Seeding in the Horizon League tournament and home field advantage for the championship – not to mention the program's longest unbeaten streak since 2013 – are on the line when the UIC men's soccer team (8-5-3, 5-2-1 HL) heads to Nashville to play Belmont (5-8-2, 2-6 HL) in the final regular season contest of the 2017 campaign.  Kickoff will be at 4:00 Friday afternoon.

"Our games against Belmont, especially at their place, have always been very challenging," head coach Sean Phillips said.  "I very much expect that to be the case again this time.

"Our goal is the same it's been with the rest of our games this year – we want to finish Friday 1-0 on the day.  It's going to take a defensively disciplined performance, and we're going to have to be focused and take advantage of our opportunities in the final third to get the result we need to become 1-0 on Friday."

Last Time Out

• Jesus Perez scored in the 10^th minute and the goal held up in a 1-0 Flames win over Oakland last Saturday.
• It was the Flames' ninth straight game without a loss (7-0-2), marking the best stretch since the 2013 squad won ten straight.
• Sawyer Jackman made three saves and posted his third straight shutout.
• Max Todd assisted on Perez' goal as the Flames struck in transition countering an Oakland corner kick.
• Oakland controlled possession for the final stages of the match but the Flames' defense kept them at bay.

Flames to Watch

• Perez' goal was his third, moving him into a tie for third on the team.  Oscar Gonzalez leads the squad with five scores and 15 points.  Perez is second with 14 points.
• Jackman lowered his goals against average to 1.06, and 0.95 in conference play.
• The Flames' last five goals dating to the Green Bay game Oct. 7 have been scored by five different players (Perez, Todd, Graiber, Guzman, Becht).

Horizon League Scenarios

• The Flames have clinched a spot in the Horizon League Tournament, but could be seeded anywhere from first to fifth depending on the outcome of games around the conference Friday.
• With a win, UIC will clinch the #2 seed.  If Green Bay loses at Northern Kentucky, UIC will share the regular season championship and earn the #1 seed in a tiebreaker.
• With a win, the Flames will host the Horizon League semifinals and finals regardless of Green Bay's result since the Phoenix have waived their right to host.

Scouting the Bruins

• Belmont was less than five minutes from tying league-leading Green Bay last Saturday, but the Phoenix scored late in the second overtime for a 1-0 win.
• Matteo Bennati leads the squad with seven points and is tied with Adam Voloder for the team lead in goals (3).
• Alex Seeley and Nicolo Dini have split time in goal, with Dini playing the last six games and posting a 1.33 goals against average in that span.

Statistically Speaking

• UIC remains in the top 10 nationwide in shots per game, with an average of 15.9.  The Flames are in the top 20 in shots on goal, with 6.8 attempts per game reaching the frame.
• Perez leads the Horizon League with eight assists.
• Dini's overall save percentage of .767 is second in the conference.
• Belmont is ninth in the conference in goals and goals allowed.

A Rivalry Ends

• Friday's match will be the final meeting between the programs for the foreseeable future, as Belmont will join the Southern Conference next year.
• The Flames are perfect (4-0-0) in their all-time series with the Bruins.
• The teams have met in each of the past four seasons.  The aggregate scoring favors UIC, 12-1.
• Max Todd scored a goal in last year's 2-0 UIC win, and had two assists against Belmont in 2015.

Additional Notes

IRON MEN: The Cleveland State game was the Flames' sixth overtime contest of the season, giving several players another opportunity to rack up minutes.  To date, Jacob Graiber and Joel Leon are 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 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 have been deployed over the first 16 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 starters against Oakland were also the same 11 who started against Cleveland State.  Twenty-one players have at least one start.  Only two players (Gonzalez, Garcia) have started every match.  Jacob Graiber made his first start as a Flame at Milwaukee and has started the last nine 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 (48) and shots on goal (21).  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 51 corner kicks.  The Flames have allowed just 74 corners all season.

RACKING UP CORNER KICKS: UIC's offensive pressure has resulted in bountiful chances to take corner kicks.  The Flames are 18^th in the nation with 6.2 corner kicks per game.  They took 11 of the game's 15 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 and Oakland.  He is fourth in the Horizon League with 3.5 saves per game and has a .750 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 has gone the distance in the last four 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 .500 shot on goal percentage.

GAINING CONFIDENCE: Freshman midfielder Peter Becht has started nine of the last ten 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.

DEFENSE STEPS UP: Cristian Sanchez has played every minute of each of the last nine games and has been a critical part of a back line that has allowed just 0.78 goals per game over that stretch.  When involved in the attack, he has made the most of his opportunities by putting eight of his nine shots on goal.

MAKING THE OFFENSE GO: Nestor Garcia has started every game this season, and played 1430 of a possible 2440 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.