Bucciarelli Leads UC Irvine Past Titans in Soccer

Nicole Bucciarelli had a goal and two assists to lead UC Irvine past Cal State Fullerton, 3-1, in a Big West Conference women’s soccer game Saturday at UC Irvine.

Bucciarelli scored in the 90th minute to seal the victory for Irvine (14-3-3, 7-1-1 in conference), which finished second in conference with 15 points, one behind champion Pacific. Bucciarelli scored a goal in a school-record fifth consecutive game.

Simone Ferrar scored in the third minute to give Irvine the early lead, but Valentina McAfee scored in the 41st minute to tie it for Fullerton (8-10-1, 5-3-1). Heidi Reinhard scored in the 60th minute off Bucciarelli’s second assist to put Irvine ahead for good.

Bucciarelli had 14 goals and five assists this season and is the school’s all-time leading scorer.

In the men’s tennis ITA Regional Championships:

UC Irvine doubles advance--UC Irvine’s Chris Chung and Chris Ma defeated third-seeded Rudolfo Rodriguez and Jerman Maldonado of San Diego in the quarterfinals, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. The semifinals are at 11 a.m. today at Pepperdine.

In Big West Conference women’s volleyball:

Cal State Fullerton 3, UC Irvine 1--Shante Anderson had 14 kills and Allison Anderson had 52 assists to lead the Titans to a 15-13, 15-9, 11-15, 15-9 victory. Larissa Carter had 14 kills and Teri Zartman had 50 assists for Irvine (9-20, 4-10).

Fullerton is 9-16, 3-11.

In nonconference women’s volleyball:

Southern California College 3, Embry-Riddle 0--Sally Birkhauser and Kristy Rostawicki each had 11 kills to lead SCC to its fourth consecutive victory, 15-5, 15-6, 15-9. Nikki Soriano had 30 assists for the Vanguards (12-13).

Fresno Pacific 3, Hope International 0--Ge Xin had 20 kills and four blocks for host Fresno Pacific, which won, 15-8, 15-4, 15-7. Fresno Pacific (26-0) is ranked second in the NAIA.