The UIC men's soccer team will open the 2017 season on the road against #25 Butler Friday evening, in a match that will provide the defending Horizon League tournament champions a stiff early test.
"I look forward to playing Butler, a consensus top 25 team," head coach
Sean Phillips said. "We have a great history with that program with some very competitive, high quality games. They've proven over the last several years to be one off the top programs in the country."
The Flames return a solid nucleus from last season's NCAA tournament team, including leading scorer
Max Todd and four others who played in all 20 games. One of the biggest questions through the spring and fall exhibition seasons has been the goalkeeper position, and the race to replace two-time Horizon League Goalkeeper of the Year
Andrew Putna.
Sawyer Jackman and
Sokratis Vasilas split playing time in the exhibition games. (For a more detailed preview of the goalkeepers, please click here.)
Solid play from all contributors led the Flames to a 2-0 preseason record with wins over Western Illinois and Wisconsin. Against the Leathernecks, the Flames had plenty of chances early but fell behind 1-0. Two goals in a two-minute span put UIC on top to stay. By contrast, the Flames scored early against Wisconsin and made the goal stand up for a 1-0 win.
Butler went 1-1-1 in their exhibition games against a trio of Big Ten teams. They tied Michigan, defeated Ohio State, and lost to Michigan State.
The Bulldogs are coming off an impressive campaign that saw them compile a 13-5-2 record and win the Big East tournament championship. In the NCAA tournament, they tied SIUE with the Cougars advancing on penalty kicks. Butler was #1 in the NSCAA Great Lakes Region poll for most of the season, and achieved a final national ranking of 18.
David Goldsmith, an All-American and Big East Co-Offensive Player of the Year, has graduated, but the Bulldogs return first team All-Big East player Jared Timmer and All-Newcomer team member Lewis Suddick.
"I believe this UIC team is ready to go to Butler and compete," Phillips stated. "They are up for the challenge that Butler's dynamic attack will bring. To get a result, we will need to be disciplined defensively, excellent in transition, and take advantage of chances when we have them."
The Flames are 4-11-4 all time against Butler, and have earned just one win against eight losses and a tie in Indianapolis. The teams last met in 2015 in Chicago, when they played to a 1-1 draw. That result is indicative of the close nature of the recent meetings. The last three matchups have gone into overtime, and each of the last eight meetings, extending back to when the teams were Horizon League rivals, has resulted in a draw or a one-goal margin of victory.
Kickoff from Butler's Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl will be at 6:00 Central. Live stats will be provided by the link in the blue box above, and additional updates will be sent on the team's Twitter feed . Fans are encouraged to follow the team on Twitter to participate in the postgame voting for Man of the Match.
