The UIC men's soccer team (6-5-3, 3-2-1 HL) will begin its final stretch of Horizon League competition on Saturday when they welcome Cleveland State (5-6-2, 3-1-2 HL) to Flames Field for a 1:00 pm kickoff.  The teams are separated by just one point in the conference standings, adding greater import to the third-to-last match of the season.

"I expect another challenging Horizon League competition on Saturday," head coach Sean Phillips said.  "Our games with Cleveland State are always very high quality soccer games."

Last Time Out

• The Flames remained unbeaten in seven straight games with a 2-1 win over Bradley.
• Abel Guzman scored the game's first goal in the first half.  Jacob Graiber netted the game-winner in the second half.
• Sokratis Vasilas made two saves and earned his first win as a Flame.

Flames to Watch

• Jesus Perez assisted on Graiber's goal, increasing his team lead to eight helpers.
• Guzman and Graiber became the fifth and sixth Flames to score multiple goals this season.  Oscar Gonzalez leads the team with five.
• Gonzalez and Perez have each scored at least one point in three of the last four Horizon League matches.

Viking Vitals

• Cleveland State settled for a draw with Green Bay last Saturday.
• The Vikings held a 1-0 lead until three cards were issued with just over one minute to play.  On the restart, Green Bay struck for the equalizer.
• The draw ended a two match losing streak.  Cleveland State has not won since Sept. 30.
• Noah Pio and Vlad Jandric share the team lead with four goals.  Jandric has a team high 10 points.
• "Cleveland State has quite a bit of quality on their team as evidenced by their competitive schedule and the results they've earned in Horizon League play," Phillips noted.

Statistically Speaking

• The Flames are 10^th in the nation in shots per game (15.9) and 13^th in shots on goal (6.9).
• Perez is 7^th in the NCAA in total assists.
• Both teams are in the middle of the pack in Horizon League scoring.  UIC's 1.5 goals per game in conference play ranks them fifth, while Cleveland State is in sixth with 1.33.  The Vikings' 0.78 goals against average is second in league play.
• Pio has taken the most shots in conference action.  He, Gonzalez, and Perez are tied with 1.17 points per game, and Peter Becht is also in the top 10.

Horizon League Rivals

• Cleveland State is one of UIC's longest standing rivals.  The series dates back to 1983, and the Vikings hold a 20-14-4 all time edge.
• The Vikings have won three straight meetings.
• CSU is third in the Horizon League standings with 11 points.  UIC is tied for fourth, with 10 points to their credit.  The third and fourth seeds host quarterfinal matchups in the Horizon League Tournament, while the top two seeds get byes to the semifinals.
• Phillips put the crowded conference standings in perspective.  "With the results in the conference this past weekend, points are even more valuable.  We have to continue to strive to be a better team than we were against Bradley to begin this final conference push with a positive result," he said.

Additional Notes

IRON MEN: The Flames played five overtime periods over their first five games, and double overtime contests against Loyola and Northern Kentucky gave several players another opportunity to rack up minutes.  To date, Jose Fuentes, Jacob Graiber, and Joel Leon are all averaging over 90 minutes per match.

FINALLY, SOME REST: Jose Fuentes did not come off the pitch for a single minute over the Flames' first five games.  He was subbed out in the 84^th minute against Wright State and was absent from the starting lineup for the first time all year against Northwestern.  He played at least 80 minutes in four straight games before sitting out the Bradley contest.  He took a team high six shots against the Jaguars, which tied the Flames' season high.

JUGGLING THE STARTERS: Twelve different First XI's have been deployed over the first 14 matches.  The Green Bay match was the first time a starting lineup was reused from a previous match, and when the same lineup began the Northern Kentucky game, it marked the first time a lineup remained completely intact over two consecutive matches.  Twenty-one players have at least one start.  Only two players (Gonzalez, Garcia) have started every match.  Jacob Graiber made his first start as a Flame at Milwaukee and has started the last seven matches.

RETURN OF THE MAX: Junior Max Todd scored the golden goal at 105:31 to lift the Flames past their crosstown rivals DePaul.  It was Todd's first game winner of his career.  He missed the next three games but returned against Wright State and made an immediate impact, initiating the offense and getting off three shots in 24 minutes.  Todd came off the bench again versus Northern Illinois and came through with another game-winner, putting a free kick into the net in the 68^th minute.

SOME GOALS, PLEASE: Jesus Perez' first goal at Milwaukee ended a drought of 440:13 since the team's previous goal, spanning six games.  In between, the Flames were shut out for four straight games for the first time since 1996, when Green Bay, Cleveland State, Loyola, and Western Michigan blanked the Flames in succession.

GO WITH O.G.: Oscar Gonzalez has been a catalyst for the Flames' offense.  He leads the team in goals with five, as well as shots (43) and shots on goal (18).  He took a team-high five shots against Northwestern and also paced the Flames against Northern Illinois.  He one of four Flames with a goal and an assist, and is first on the team with 15 points.  His two goal performance at IUPUI was the first multi-goal game of his career, and helped earn him Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week honors.

NOT AN INSTANT REPLAY: Jesus Perez scored at 3:23 against Milwaukee, marking his first goal as a Flame, and liked it so much he scored again at 5:02.  He was named Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week for his feat.  It was the first time a Flame had scored twice in a match since October 31, 2015, and the fastest the team scored twice since they got two goals in 2:04 last November 4.

GET THIS MAN SOME CHEESE: Jesus Perez clearly enjoys playing in Milwaukee.  In addition to his two goals at UWM, he assisted on both Flames goals against Marquette (9/1).  He is the team's leader with seven assists.  He is also frequently called upon to initiate action from the corner.  He has taken a team high 47 corner kicks.  The Flames have allowed just 67 corners all season.

RACKING UP CORNER KICKS: UIC's offensive pressure has resulted in bountiful chances to take corner kicks.  The Flames are 26^th in the nation with 5.9 corner kicks per game.  They took 11 of the game's 14 corners against Northern Kentucky.

WILLING AND ABEL: Abel Guzman is one of the Flames' goal scorers this season, striking on a penalty kick against DePaul.  He took a team high 6 shots versus the Blue Demons as the Flames rallied to win.  He also sparked the offense as a starter against Bradley, connecting on the game's first goal.

SAWYER MAKES STOPS: Sawyer Jackman made two highlight reel saves late in the game against Loyola to preserve the draw.  He stopped a 90^th-minute header right at the post, and turned away a penalty kick in overtime.  Against Green Bay, he saved a PK for the second time this season.  His heroics against the Ramblers and Phoenix earned him Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week honors.  On two occasions (Milwaukee and Loyola), he allowed no goals during the run of play (only being scored on via penalty kicks).  Jackman shut out Northern Kentucky to mark his first clean sheet as a Flame.  He is fourth in the Horizon League with 3.55 saves per game and has a .722 save percentage.

NEW FACE IN NET: Sokratis Vasilas earned his first Flames win against Bradley.  He was called upon to make two saves against the Braved.  He made his first appearance and first start in goal against Eastern Illinois.  He also started against Northwestern and made four saves, and aggressively challenged several additional attempts via Wildcat crosses and corner kicks.

THE DEFENSE RESTS: Back Joel Leon played every minute of the Flames' first three games, helping anchor a back line that shut out then-#25 Butler during regulation, and posted a win and a draw.  Leon got some well-deserved rest during the Eastern Illinois game.  He returned to the lineup against Wright State and has played the whole 90 minutes in every game until IUPUI.

VEGA, BABY, VEGA: Ricardo Vega returned to the starting lineup against NIU.  He started the first five matches of the season but did not appear in the next three.  He was part of the back line that allowed the Huskies just five shots and a mere two on goal.

LYES COMES ON: After easing into the lineup against DePaul, freshman Lyes Ghezali started and played significant minutes in each of the next four games.  He was in the middle of the action against IUPUI, logging his first two assists in a Flames uniform.  He is fourth on the team with a .636 shot on goal percentage.

GAINING CONFIDENCE: Freshman midfielder Peter Becht has started seven of the last eight games and played at least 58 minutes in each one, after easing his way into the rotation the previous five outings.  He scored his first career goal against Northern Illinois and made it a tally in two straight with another goal against IUPUI.  Becht scored twice against Green Bay, making it four goals in a four game stretch, and won Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week honors.

MAKING HIS MARK-ELL: Junior Markell Saddler saw his first action of the season when he started against Detroit Mercy.  He tied for a team-high three shots, putting one on net.  He tallied the first point of his UIC career with an assist against Northern Illinois.

DEFENSE STEPS UP: Cristian Sanchez has played every minute of each of the last seven games and has been a critical part of a back line that has allowed just 1.0 goals per game over that stretch.  When involved in the attack, he has made the most of his opportunities by putting seven of his eight shots on goal.

MAKING THE OFFENSE GO: Nestor Garcia has started every game this season, and played 1231 of a possible 2241 minutes.  He is a catalyst of the Flames' attack, often playing an instrumental role in transitioning the ball from the defensive third to the offensive third from his midfield spot.