UC Irvine vs. St. John’s

When: Today, 2 p.m.

Where: St. John’s, Queens, N.Y.

Breakdown: The No. 14-seeded Anteaters (15-1-6), ranked No. 7 in the latest national coaches poll and ranked No. 1 in the West Region, have won seven straight and are unbeaten in their last 11 contests heading in the NCAA Tournament round of 16 contest ... The No. 3-seeded Red Storm (17-2-3) had their nine-game unbeaten streak snapped with a 1-0 overtime loss to South Florida in the title game of the Big East Tournament, before beating Boston University, 1-0, in the NCAA second round ... St. John’s is 10-0 this season at its Belson Stadium, including five straight shutouts and eight blankings overall ... The program that won the 1996 national championship and advanced to the College Cup (semifinals) in 2001 and 2003 has posted 16 shutouts this season. Senior goalkeeper Neal Kitson has 15 shutouts this season, a school single-season record and the Red Storm’s 0.35 goals against average leads the nation ... Nelson Becerra, a junior midfielder, has seven goals, and five assists, both team highs ... UCI is paced by school career points and goals leader Matt Murphy (85 points and 33 goals), as well as scoring threats Spencer Thompson (eight goals, six assists) and Irving Garcia (six goals, eight assists) ... Senior David Sias, the Big West Conference Defensive Player of the Year, anchors a stingy UCI defense that includes freshman goalie Andrew Fontein (five shutouts) ... If UCI wins, it would visit either No. 6-seeded Indiana (13-6-3) or No. 11-seeded Michigan (13-5-3).

— Barry Faulkner