Sept. 20, 2014 Box Score
Box Score 
CHICAGO - The UIC men's soccer team (4-2-1) battled back from a 1-0 deficit to secure a 2-1 (2OT) victory against DePaul (3-3-1) on Saturday night at Flames Field. Junior
Jorge Alvarez netted the game-winner and his second goal of the match in the 104th minute on a field-length kick from sophomore goalkeeper
Andrew Putna.
"I think tonight showed the character that is in this group," head coach Sean Phillips said. "Losing two games on the road and coming home, we challenged them to respond, fight, compete and, more importantly, find that extra bit of composure in the final third. In addition to the two goals, we had a couple balls cleared off the line, which still is not quite the composure we want, but it is definitely going in the right direction."
The Flames fired off 21 shots in the contest, with Alvarez contributing eight and junior
Joel Salmeron adding five, while they limited the Blue Demons to six attempts on the night.
"Our defense is still our defense. It has been very solid and it is going to continue to grow, evolve, get better and become more and more difficult to score goals against."
UIC took five shots in the first half before DePaul recorded its first attempt in the 32nd minute, which was saved by Putna. The Flames held off the Blue Demons until the 42nd minute, when Art Garza scored off a pass from Alessandro Thomas to take a 1-0 lead heading into the half.
In the second half, the Flames came out surging and attempted a season-high 13 shots while DePaul made just two attempts. In the 56th minute, Alvarez scored his first goal of the match, assisted by freshman
Sergio Fuentes, to tie the score at 1-1.
For the fourth time this season, UIC headed to overtime. Putna came up with a big save in the 93rd minute on a shot by the Blue Demon's leading scorer Jalen Harvey before a team save was made by DePaul on a free kick taken by Salmeron in the 100th minute of play.
The highlight of the night came in the second overtime period, when Putna sailed a goal kick the length of the field to Alvarez, who shot the ball past the Blue Demons' charging goalkeeper for the win shortly into the 104th minute.
Not only did Putna make two saves on the night, bringing his season total to 26, but he also registered his first career assist for his first-ever point.
"I was pleased of the way the guys performed in front of the alums tonight. We had a great group come out and I think the current players made the alums proud, which is a big part of building a program."
The Flames break before returning to action on Friday (Sept. 26) in their first Horizon League match of the season against Oakland in Rochester, Mich., at the OU Soccer Field with kickoff set for 6 p.m. CT.
"Now we have to get ready for the second season. Non-conference is over and we go into Horizon League play. I am sure there is a target on our back for how well we played last year and we have to get ready for a tough opponent in Oakland on Friday night."
