CHICAGO – The UIC men's soccer team matched #17/15 Loyola minute for minute in the first half of play but could not come back from a pair of goals scored by the Ramblers in the final 45 minutes as it dropped a 2-0 decision in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday night at the Loyola Soccer Park.
 
The result capped the Flames' season at 9-8-3 while the campaign brought on a collection of highlights, including the program's fourth Horizon League Tournament title and its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance.
 
"First, I would like to congratulate Loyola on tonight's result," said head coach Sean Phillips. "They have been a top 20 team for most of the season and showed why this evening.

A combined 20 shots were taken in the match as 12 went to UIC, with Jose Fuentes and Oscar Gonzalez contributing a team-high three attempts. Of the chances on the night, three shots were on goal for the Flames from Abel Guzman, Fuentes and Gonzalez.
 
Two-time Horizon League Goalkeeper of the Year Andrew Putna made one save on the eight shots faced to close out the season with a total of 49 stops as he put up a 9-6-3 record on the year.
 
"Loyola made it very difficult for us to keep the ball the last several games have forced us to play more direct than we prefer. In what was a very competitive game, Loyola started the second half well and earned a goal in the 60th minute.  Our guys, to their credit, kept battling and created enough chances to even the game. Loyola was able to make a few key defensive plays, catch us going forward and put the game out of reach in the 89th minute.

The first 20 minutes of the match saw a back-and-forth battle for possession as most of the play consisted in the midfield, while UIC turned out two shots from Gonzalez that were both blocked and Loyola sent one attempt wide.
 
The Flames had a good look in the 31st minute when Gonzalo Romo took a shot from outside the 18 that rifled wide right of the net. The Ramblers threatened as they had an up-close attempt six minutes later that was blocked away and followed it up with a shot that forced Putna to make the save within six yards.
 
The last quality chance of the half came with two minutes remaining as the Flames were positioned with a free kick from 30 yards out that Max Todd sent in but it could not connect with a UIC player within range.
 
Loyola came out ahead to start the second half as it took a majority of its possession into the final third of the field. After the Flames were issued two yellows cards in a span of one minute, the Ramblers found the back of the net to go up 1-0 in the 60th minute as Brody Kraussel sent in a cross to Alec Lasinski.
 
UIC generated an attack that presented Fuentes with a blocked shot and Mike Jimenez with an attempt sent wide off a free kick from Todd in the following 10 minutes. In the 73rd minute, Guzman took a swipe at the ball from the top of the 18 that resulted in the Flames' first shot on goal of the game. Three minutes later,  Loyola had a shot blocked just over the crossbar and then nearly had a two-goal lead but was called for offsides.
 
UIC tried to strike in the 81st minute as Fuentes got off a turnaround shot that was tipped away by the Ramblers keeper to set up a corner kick. The kick was sent in by Todd which allowed Fuentes a shot that was blocked and then Alex Cervantes with a look sent wide.
 
The final two shots of the match for the Flames came with less than five minutes to go as Gonzalez put up an attempt that was saved and Todd followed with his lone chance on the night that just barely sailed over the crossbar.
 
With under two minutes to play, the Ramblers found an extra goal as Kevin Engesser collected the ball and took it one-on-one to the far post to cap the game.

"I am very proud of this team. We had a rough start to the season but kept working and believing. Many teams may have folded but not this group. The players earned the Horizon League Tournament championship from the #2 seed and an opportunity to play tonight.

"Tonight's result ends the careers of a senior class that won two regular season championships and one Horizon League Championship. This class was a big influence on this program on and off the field and will be missed.

"We will take a few days to regroup and start to build the 2017 team with a promising group of returning players."