Sept. 1, 2011

Box Score

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Final Stats

Final Box Score

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. - Senior forward Eric Frazier scored his first two goals of the season, including the game-winner in the 13th minute, as the UIC men's soccer team cruised to a 2-0 win over crosstown rival DePaul at Toyota Park Thursday night.

With the win, UIC improves to 2-0 on the season with back-to-back victories over BIG EAST Conference foes after defeating Marquette on August 27. It marks the Flames' best start to a season since 2003, when UIC started out 5-0 on the way to a 10-win campaign.

Frazier got the Flames on the scoreboard at the 13:16 mark, playing a ball from freshman Jesus Torres mid-way through the 18-yard box. He then added a score on a penalty kick in the 74th minute, beating DePaul goalkeeper Joe Ferrari. UIC net-minder Piotr Kikolski preserved his first shutout of the season, making four saves on the Blue Demons' 17 shots.

"We were able to take advantage of a good counter on that first goal," said head coach Sean Phillips. "Jesus Torres got to the end line, got the ball across to Frazier, and despite the jam in the middle of the box, he was able to finish. It was a goal scorer's goal. Things are starting to gel offensively, with (Ned) Pavlovic coming back into the fold, and the contributions we are receiving from Jesus Torres, who is a young but talented player. Everybody is starting to find a rhythm in their part of the field, and collectively over the bigger part of the field.

"Defensively, I thought we were solid," Phillips added. "Tony Aguilar is a special player, and we knew it would take a solid effort from Zach Kaleta, and then later in the game, Ekerin Agboola, to contain him. The times that he broke away from those two guys, the rest of the team played very solid defensively as a unit."

UIC out-shot DePaul 17-16, including nine shots on goal. Torres' assist marked his second helper of the season. Frazier pushed his career goal total in a UIC uniform to eight, and now has 20 points in just 20 career games, dating back to last season.

UIC will embark on its first road trip of the season on Sunday (Sept. 4), when the Flames travel to Birmingham, Ala., to take on UAB. The Blazers defeated Mercer, 2-0, on Thursday, and are 2-0 on the season.