Sept. 17, 2005
Chicago, Ill.- Chicago gets its first up-close in-game look at the UIC soccer team this Sunday when the Flames play their home opener against Eastern Illinois at Flames Field beginning at 4:45 p.m Central.
Tickets are only $5 for adults and $3 for children ages 12 and under and senior citizens ages 65 and older. UIC home soccer matches are also covered through the UIC All-Sport Ticket, which provides four general admission tickets to all regular season home events for soccer, volleyball, women's basketball, baseball, softball and gymnastics events at UIC.
Fans will have the chance to see Flames Field from different angles as new seating on the west side of the field will make its debut. The team benches for the Flames and visiting opponents will now be located near the regular east side stands.
For more on the match between UIC and Eastern Illinois, check out the game notes below.
WE'RE FINALLY HOME!
Following two road matches in the preseason and three consecutive away games to open the 2005 regular season, the UIC soccer team gets their first chance to perform in front of their fans at Flames Field this Sunday against Eastern Illinois in the lid-lifter of a three-game homestand. UIC then opens the Horizon League slate at Flames Field this Friday versus crosstown rival Loyola, followed by league foe Detroit next Sunday.
FLAMES TAKE BOUNCE OUT OF KANGAROOS' STEP
UIC last played on Sept. 10th, winning a 2-1 overtime battle with UMKC in Kansas City. The Flames fell behind for the first time this season in the 23rd minute, but UIC answered back in the second half with a breakaway score from sophomore Cesar Zambrano (Chicago, Ill./Brother Rice). Following a defensive battle to close regulation at 1-1, junior Tonci Skroce (Zadar, Croatia/IX Gimnasium/Kendall College) quickly sent the fans home with the golden goal 49 seconds into overtime.
TONCI CONTINUES CLUTCH PLAY
Junior Tonci Skroce knocked in his second game-winning goal this past Saturday against UMKC. Skroce also scored the match-deciding score against then-No. 24 Loyola Marymount on Sept. 3rd.
PAVLE PASSES PERFECTLY
Although he has yet to score a goal in the regular season following a three-goal preseason performance, sophomore Pavle Dundjer (Becmen, Belgrade/Zimunska Gimazija) has proven to be a key to the UIC attack with assists on all three Flames goals this season. Dundjer notched two helpers in UIC's win over Loyola Marymount and set up the game-winner in UIC's 2-1 overtime win over UMKC.
CESAR'S NOT LITTLE
In the early stages of his first year of collegiate soccer, Cesar Zambrano is showing why he is already one of the top strikers in the Horizon League. The efficient Chicago native has two goals in three games, using only three total shots to earn his four points.
ENGLBRECHT A TOUGH WALL TO GET PAST
Despite his scoreless streak ending at 223 minutes during the first half of the UMKC game, Jeff Engelbrecht (Peoria, Ill./Notre Dame H.S.) continued his stellar play this past Saturday. Engelbrecht now has a 0.31 goals against average and 16 stops on the year.
BENCH SHOWS STRENGTH VERSUS UMKC
UIC head coach John Trask praised his reserves mightily for their strong play following a sluggish first half for the Flames this past Saturday. Newcomers Dan Simek (LaGrange, Ill./Lyons Township) and Brandon Bilbrey (Barrington, Ill./Fremd/Philadelphia) and young veterans Pawel Ligas (Justice, Ill./Argo) and Brodey Simkins (Bozeman, Mont./Bozeman) were singled out by Trask as having stellar performances against UMKC, but Trask applauded his entire bench for their spark.
THE OPPOSITION: EASTERN ILLINOIS
Eastern Illinois comes into Sunday's match following a 2-0 shutout of Valparaiso on Friday night in Charleston, Ill. The Panthers are 2-3-1 and are coached by sixth-year skipper Adam Howarth. Eastern Illinois is led by senior forward Jimmy Klatter, who has three goals and two assists for eight points on the season so far.
UIC NOW ONLY UNBEATEN OF HORIZON LEAGUE
Following Butler's 1-0 loss at the hands of James Madison at the Lobo Invitational on Friday night, the UIC soccer team remained the only unbeaten team in the Horizon League at 2-0-1.
OH CAPTAINS, MY CAPTAINS
Leading the Flames this season are captains Skroce and Derek Kosek (Batavia, Ill./Batavia), a junior back.
YOU U-19 GUYS ARE GOOD
Sophomores Nick Sutter (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) and Brandon Bilbrey (Barrington, Ill./Fremd) come into this season with championship experience from their summer as the two paced Sockers FC Chicago to the US Youth Soccer Under-19 National Championship. Sutter and Bilbrey played huge roles in helping Sockers take home the prestigious James P. McGuire Trophy, a 70-year-old prize that is the oldest youth sports trophy in the United States.
UIC HEAD COACH John Trask
January 17, 2005 marked a new day in UIC soccer, as UIC Director of Athletics Jim Schmidt tabbed John Trask as the program's fourth head coach since the school became a Division I institution in 1981.
No one can claim the credentials that Trask has on his resume. From 1991 through 1999, Trask served as an assistant to legendary IU mentor Jerry Yeagley during the cultivation of a Hoosier soccer dynasty. Indiana went 169-29-12 during Trask's tenure, winning eight Big Ten titles and back-to-back National Championships along the way.
At Indiana Trask helped recruit and teach some of the nation's greatest players, with Dema Kovalenko, Yuri Lavrinenko, Lazo Alavanja, Pat Noonan, Brian Maisonneuve and Todd Yeagley among some of the all-time best collegiate players that Trask has coached.
Following an NCAA title in 1999, Trask took his coaching skills to the professional ranks in Major League Soccer. Two years with the Miami Fusion produced some of the greatest soccer the league has seen, with stars like 2001 MLS Honda MVP Alex Pineda Chacon and veteran superstar Preki manning a Trask-led attacking show that led to a spot in the 2001 MLS semifinals. Trask concluded his professional coaching experience with a two-year stint with D.C. United and a year with FC Dallas, where he tutored U.S. National Team superstar Eddie Johnson, before accepting his first head coaching position.
Trask starred on the collegiate pitch as a midfielder for Indiana from 1984-1987, making an appearance in the 1984 College Cup. Along with his immeasurable soccer expertise, Trask is a very active member in the community, counting the America SCORES program, a reading, writing and soccer program dedicated to inner city youth, as one of the charitable organizations he contributes his time and knowledge to regularly.
THE BEST PLAYER YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF
He may not be on the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy Preseason Watch List, but he's somebody you have to watch regardless. Sophomore attacking midfielder Pavle Dundjer is the real deal. After a 2004 rookie season in which he scored four goals and dished out two assists for 10 points, earning the Belgrade native Horizon League First Team and league Newcomer of the Year honors, Dundjer has already gotten off to a hot start by dishing out two assists in the Flames' 2-0 victory over No. 24 Loyola Marymount. Dundjer earned All-Tournament honors at the UC Irvine College Classic for his efforts. Dundjer then secured his third assist in three matches with a helper on the game-winner at UMKC on Sept. 10th.
STAYING STEADY IN THE MIDWEST
For the second consecutive week UIC stood fifth in the NSCAA/adidas Division I Midwest Regional Rankings.
UIC HAS SOME OF THE NCAA'S BEST
After three matches the Flames are all over the NCAA Division I individual and team statistical rankings. Pavle Dundjer ranks fourth in the nation with his 1.00 assist per game average. Jeff Engelbrecht's .941 save percentage ranks eighth in the country while his 0.31 goals against average ranks 20th overall. As a team the Flames rank eighth with a .944 team save percentage, sit at 16th in the nation with a 0.31 team goals against average and are tied for 18th overall with a .670 shutout percentage.
