STOCKTON, Calif. - Coming off a 3-2 win on Sunday against Eastern Washington, the Pacific women's soccer team will take to the road to face UC Irvine on Thursday at 4 p.m.
With seven goals in two games, the offense for the Tigers is starting to come together with five-different goal scorers. A pair of fifth-year players,
Lauren Frohan and
Jaida Nyby have each found the back of the net twice to lead the attack. Nyby, who was an honorable mention all-WCC selection in 2022, had the game-winning goal in the win on Sunday when she successfully converted a penalty kick. The Tigers head into Thursday's contest with a 31-19 advantage in shots and 20-11 in shots on goal. Unselfish play has seen five-different players record an assist.
Defensively, freshman
Libby Davy has quickly made a name for herself as the starting goalkeeper in the first two matches, playing all 180 minutes. Davy has made five saves on 19 shots. She will continue to be supported on the defensive side of the pitch with another one of the Tigers fifth-year standouts in
Hana Rosenblatt and senior
Laila Saravia, who will team up to anchor the defense.
Thursday's opponent UC Irvine will be a rematch of former Big West rivals, who will meet up for the first time since 2012 on the pitch and for the 26
th time. The Anteaters hold a slight 13-12-1 advantage in the all-time series. UCI landed three players on the preseason all-Big West Conference team as the Anteaters were picked to finish third in the preseason poll. UC Irvine received three first-place votes and 79 points behind Long Beach State (87 pts., 2 first place votes) and Cal Poly (86 pts., 4 first place votes).
UC Irvine begins the 2023 season receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches national rankings. With 14 preseason votes, UCI sits two shy of joining the top 25. UC Irvine finished the 2022 season ranked No. 18 according to United Soccer Coaches. It's just the second time in program history UCI finished the season ranked joining the 2010 squad that was No. 14.
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG:
LIVE STATS: https://tinyurl.com/25ub9dvu
LIVE VIDEO: https://tinyurl.com/mr2kp2mf
