conference with 15 points. Other than Helwig, the student-athletes listed above her in the top 5 have completed their respective collegiate careers.
Hawai’i slides into the seventh-place slot with 44 points. Graduate student Eliza Ammendolia gathered a 2022 All-Big West First Team Selection after starting in 13 of the team's 15 total matches.
UC San Diego (36), UC Riverside (29), CSUN (20), and Cal State Bakersfield (15) round out the preseason rankings. These four squads will be looking to shake up the league after improving last season.
Play across The Big West kicks off this Thursday, Aug. 17. Conference play begins on Thursday, Sept. 14 with four matches on the docket, kicking off a seven-week slate. Each side will see five home matches and three bye dates dotted throughout the Thursday-Sunday rotation that ends on Oct. 26.
2022 Postseason Rewind
- Last year’s edition features six teams, up from four, with the top two seeds enjoying first-round byes. Those two sides were No. 1 seed and regular-season champion Cal Poly (9-6-3, 6-1-3 Big West, 21 points), and second-seeded UC Davis (9-5-4, 6-2-2 BW, 20 points). The Mustangs also earned the right to serve as hosts for the semifinals on Thursday, Nov. 3, and the championship match on Sunday, Nov. 6.
Although these teams claimed the top two spots in the 2022 Big West Women’s Soccer Championship, both squads fell in the semifinal round in a pair of hard-fought matches. From there, fourth-seeded Long Beach State and sixth-seeded UC Irvine clashed in the title match, with the Anteaters securing the victory, 3-0.
After claiming consecutive Big West Championship crowns, UC Irvine was set to represent the conference on the national stage and mimic another magical run similar to last year.
The Anteaters avenged their regular season loss to the Trojans by shutting out No. 14 USC, 2-0, in the opening round at 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship.
The following match, The Big West Championship Most Valuable Player Glo Hinojosa came up with huge saves in regulation, overtime and the penalty-kick tiebreaker to propel UC Irvine past Brown University and into the third round of the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship. The result of the first all-time meeting between the programs officially goes down as a 1-1 draw, with The Big West champion UC Irvine advancing 4-2 on penalty kicks.
UC Irvine’s historic season ended at the hands of No. 3 Alabama, 3-1, in the third round of the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship.
From The Big West to the Big Leagues
- In January 2022, Long Beach State forward Lena Silano was selected 34th overall by the Washington Spirit in the third round of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Draft.
Silano was the second straight player from the Beach to be drafted and is the fourth overall Big West student-athlete to hear their name called in the NWSL Draft. Former teammate, Kaitlin Fregulia and 2x Big West Defensive Player of the Year (2017, 2021) was selected 12th overall to the North Carolina Courage as the highest draft pick in Big West Women’s Soccer history.
Silano won the 2022 Big West Offensive Player of the Year Award and has been an All-Big West selection twice (2021, 2022). The forward also was a member of the 2022 United Soccer Coaches All-West Region First Team.
Two months later, another alum of the Big West would have an opportunity to play in the NWSL as UC Irvine alum Scarlett Camberos was signed by Angel City FC (LA), marking her return to Southern California after spending time at Club América Femenil. The former Anteater scored 13 goals and notched seven assists during her senior season.
Another monumental moment for the conference occurred during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup while Quinley Quezada represented UC Riverside and the Big West on the biggest stage while playing for the Philippines. The squad suffered a 2-0 defeat versus Switzerland in the first group stage before winning its first-ever world cup match against New Zealand, 1-0 on July 25, 2023. However, The Philippines fell in its final group match to Norway, 6-0.
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