CHICAGO – The UIC men's soccer team (7-6-3, 5-2-1 HL) earned its fifth Horizon League shutout of the season Saturday night as it captured a 2-0 win over Belmont (2-12-3, 1-5-2 HL) at Flames Field. Prior to the match, the Flames honored their seniors Yuri Domiciano, Kyle Hamann, Andrew Putna, Oscar Rivero and Gonzalo Romo.
 
"It's great to get a good win against Belmont," said head coach Sean Phillips. "They were coming off an impressive win at Oakland, they were in good form and we were going to have to play a very good game to be able to get a couple of goals.
 
Rivero and Max Todd scored for UIC, as Rivero picked up his third game-winning goal of the year. In the win, the Flames turned out their highest shot total in a game since 2006 with 32 attempts. Todd led UIC with eight shots, followed by Oscar Gonzalez with six, while Rivero (2), Todd (2) and Gonzalez (1) made up the shots on goal.
 
Andrew Putna did not need to make a single save for just the second time this season as the Bruins took the fewest shots by an opponent since 2008 with one. He picked up his sixth shutout and improved his goals-against-average against conference opponents to an impressive 0.42.
 
"It was great that on Senior Night, Oscar Rivero was able to get a goal, Andrew Putna got a shutout, Kyle Hamann anchored the back line, Gonzalo Romo put in a good shift and Yuri Domiciano gave us good help off the bench. It was also nice to see that the three underclassmen, Albert (Arabik), Oscar (Gonzalez) and Max (Todd), combine for the second goal and put it away.
 
The Flames came out from the start to control possession and were able to take five shots in the opening 20 minutes but had them either go high or blocked.
 
In the 21st minute of play, a scramble in the box allowed Rivero to find the ball and put it in the back of the net for his third goal of the season and the 1-0 lead. UIC did not let up in its effort as it took four more shots over the next 15 minutes but all were off the mark, while Belmont had its one shot of the game sent high.
 
The Flames continued to dominate into the second half. Gonzalez had a shot saved in the opening minute while the team's next three shots were sent wide or blocked before a look from Rivero was saved and Alex Cervantes sent the rebound high.
 
After Todd was stopped in the 62nd minute, Rivero sent two shots high and Gonzalez had a great chance that hit the post within the next five minutes.
 
Following seven more shots for UIC just off the mark, Albert Arabik passed the ball to Gonzalez at the top of the box and then found Todd, who shot the ball in for his seventh goal of the season in the 82nd minute. Arabik then had his own looks at the goal, but had each of his attempts sent just wide.
 
The Flames will close out the regular season Friday (Nov. 4) in Rochester, Mich., against Oakland at 6 p.m. CT at the OU Soccer Field.
 
"Going forward, we have to get ready to go. We have a game at Oakland with three points on the line. We are continuing to create chances but we need to get a little sharper there so we can put teams away sooner. The nice thing is that the team defending continues to get better and better, and two shutouts in a row in the league is always something to build upon."