Oct. 7, 2013
CHICAGO - After postponing its match earlier in the season due to inclement weather, the UIC men's soccer team welcomes Eastern Illinois back to Flames Field Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. CT for a non-conference contest.
The Flames are coming off their first Horizon League win against Cleveland State on Oct. 5, when they defeated the Vikings, 1-0, for their sixth shutout of the season. Senior Bob Novak scored the lone goal of the game to improve the Flames home record to 4-3-0.
In its 10 games this season, UIC has scored 16 goals and tallied 14 assists from eight different players, all while collecting 46 points to rank third in the Horizon League. With 102 shots attempts and 53 on goal, UIC holds a .520 SOG percentage and averages 10.2 shots per game, while its opponents have taken just 79 attempts with 30 on goal for a .380 SOG percentage.
Junior Jesus Torres and sophomores Kyle Lindberg and Jorge Alvarez currently lead the Flames with three goals apiece, while Torres, Alvarez and Novak each have four assists on the season. In the field of Flames who have taken more than 10 shot attempts, Lindberg holds the best shots-on-goal percentage with .692 after taking 13 shots with nine on goal, while senior Slobodan Aleksov has taken the most shots with 18 and has the most on goal at 10.
Freshman goalkeeper Andrew Putna has played in all 10 matches to garner a 7-3-0 record, with a League-high six shutouts. Putna has made 22 saves for a .733 save percentage while allowing just eight goals for a 0.80 GAA.
After playing in nine games this season, Eastern Illinois holds an overall record of 0-7-2, while it's 0-3 on the road. The Panthers enter into Tuesday's match having lost a 3-1 decision to Western Illinois on Oct. 5, while they tied Green Bay on Sept. 20 and IUPUI on Sept. 29 in double overtime.
Having scored at least one goal in all nine games, Eastern Illinois is led in scoring by redshirt-sophomore Garet Christianson (4), junior Tayron Martin (3) and senior Jake Plant (3). The Panthers have played three goalkeepers this season, with redshirt-freshman Ben Feltes and sophomore Garrett Creasor splitting time in net over their last two games. Feltes has made 35 saves while allowing 19 goals in five games, with Creasor making seven saves and allowing seven goals in three games.
UIC holds an edge over Eastern Illinois, as it previously faced the Panthers in exhibition play in 2011 and took a 2-1 win, and came away with a 1-0 victory during the regular season in 2010.
