Oct. 22, 2000

Box Score

Dayton, Ohio - It didn't come quite as easy as the first, but this afternoon, the UIC soccer team clinched its second consecutive Midwestern Collegiate Conference regular-season title with a thrilling 2-1 victory at Wright State.

"This feels great," Head Coach Sasha Begovic said moments after securing his second straight MCC title. "The guys played great today - they moved the ball nicely and really dominated for most of the game. I'm very proud of them and couldn't be happier for what they've achieved."

The Flames, who moved into first place in the league standings following Thursday night's wild 4-3 win over crosstown rival, Loyola, improve to 12-3-2 overall and 5-1-1 in the MCC. Wright State falls to 7-7-2 and 2-3-1 in the MCC.

UIC, whose road to the regular-season title was a bit bumpier this season with a loss at home to UW-Green Bay and a tie at Detroit, will now wait to find out its first round opponent in the MCC Tournament, which begins on Tuesday, Oct. 31, as the league's seven other teams jockey for position. With a win on Sunday, Loyola could tie UIC for the regular-season title. However, UIC's win over the Ramblers earlier this season guarantees them the #1 seed in the MCC tournament

This afternoon against the Raiders, UIC wasted no time in taking the lead as Greg Chrisman (Bloomingdale, Ill./Glenbard North) set up Nick Dudziak (Bartlett, Ill./Elgin) for his second goal of the season just eight minutes into the contest.

The Flames, who were outshot for the second time in as many games, 17-13, then got an insurance goal that would prove to be needed in the 78th minute as Jay DeMerit (Green Bay, Wis./Bay Port) headed in his second goal of the season on a nice pass from Eric Lukin (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg).

Wright State managed to avoid the shutout with less than six minutes to play in the game as Dan Griest snuck a shot past UIC goalie Chris Jamal (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) in the 84th minute, but the Flames held strong in the final moments for the win. Jamal, who stopped eight shots, picked up his eighth victory of the season.

UIC, which will be seeking its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance when post-season play begins, will wrap up the regular-season with a non-conference showdown against Western Illinois on Thursday, Oct. 26, at Flames Field at 2:00 p.m.