Anteaters win third in a row

IRVINE — To convey a fully comprehensive understanding of the strategic changes behind a recent upswing, UC Irvine men’s soccer coach George Kuntz would require a display board and the rapt attention of anyone interested.

But when it comes to the instructive skills necessary to educate an uninitiated soccer enthusiast about the forces behind the Anteaters’ goals in Wednesday’s 4-2 Big West Conference home victory over UC Riverside, Kuntz might enlist the help of professors more proficient in physics and geometry.

Senior Irving Garcia, a central figure in a winning streak that has now reached three matches, scored two goals and added an assist for the Anteaters (9-4, 2-2 in conference) Wednesday. The 5-foot-5 preseason All-American, whose late-season scoring surge helped fuel last year’s unprecedented run to the NCAA round of 16, now has five goals and two assists in the last three contests, producing 12 points in that span after registering just eight points in the first 10 games this season.

Some of Garcia’s recent productivity is due to a return to his normal fitness level after a preseason ankle injury forced him to catch up with his teammates’ conditioning.

But part of it, Kuntz said, is the aforementioned shift from a 4-4-2 formation to a 4-2-3-1. The change, which followed two losses to start Big West play for the defending conference champions, allows Garcia, an outside midfielder, more freedom to initiate offensive opportunities, due to more defensive support in the middle, Kuntz said.

Garcia, of course, can make an opportunity out of a seemingly innocuous possession, as he showed on the first goal of the game against the Highlanders (1-11, 0-4).

Garcia took a pass from Spencer Thompson on the right wing and blasted an arching shot that caromed off the inside of the far post just past the goal line and back to the near side netting of the cage in the 10th minute.

Thompson earned a second assist with a strong sequence in which he maintained possession, and position, on two defenders, who were literally repelled by Thompson’s strength with the ball. Once clear of pressure, Thompson, nicknamed Freight Train, then left a soft pass at the foot of Jonathan Prieto, who bent a shot into the upper left corner of the net. Prieto’s precision, in the 31st minute, left Riverside goalkeeper Ryan Schmitz no chance to even touch the ball.

The Anteaters, playing at home for the first time since UC Davis stunned them with a 2-1 overtime win to halt an eight-game home unbeaten streak against conference foes, appeared to be on their way to the blowout expected against a team that had scored only seven goals all season and been blanked six times this in its first 11 contests.

But Riverside, which had produced just two goals in its previous seven matches, scored twice to pull even.

The visitors’ first goal was a penalty kick set up by a foul in the box in the 39th minute.

The Highlanders got the equalizer in the 59th minute on a blast by Cesar Diaz from the left wing.

But UCI remained poised.

“We had plenty of time to get another goal,” Garcia said. “We felt like we could get one or more goals and we got two more. We didn’t panic. We just kept playing, touching the ball, and we got two [goals].”

Amani Walker notched the final tally for the hosts, fielding an accurate pass from near midfield by Garcia. Walker gathered the pass, settled it onto his foot and beat the keeper in the 73rd minute.

The goal ended an eight-game scoreless streak for Walker, who had one goal in the first four games this season.

“I was especially pleased with Amani’s goal,” Kuntz said. “We’ve seen him scoring in practice, but he’s had a drought, which is why he has been coming off the bench. I was looking for him to snag a goal, and that was tremendous for him.”

UCI lost Jorge Reyes to a controversial red card in the 23rd minute, but Riverside surrendered its man advantage less than two minutes later, when Nathan Paterson received a red card.

Both players will be sidelined for their team’s next game.