The UIC Flames (4-5-1) will put their three game winning streak on the line in yet another Chicago rivalry match Tuesday night when they face Loyola (4-5-0) in a rematch of last season's NCAA first round game.  Kickoff at Loyola Soccer Park will be at 7:00 pm.

"Tuesday's game will be another city rivalry and another opportunity to test the improvements we've been making individually and collectively," head coach Sean Phillips said.

"Over the last several games, we've been improving in a lot of areas from one game to the next.  Now we have to go out and continue that trend against a tough rival."

The Flames took down IUPUI, 4-2, Saturday evening for their third straight win.  Oscar Gonzalez, the reigning Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week, scored the game's first and last goals.  He put the Flames on top in the 17^th minute, and after the Jaguars pulled to within one goal in the 61^st minute, he gave UIC some breathing room with a heavy strike from 20 yards out.

Gonzalez leads the team in goals and points on the season, and has three goals and three assists in the Flames' last three games.  The Flames are outscoring their opponents 9-4 in that stretch, and are outshooting their foes 18.3-9.0.  Two of the four goals they have allowed came on penalty kicks.

Loyola is coming off a 3-2, double overtime loss to Central Arkansas on Saturday.  After a scoreless first half, the Ramblers responded from one-goal deficits twice in the second half to force extra time, but allowed the golden goal in the 108^th minute.  The game was a virtual scoring outburst for Loyola, as it followed a five game stretch in which every decision was a shutout, and the final score was 1-0 in four of the five matches.

"Loyola's record is deceiving and not necessarily indicative of the quality of their team," Phillips observed.  "They are very well coached, organized, difficult to break down, and there's a lot of quality on the team.  Because of all that, we'll have to improve again to get a result."

Fabian Lifka and Elliot Collier share the team lead with six points.  Lifka leads the squad with four assists, while Collier is one of three Ramblers with two goals.  Aidan Aylward has played every minute in goal, and sports a 1.19 goals against average with a .656 save percentage.

A marked increase in offensive aggression, and the resulting scoring output, has been the trend of UIC's current streak.  For the season, they are averaging over 15 shots per game, of which seven go on goal – both good for 13^th in the country.  By contrast, Loyola allows a stingy 8.8 shots per game, meaning that attention to detail and conscientious finishes in the final third will be key for the Flames.

Last season's NCAA tournament matchup was the first such meeting in the series that dates back to 1985, and it was yet another intense chapter in the fierce rivalry.  Loyola went ahead in the 61^st minute, and tacked on another goal in the 89^th minute for a 2-0 victory.  It was one of only two games in the last 15 meetings to be decided by more than one goal.  The Flames own a 16-14-2 edge in the all time series, but Loyola has won the last four.

Phillips continued, "I expect a close, tight rivalry game.  One of the things I really enjoy about being at UIC is that when we step out of conference, we step right in to rivalries."

Additional notes can be found below.

IRON MEN: The Flames played five overtime periods over their first five games, giving several players the opportunity to rack up minutes.  To date, Oscar Gonzalez and Joel Leon are still 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: Ten different First XI's have been deployed over the first ten 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 three 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 four, as well as shots (33) and shots on goal (14).  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 12 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 tied for the team lead with four assists and is third in the conference with two goals.  He is also frequently called upon to initiate action from the corner.  He has taken a team high 35 corner kicks – almost as many as all Flames opponents have attempted all season (44).

RACKING UP CORNER KICKS: UIC's offensive pressure has resulted in bountiful chances to take corner kicks.  The Flames are second in the Horizon League and 16^th in the nation with 6.6 corner kicks per game.  They took five of the game's six corners against IUPUI.

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.

SAWYER MAKES STOPS: Sawyer Jackman started the first three games of the season in goal, leading the Flames to a 1-1-1 start.  He shut out #25 Butler for over 90 minutes until the Bulldogs pushed through a golden goal in overtime.  After allowing two goals to DePaul, he kept the Blue Demons off the scoreboard for the rest of the game as the Flames rallied to win, 3-2.  The only goal he allowed to Milwaukee was on a penalty kick, as he saved both shots the Panthers put on net during the run of play.  He is fifth in the Horizon League with 3.75 saves per game and has a .698 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 .667 shot on goal percentage.

UPPING HIS MINUTES: Freshman midfielder Peter Becht has started the last four games and played at least 66 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.

MAKING HIS MARK-ELL: Freshman 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.