Facing a quick turnaround for the third time in four weeks, the UIC soccer team (5-5-3) will head south to face another in-state rival, Bradley (8-5-1), Tuesday afternoon.  Kickoff from Shea Stadium in Peoria will be at 5:00 pm.

"Bradley is another in-state rival who is having a very good year," head coach Sean Phillips said.  "Not only are they playing well this year, but their program has a history of success at the conference and national levels.  We look forward to any opportunity we have to play a program of Bradley's caliber, and Tuesday's match will be an excellent measuring stick for our players as we strive to become the best team we can be this year."

Last Time Out

• The Flames remained unbeaten in their last six games by virtue of a scoreless draw at Northern Kentucky on Saturday.
• Despite holding a dominant advantage in shots on goal (11-2) and corner kicks (11-3), the Flames could not produce an icebreaking goal.
• Sawyer Jackman made two saves to earn his first shutout as a Flame.
• UIC is 4-0-2 in its last six outings, with a 1-0-1 mark against non-conference foes.

Flames to Watch

• Peter Becht placed five of his six shots against NKU on goal, leading the team in both categories.  He has four goals over the last five games.
• Oscar Gonzalez is the Flames' leader in goals (5) and points (15).  The NKU game snapped a five match point streak for him.
• Jackman lowered his goals against average to 1.26 and sports a .722 save percentage.

Braves Briefs

• Bradley was shut out for the second time in three matches on Saturday in a 2-0 loss at Central Arkansas.
• UCA posted a 21-8 advantage in shots.  The Braves put three shots on goal.
• Forward Roman Schindler has five goals and 14 points this season.  Goalkeeper Brandon Barnes has posted seven shutouts.
• Bradley is 4-1-0 against opponents they have in common with UIC.  They defeated Northern Illinois, Loyola, DePaul, and Eastern Illinois.  Their loss came to Milwaukee.

Statistically Speaking

• By peppering the Northern Kentucky end with 22 shots, UIC moved up to eighth in the nation in shots per game and is 12^th in shots on goal.  The Flames are also in the top 20 in corner kicks per game.
• Jesus Perez has seven assists, leading the Horizon League and ranking 18^th nationally.
• Brandon Barnes is in the top 10 nationwide in a handful of categories.  Bradley's keeper is among the nation's best in total saves, save percentage, saves per game, and shutouts.
• Bradley is the final Illinois program on the Flames' 2017 schedule.  UIC has gone 2-2-1 against fellow Land of Lincoln schools thus far.
• This will be the third Saturday-Tuesday turnaround in the last four weeks for the Flames.  They are 1-0-1 in their last two Tuesday matches following a Saturday contest.

Illinois Rivalry

• The all-time series between the schools is deadlocked at 8-8-0.  Bradley is 6-2-0 at home.
• The Flames won the last meeting, 2-0 at home in 2015, but that was the first time the programs had met since 2007.
• UIC has won three consecutive matchups.

Additional Notes

IRON MEN: The Flames played five overtime periods over their first five games, and double overtime contests against Loyola and Northern Kentucky gave several players another opportunity to rack up minutes.  To date, Oscar Gonzalez, Jesus Perez, Jose Fuentes, Jacob Graiber, and Joel Leon are all averaging over 90 minutes per match.

FINALLY, SOME REST: Jose Fuentes did not come off the pitch for a single minute over the Flames' first five games.  He was subbed out in the 84^th minute against Wright State and was absent from the starting lineup for the first time all year against Northwestern.  He returned to play all 90 minutes at Milwaukee and IUPUI.  He took a team high six shots against the Jaguars, which tied the Flames' season high.

JUGGLING THE STARTERS: Eleven different First XI's have been deployed over the first 13 matches.  The Green Bay match was the first time a starting lineup was reused from a previous match, and when the same lineup began the Northern Kentucky game, it marked the first time a lineup remained completely intact over two consecutive matches.  Twenty players have at least one start.  Only three players (Gonzalez, Perez, Garcia) have started every match.  Jacob Graiber made his first start as a Flame at Milwaukee and has started the last six matches.

RETURN OF THE MAX: Junior Max Todd scored the golden goal at 105:31 to lift the Flames past their crosstown rivals DePaul.  It was Todd's first game winner of his career.  He missed the next three games but returned against Wright State and made an immediate impact, initiating the offense and getting off three shots in 24 minutes.  Todd came off the bench again versus Northern Illinois and came through with another game-winner, putting a free kick into the net in the 68^th minute.

SOME GOALS, PLEASE: Jesus Perez' first goal at Milwaukee ended a drought of 440:13 since the team's previous goal, spanning six games.  In between, the Flames were shut out for four straight games for the first time since 1996, when Green Bay, Cleveland State, Loyola, and Western Michigan blanked the Flames in succession.

GO WITH O.G.: Oscar Gonzalez has been a catalyst for the Flames' offense.  He leads the team in goals with five, as well as shots (43) and shots on goal (18).  He took a team-high five shots against Northwestern and also paced the Flames against Northern Illinois.  He one of four Flames with a goal and an assist, and is first on the team with 15 points.  His two goal performance at IUPUI was the first multi-goal game of his career, and helped earn him Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week honors.

NOT AN INSTANT REPLAY: Jesus Perez scored at 3:23 against Milwaukee, marking his first goal as a Flame, and liked it so much he scored again at 5:02.  He was named Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week for his feat.  It was the first time a Flame had scored twice in a match since October 31, 2015, and the fastest the team scored twice since they got two goals in 2:04 last November 4.

GET THIS MAN SOME CHEESE: Jesus Perez clearly enjoys playing in Milwaukee.  In addition to his two goals at UWM, he assisted on both Flames goals against Marquette (9/1).  He is the team's leader with seven assists.  He is also frequently called upon to initiate action from the corner.  He has taken a team high 46 corner kicks – almost as many as all Flames opponents have attempted all season (61).

RACKING UP CORNER KICKS: UIC's offensive pressure has resulted in bountiful chances to take corner kicks.  The Flames are 17^th in the nation with 6.3 corner kicks per game.  They took 11 of the game's 14 corners against Northern Kentucky.

WILLING AND ABEL: Abel Guzman is one of the Flames' goal scorers this season, striking on a penalty kick against DePaul.  He took a team high 6 shots versus the Blue Demons as the Flames rallied to win.  He also sparked the offense as a 69^th-minute sub against Loyola, creating three quality shot attempts down the stretch.

SAWYER MAKES STOPS: Sawyer Jackman made two highlight reel saves late in the game against Loyola to preserve the draw.  He stopped a 90^th-minute header right at the post, and turned away a penalty kick in overtime.  Against Green Bay, he saved a PK for the second time this season.  His heroics against the Ramblers and Phoenix earned him Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week honors.  On two occasions (Milwaukee and Loyola), he allowed no goals during the run of play (only being scored on via penalty kicks).  Jackman shut out Northern Kentucky to mark his first clean sheet as a Flame.  He is fourth in the Horizon League with 3.55 saves per game and has a .722 save percentage.

NEW FACE IN NET: Sokratis Vasilas made his first appearance and first start in goal against Eastern Illinois.  He faced only one shot on goal and allowed one goal in the game.  He also started against Northwestern and made four saves, and aggressively challenged several additional attempts via Wildcat crosses and corner kicks.

THE DEFENSE RESTS: Back Joel Leon played every minute of the Flames' first three games, helping anchor a back line that shut out then-#25 Butler during regulation, and posted a win and a draw.  Leon got some well-deserved rest during the Eastern Illinois game.  He returned to the lineup against Wright State and has played the whole 90 minutes in every game until IUPUI.

VEGA, BABY, VEGA: Ricardo Vega returned to the starting lineup against NIU.  He started the first five matches of the season but did not appear in the next three.  He was part of the back line that allowed the Huskies just five shots and a mere two on goal.

LYES COMES ON: After easing into the lineup against DePaul, freshman Lyes Ghezali started and played significant minutes in each of the next four games.  He was in the middle of the action against IUPUI, logging his first two assists in a Flames uniform.  He is third on the team with a .700 shot on goal percentage.

GAINING CONFIDENCE: Freshman midfielder Peter Becht has started the last seven games and played at least 61 minutes in each one, after easing his way into the rotation the previous five outings.  He scored his first career goal against Northern Illinois and made it a tally in two straight with another goal against IUPUI.  Becht scored twice against Green Bay, making it four goals in a four game stretch, and won Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week honors.

MAKING HIS MARK-ELL: Junior Markell Saddler saw his first action of the season when he started against Detroit Mercy.  He tied for a team-high three shots, putting one on net.  He tallied the first point of his UIC career with an assist against Northern Illinois.

DEFENSE STEPS UP: Cristian Sanchez has played every minute of each of the last six games and has been a critical part of a back line that has allowed just 1.0 goals per game over that stretch.  When involved in the attack, he has made the most of his opportunities by putting seven of his eight shots on goal.

MAKING THE OFFENSE GO: Nestor Garcia has started every game this season, and played 1141 of a possible 2151 minutes.  He is a catalyst of the Flames' attack, often playing an instrumental role in transitioning the ball from the defensive third to the offensive third from his midfield spot.