In three of the last four seasons, the UIC men's soccer team has been deemed Horizon League Champions. But it was in 2016 that the title came as the tournament crown, capturing the feat for the first time in nine seasons and making the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2008.
 
"It was great to finally get the Horizon League Tournament Championship, especially for the senior class which was a big part of the perfect Horizon League Regular Season Championship in 2013 and 6-1-2 Horizon League Regular Season Championship in 2015," said head coach Sean Phillips. "While I will always feel a regular season championship is an excellent trophy, the tournament still carries the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and opportunity to test yourself on the national stage.
 
It was not an easy road for the Flames. The year began with a 1-5-1 record after the first seven games, which featured a tough 2-1 loss to Denver, who earned the No. 6 seed in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. However, they switched momentum in their favor, winning the next three over Drake, Green Bay and Northern Kentucky which led to eight wins in the last 13 games of the year.
 
"Many teams would have quit on a 1-5-1 start to the season. The players kept believing in themselves and working hard each day at training and in the matches until it started to come good. Our seniors and several other emerging leaders within the team led the way and kept things going in the right direction. It is a team of which the staff will always be proud for how they stuck together and ended the season as they did.
 
The season capped for UIC with a 9-8-3 overall record and a mark of 5-3-1 against conference opponents, which granted the Flames the No. 2 seed for the Horizon League Tournament. Following a first-round bye, they took a 2-1 overtime win in the semifinals against Milwaukee and then a 1-0 victory over Wright State in the title match to capture the program's fourth tournament championship.
 
The first round of the NCAA Tournament featured a familiar opponent for the Flames with crosstown rival and former Horizon League foe #17/15 Loyola. Despite their play in the first half, the Ramblers scored twice in the final stanza as UIC saw its season come to a close.
 
"While the result was not what we wanted, the performance was one of which the team can be proud. In front of a majority UIC crowd at Loyola, we went toe-to-toe with a consensus top 20 team. We played a great first half. After Loyola scored a great goal to pull ahead in the second half, we created several quality chances that could have pulled us even before giving up a late goal. Now that the players have tasted the NCAA Tournament, I know they will work even harder to return.
 
Throughout the 2016 campaign, the Flames stood as one of the better teams in the Horizon League with their play on both ends of the field. They put up the most shots in nine seasons with 327 and had 113 on goal as they scored 26 goals and added 23 assists. UIC secured seven shutouts for the second-straight season as opponents were kept to 209 attempts, with nine opponents held to eight or less shots, and scored just 12 goals in the final 10 games.
 
At least half of the Flames' offensive production came against conference foes with 179 shots, 52 on goal, 13 goals and 12 assists. Five of the team's shutouts came in league play, when opponents had just 79 shots and 12 goals.
 
UIC was awarded for its efforts at the conclusion of the regular season as Andrew Putna earned the program's fourth and his second Horizon League Goalkeeper of the Year nod. He additionally placed on the All-League First Team with Jose Fuentes and Max Todd. Alex Cervantes and Cristian Sanchez picked up the final two accolades with placement on the All-Freshman Team.
 
"One of our questions going into this season was goal production. We graduated the 2015 Horizon League Player of the Year Manny Chavez and Co-Offensive Player of the Year Jorge Alvarez, who produced over half of our goals last year. It was great to see new players step forward this year to contribute and increase our goal total from last year. Max Todd (8/9) led the increase with Oscar Rivero (5/2) and Jose Fuentes (5/2), along with other players chipping in their first points of their collegiate careers.
 
The success of this past season, and that of the past four, would not have been possible without the 2016 senior class of Andrew Putna, Kyle Hamann, Gonzalo Romo, Oscar Rivero and Yuri Domiciano. They were able to assist in two regular season conference championships in 2013 and 2015 as freshmen and juniors, and then cap their careers with the tournament title. They were also key components in a collection of program records set in 2013 with most wins in the regular season (15), most conference wins (7) and first-ever perfect conference record (7-0-0).
 
"This senior class contributed to a culture of winning on and off the field. The class won three trophies in four years and will all graduate on time for their majors. Their contributions will always be cherished and presence as team members will be missed. I am looking forward to them as alumni though.
 
The Flames will look toward their returning core next season that features 17 letterwinners and seven primary starters. Six players that made up 18 of the 26 goals this season will be back, led by All-Leaguers Todd (8) and Fuentes (5), as the back line will be controlled by Mike Jimenez and Sanchez.
 
"While we will miss the outgoing senior class, I can't wait to work again with this group of returners. There is talent in the group no doubt. However, what this season has shown is they have character as well. If we combine that character with a hunger to improve upon this past year, we should be in a position to compete for our goals of Horizon League Championships and NCAA Tournament games again next year." 
 
 
2016 Season Highlights
 
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS
For the fourth time in program history, UIC captured the Horizon League Tournament title on Nov. 12 when it defeated top-seed Wright State, 1-0, in Dayton, Ohio, on a goal by Oscar Rivero with four minutes remaining in regulation. At the conclusion of the match, Andrew Putna, Max Todd and Oscar Gonzalez were named to the All-Tournament Team, while Rivero earned the honor of Tournament MVP and later placed on the College Soccer News National Team of the Week.
 
The crown was the first for the Flames since 2007 and the first under the direction of head coach Sean Phillips, while they have won two regular season titles in the last four seasons (2013, 2015).
 
BACK IN THE TOURNEY
UIC earned its sixth NCAA Tournament berth when it took the automatic bid with its championship win. It drew a familiar foe in city rival #17/15 Loyola for the first round of competition, when the Flames were edged by the Ramblers in a 2-0 decision on Nov. 16 in Rogers Park.
 
UIC has developed a storied success while competing in the tournament as they advanced all the way to the Elite Eight in 2007 for the program's best finish and reached the Sweet 16 in both 2000 and 2008. Sean Phillips was on the coaching staff as an assistant for the three-consecutive tournament runs (2006, 2007, 2008), while Associate Head Coach Aleksey Korol was an assistant from 2006–2008 and Assistant Coach Minos Vlamakis was also part of the teams from 2007-2008.
 
UP IN THE RANKINGS
The Flames made their way into the NSCAA Great Lakes Division poll for the first time during the season on Nov. 15 with a No. 7 ranking, knocking out Horizon League foes Wright State and Valparaiso who were ranked the week prior at No. 8 and No. 10, respectively.
 
ALL-HORIZON LEAGUE
The Horizon League announced its postseason awards at the conclusion of the regular season. Andrew Putna was named the 2016 Horizon League Goalkeeper of the Year for the second time in his career and placed on the All-League First Team with Jose Fuentes and Max Todd. Alex Cervantes and Cristian Sanchez rounded out the field of Flames as they garnered All-Freshman Team honors.
 
RIGHT ON TARGET
UIC took an impressive 327 shots this season, the most since 2007 when the team had 332, and ranked seventh in the nation with 16.35 shots per game, as 113 of the looks were on goal. Max Todd (69), Oscar Gonzalez (60), Jose Fuentes (42) and Oscar Rivero (32) led the Flames with their efforts as they all had more than 12 attempts on goal, with Todd owning a team-best 31, the most for a UIC player since Pavle Dundjer's 39 in 2007.
 
NO STOPPING THE SCOTSMAN
Max Todd not only put up the best statistics on the team this season, but some of the best in the Horizon League and the nation. He scored a leading eight goals and added the 13th-most assists nationally with nine. His 25 points was the most for any Flame since 2011, when Ivan Stanisavljevic had 26, as he ranked 31st in the nation with his total and tallied at least one point in 14 of 20 games on the year.
 
GAME-WINNING RIVERO
Oscar Rivero made an impact for the Flames throughout the season and proved he has what it takes to come up in big moments. While he netted the game-winner to give UIC its fourth championship title, he additionally had three more game-winning goals during the year to lead the team. With five total goals and four in the final half of the season, his one that did not secure a W came as the equalizer in the Horizon League Tournament semifinals with the Flames taking the eventual 2-1 win in overtime.
 
GOALKEEPING AT ITS FINEST
Horizon League Goalkeeper of the Year Andrew Putna was a standout all season for UIC while playing all but 168 minutes. With seven shutouts, he made 49 saves and allowed 25 goals for a 1.32 goals-against-average, while he secured a mark of 0.97 in league play with 17 saves and five clean sheets.
 
Putna rounded out his stellar career at UIC with placement in the program's record book as he ranks second in wins (41) and shutouts (30), third in goals-against-average (1.05) and fifth in saves (214).