The UIC men's soccer team (9-5-3, 6-2-1 HL) will take the first step toward defending their Horizon League Tournament championship in a semifinal match against Cleveland State (7-9-2, 4-3-2 HL) Thursday evening at 7:00 at Flames Field.

"Since we last played Cleveland State, they turned in two impressive results against Wright State, which attests to the quality that's in that team," head coach Sean Phillips said.  "Knockout competition always brings an added element to the game.  It'll take continued improved performances by our team to advance this Thursday against Cleveland State."

Last Time Out

• The Flames ran their unbeaten streak to 10 straight matches with a 2-0 win at Belmont on Friday.
• Jesus Perez and Oscar Gonzalez were the Flames' goal scorers.
• Sawyer Jackman stopped all six shots the Bruins put on goal to post his fourth straight shutout.

Flames to Watch

• Defender Joel Leon and midfielder Perez were named to the All-Horizon League First Team.  Forward Max Todd was a Second Team honoree, and forward Peter Becht and defender Jacob Graiber placed on the All-Freshman Team.
• Perez led the team in assists this season with eight.  He had three game winning goals, sharing team high honors with Todd.
• Gonzalez was the Flames' top goal scorer (6) and points man (17).
• Jackman ended the season with a 0.99 goals against average, with a mark of 0.85 in Horizon League play.  He stopped 80% of the shots conference foes put on net.

Horizon League Seeding

• The Flames secured the #2 seed in the Horizon League tournament, the same spot from which they won the championship last season.
• UIC was just three points behind #1 seed Green Bay, and handed the Phoenix their lone loss in conference play.
• Green Bay waived their right to host the conference tournament, so those honors went to the Flames.

Scouting the Vikings

• Cleveland State shut out #4 Wright State, 4-0 in a quarterfinal matchup on Monday.
• Each of the Vikings' top four goal scorers on the season tallied a strike.
• Sebastian Kalk made four saves, including one on a penalty kick.

Earlier This Season

• UIC beat Cleveland State 1-0 in the team's regular season meeting, Oct. 21 at Flames Field.
• A scoreless draw loomed until Cleveland State was called for a hand ball inside the box in the 110^th minute.  Max Todd took the penalty kick, and struck it surely past the keeper to give UIC the victory.
• The Flames outshot the Vikings 21-8 and took 11 of the game's 15 corner kicks.

Statistically Speaking

• UIC is ranked 8^th nationally with 15.8 shots per game.  6.8 of those shots are on goal, good for the 12^th spot in the NCAA.
• In addition to shots and shots on goal, UIC led the Horizon League with over six corner kicks per game.
• Within conference play, UIC ranked second (0.89) and Cleveland State was third (1.00) in goals allowed.
• Perez, Cleveland State's Noah Pio, and Gonzalez are tightly bunched in spots six through eight on the Horizon League's points per game table.
• UIC placed three players (Perez, Becht, Gonzalez) among the conference's top 10 goal scorers.
• Jackman's shutouts and save percentage were good for second in both categories; Kalk was second in goals-against average.

Long Standing Rivals

• The UIC-Cleveland State rivalry dates back to 1983.
• UIC's win last month snapped a three game Viking win streak in the series, but Cleveland State still leads the overall matchups 20-15-4.
• The teams have played each other four times in conference tournaments.  Most recently, the teams tied 0-0 in a quarterfinal match in 2009, with Cleveland State advancing on penalty kicks.  The Vikings prevailed in the semifinals, 5-3, in 2002.  UIC posted consecutive shutouts in the Midwestern Collegiate quarterfinals in 1999 and 2000, scoring 11 goals in the two matches.

Additional Notes

POSTSEASON HARDWARE: UIC placed five players on the All-Horizon League teams.  Redshirt senior Joel Leon and sophomore Jesus Perez were named to the First Team, junior Max Todd was a Second Team designee, and freshmen Peter Becht and Jacob Graiber earned All-Freshman Team honors.

A LATE CHARGE: The Flames lost their first two Horizon League games, and at the end of September sat in sixth place with a record of 2-2.  They handed regular season champion Green Bay their only Horizon League loss as part of a 6-0-1 finish in conference competition.  On the last day of the regular season, UIC was still in contention for the #1 seed.  Ultimately the Flames settled for second place in the final standings for the second year in a row.

NOT QUITE PERFECT 10: UIC is undefeated (8-0-2) in their last 10 games overall.  It is the longest such streak since 2013, when the team had 10 consecutive wins.  It is also the longest unbeaten streak for any Horizon League team this season.  The Flames finished conference play unbeaten in their last seven matches (6-0-1), marking the longest stretch of Horizon League games without a loss by any team this year.

DOING IT AGAIN: This year's turnaround mirrored the success the Flames found in the second half of last season.  In 2016, the team started 1-5-1, just as it did this year.  Last year UIC rebounded to finish the regular season 6-2-2 and earn the #2 seed in the Horizon League Tournament.

DEFENDING CHAMPIONS: The Flames won last year's Horizon League Tournament, held at Wright State.  They ousted Milwaukee in a semifinal, 2-1 in overtime, and topped the host Raiders 1-0 in the championship.  Max Todd had two assists in the tournament, and Oscar Gonzalez had the game winning goal against Milwaukee.  It was UIC's second Horizon League Tournament championship, and fourth conference tourney title overall.

EVERY OTHER YEAR, IT'S HERE: This marks the third time in the last five seasons that the Flames will host the Horizon League Tournament.  UIC was the conference's top seed in 2013 and 2015.  In 2013, the Flames beat Wright State 1-0 in the semifinals, and then lost to Milwaukee 2-0 in the final at Northwestern's Lakeside Field.  (Unplayable conditions at Flames Field due to torrential rain forced the championship to be moved.)  In 2015, UIC lost in the semifinals to Wright State, 2-1.

IRON MEN: The Cleveland State game in October was the Flames' sixth overtime contest of the season, giving several players another opportunity to rack up minutes.  Jacob Graiber and Joel Leon averaged over 90 minutes per match in the regular season.

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 five of six games, sitting out the Bradley contest, until playing just 69 minutes against Oakland.  He took a team high six shots against IUPUI, which tied the Flames' season high.

JUGGLING THE STARTERS: Thirteen different First XI's were deployed over the 17 regular season 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.  The same lineup took the field each of the last three regular season matches.  Twenty-one players had at least one start.  Only two players (Gonzalez, Garcia) started every match.  Jacob Graiber made his first start as a Flame at Milwaukee and has started the last ten matches.

RETURN OF THE MAX: All three of junior Max Todd's goals this season have been game-winners.  He scored the golden goal at 105:31 to lift the Flames past their crosstown rivals DePaul to mark the 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.  His penalty kick with just 44 seconds left in the second overtime gave the Flames the win over Cleveland State.

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.  The Flames have scored in seven of their last eight games, with a scoreless draw at Northern Kentucky the only blemish.

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 (49) and shots on goal (22).  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 17 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 54 corner kicks.  The Flames have allowed just 79 corners all season.

RACKING UP CORNER KICKS: UIC's offensive pressure has resulted in bountiful chances to take corner kicks.  The Flames are 22^nd in the nation with 6.12 corner kicks per game.  They took 11 of the game's 15 corners against Cleveland State.

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, and backed that performance up with consecutive shutouts against Cleveland State, Oakland, and Belmont.  He is second in the Horizon League with 3.64 saves per game and has a .773 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 Braves.  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, played the whole 90 minutes in every game until IUPUI, and went the distance in four of the last five matches.

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 .533 shot on goal percentage.

GAINING CONFIDENCE: Freshman midfielder Peter Becht has started ten of the last 11 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 and added an assist at Bradley.

DEFENSE STEPS UP: Cristian Sanchez played every minute of nine of the last 10 games and has been a critical part of a back line that has allowed just 0.7 goals per game over that stretch.  When involved in the attack, he has made the most of his opportunities by putting eight of his ten shots on goal.

MAKING THE OFFENSE GO: Nestor Garcia has started every game this season, and played 1520 of a possible 2530 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.