For the second straight year, the UIC Flames (10-5-3, 6-2-1 HL) will play for the Horizon League tournament championship.  The Flames will look to defend their title against Green Bay (9-4-3, 7-1-1 HL) Saturday at 6:00 at Flames Field.

"It's always exciting to play for a championship and we're looking forward to that opportunity," head coach Sean Phillips said.  "Green Bay earned the #1 seed and proved to be the best team over the course of the Horizon League season with their 7-1-1 record.  Based on their performance Thursday night, they continue to be a high level team and it's going to take a championship level performance from us to win Saturday night."

Last Time Out

• The Flames prevailed in a semifinal match with a 3-1 win over Cleveland State.
• Jesus Perez opened the scoring with a rebound goal after two Flames attempts were saved but kept in play.
• Joel Leon added a penalty kick late in the first half, and Markell Saddler iced the game with an 89^th minute goal.
• It was the 11^th straight match without a loss (9-0-2) for UIC.

Flames to Watch

• Goalkeeper Sawyer Jackman had a streak of four straight shutouts entering the semifinal.  His scoreless streak ended at 454:18 when the Vikings converted a penalty kick.  He still has not allowed a goal during the run of play since the regular season match against Green Bay October 7.
• Perez leads the Flames in assists with eight, and is alone in second place with five goals.
• Perez, Oscar Gonzalez, and Max Todd, who assisted on Saddler's goal Thursday, are the three Flames with double digit points.

Horizon League Tournament

• The Flames are the #2 seed in the tourney.  Green Bay earned the top seed.
• UIC is 2-1 in Horizon League championship matches, with an additional two wins in Midwestern Collegiate Conference championships.
• The Flames are 4-2 against Green Bay in conference tournament play.  UIC beat the Phoenix in the Horizon League championship in 2007.

Scouting the Phoenix

• Green Bay advanced to the title match with a 3-1 win over Detroit Mercy in the semis.
• Horizon League Offensive Player of the Year Audi Jepson scored two goals.  He has 11 on the season.
• Tomer Zloczower leads the Phoenix with eight assists.
• Nikola Kahvedzic posted a 1.08 goals against average with two shutouts this season.

Earlier This Season

• UIC handed Green Bay their only loss in Horizon League play in a 3-1 decision at Flames Field.
• Peter Becht scored two goals in the match.
• The Phoenix avoided a shutout in the 90^th minute when Jackman saved a penalty kick, but Marcos Bautista poked the rebound into the net.

Statistically Speaking

• The Flames took 28 shots against Cleveland State, one shy of their season high.  They upped their standing to sixth in the nation at 16.5 shots per game.
• UIC boasts three of the Horizon League's top 10 goal scorers.
• Despite taking the second-fewest shots in conference play, Green Bay made the most of them by finishing second in the conference with 1.89 goals per game.
• Jepson led the league in points and had a conference high four game winning goals.
• The teams combined for four of the All-Conference 11 (two each), and each had three additional honorees between the second team and All-Freshman team.

Historic Rivals

• Green Bay is UIC's most-played foe, with 43 matchups in the books to date.
• The Flames have won the last seven meetings.
• The Phoenix hold a slight all-time edge, 22-20-1.
• In the last Horizon League tournament meeting, Green Bay won a quarterfinal match 2-0 in 2011.

Additional Notes

POSTSEASON HARDWARE: UIC placed five players on the All-Horizon League teams.  Redshirt senior Joel Leon and sophomore Jesus Perez were named to the First Team, junior Max Todd was a Second Team designee, and freshmen Peter Becht and Jacob Graiber earned All-Freshman Team honors.

A LATE CHARGE: The Flames lost their first two Horizon League games, and at the end of September sat in sixth place with a record of 2-2.  They handed regular season champion Green Bay their only Horizon League loss as part of a 6-0-1 finish in conference competition.  On the last day of the regular season, UIC was still in contention for the #1 seed.  Ultimately the Flames settled for second place in the final standings for the second year in a row.

IT GOES TO 11: UIC is undefeated (9-0-2) in their last 11 games overall.  It is the longest such streak since 1999, when the team had 12 consecutive wins.  It is also the longest unbeaten streak for any Horizon League team this season.  The Flames finished conference play unbeaten in their last seven matches (6-0-1), marking the longest stretch of Horizon League games without a loss by any team this year.

DOING IT AGAIN: This year's turnaround mirrored the success the Flames found in the second half of last season.  In 2016, the team started 1-5-1, just as it did this year.  Last year UIC rebounded to finish the regular season 6-2-2 and earn the #2 seed in the Horizon League Tournament.

DEFENDING CHAMPIONS: The Flames won last year's Horizon League Tournament, held at Wright State.  They ousted Milwaukee in a semifinal, 2-1 in overtime, and topped the host Raiders 1-0 in the championship.  Max Todd had two assists in the tournament, and Oscar Gonzalez had the game winning goal against Milwaukee.  It was UIC's second Horizon League Tournament championship, and fourth conference tourney title overall.

EVERY OTHER YEAR, IT'S HERE: This marks the third time in the last five seasons that the Flames will host the Horizon League Tournament.  UIC was the conference's top seed in 2013 and 2015.  In 2013, the Flames beat Wright State 1-0 in the semifinals, and then lost to Milwaukee 2-0 in the final at Northwestern's Lakeside Field.  (Unplayable conditions at Flames Field due to torrential rain forced the championship to be moved.)  In 2015, UIC lost in the semifinals to Wright State, 2-1.

IRON MEN: The Cleveland State game October 21was the Flames' sixth overtime contest of the season, giving several players another opportunity to rack up minutes.  Jacob Graiber and Joel Leon averaged over 90 minutes per match in the regular season, and each played every minute in the semifinal.

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 played at least 80 minutes in five of six games, sitting out the Bradley contest, until playing just 69 minutes against Oakland.  He took a team high six shots against IUPUI, which tied the Flames' season high.

JUGGLING THE STARTERS: Thirteen different First XI's were deployed over the 17 regular season 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.  The same lineup took the field each of the last three regular season matches and in the Horizon League semifinal.  Twenty-one players had at least one start.  Only two players (Gonzalez, Garcia) started every match.  Jacob Graiber made his first start as a Flame at Milwaukee and has started the last eleven matches.

RETURN OF THE MAX: All three of junior Max Todd's goals this season have been game-winners.  He scored the golden goal at 105:31 to lift the Flames past their crosstown rivals DePaul to mark the 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.  His penalty kick with just 44 seconds left in the second overtime gave the Flames the win over Cleveland State.

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.  The Flames have scored in seven of their last eight games, with a scoreless draw at Northern Kentucky the only blemish.

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 (49) and shots on goal (22).  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 17 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 56 corner kicks.  The Flames have allowed just 82 corners all season.

RACKING UP CORNER KICKS: UIC's offensive pressure has resulted in bountiful chances to take corner kicks.  The Flames are 25^th in the nation with 6.11 corner kicks per game.  They took six of the game's nine corners against Cleveland State.

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 starter against Bradley, connecting on the game's first goal.

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, and backed that performance up with consecutive shutouts against Cleveland State, Oakland, and Belmont.  Including tournament play, he is first in the Horizon League with 3.87 saves per game and has a .784 save percentage.

NEW FACE IN NET: Sokratis Vasilas earned his first Flames win against Bradley.  He was called upon to make two saves against the Braves.  He made his first appearance and first start in goal against Eastern Illinois.  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, played the whole 90 minutes in every game until IUPUI, and went the distance in five of the last six matches.

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 fourth on the team with a .533 shot on goal percentage.

GAINING CONFIDENCE: Freshman midfielder Peter Becht has started 11 of the last 12 games and played at least 58 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 and added an assist at Bradley.  His goal in the Horizon League semifinal was the first of his Flames career.

DEFENSE STEPS UP: Cristian Sanchez played every minute of 10 of the last 11 games and has been a critical part of a back line that has allowed just 0.72 goals per game over that stretch.  When involved in the attack, he has made the most of his opportunities by putting eight of his ten shots on goal.

MAKING THE OFFENSE GO: Nestor Garcia has started every game this season, and played 1610 of a possible 2620 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.