Irvine Men’s Soccer Team Goes for Record, and NCAA Playoff Berth

The UC Irvine men’s soccer team already has a record-tying number of victories and one more today in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament would give the Anteaters a chance at a crowning achievement.

Irvine (12-7-1) faces San Jose State (18-0-1) at 11 a.m. and Cal State Fullerton (14-4-1) plays Denver (9-5-2) at 2 p.m. in semifinal games at Cal State Fullerton. The winners advance to the championship game at 1 p.m. Sunday at Fullerton.

San Jose and Fullerton, regular-season champions of the MPSF’s two divisions, are likely to receive at-large berths in the NCAA playoffs even if they don’t earn the automatic invitation a tournament championship brings.

But that’s not the case for Denver, which is in its second year of Division I competition, or Irvine, which is making its first postseason appearance.

Irvine tied Fullerton, 1-1, in the Oct. 8 MPSF Pacific Division opener, but the Anteaters probably need to win the MPSF tournament to earn an NCAA berth.

That’s a tall order.

San Jose is ranked No. 1 in the National Soccer Coaches of American Assn. poll and is no lower than fifth in the four other major national rankings. The Spartans’ only blemish is a 1-1 tie with Stanford on Sept. 26.

Irvine is coming off a 1-0 loss to San Diego State on Sunday in which it surrendered an own-goal in the ninth minute. It was the first time this season the Anteaters were shut out.

Nonetheless, spirits are high on an Irvine team that equaled a 16-year-old school record for victories in a season.

“We don’t have any superstars, no players from the national team, at least not just now,” Irvine Coach George Kuntz said. “But we have a lot of players who have been given an opportunity to excel and they have worked extremely hard and they have produced a fine team.”

Freshman Sebastian Galmarini has three goals in the last five games. Junior midfielder Jon Spencer ranked second in the MPSF in scoring with 12 goals and six assists. Senior forward Eric Monterastelli has five goals and two assists. Freshman forward Roger Davanger has six goals and three assists. Sophomore midfielder Scott Bowman ranked second in the MPSF with seven assists.

Senior goalkeeper Tyler Reid has six shutouts and a 1.42 goals-against average. His 13.5 career shutouts are a school record.

San Jose’s Isaias Bardales, a sophomore midfielder, has nine goals, three assists and a three-game goal-scoring streak. Senior midfielder Jorge Martinez led the MPSF in scoring with 16 goals and 10 assists.