UCI women’s soccer team, which drew a record 1,704 fans to opener, back home Thursday

UC Irvine’s Jonnae Joseph is welcomed by teammates.

UC Irvine’s women’s soccer team is gearing up for two big matches at home this week.

Thursday night, the Anteaters host Arizona at 7 p.m. and on Sunday, UCI is home against University of Utah at 1 p.m.

Last week UCI lost to USC, 1-0, opening the season with a loss for the sixth time in seven seasons.

In Thursday’s match, there was a record turnout of 1,704, breaking the previous mark of 1,611 set in 2011.

The crowd was also the largest Anteater Stadium crowd for a regular-season match. It was the fourth-largest stadium crowd on record. The men’s team has drawn more, but they were for post-season matches.

Three freshmen had their collegiate debuts on Thursday:
Kala McDaniel, Amber Huff, and Alex Jaquez.

The Anteaters were voted the favorites to win the Big West Conference in 2018 edging out a projected top four of Long Beach State, Cal State Fullerton, and Cal State Northridge.