KANSAS CITY, Mo. – UIC (0-3-0) came up short in its effort to respond to the attack of UMKC (1-2-0) Friday night as it dropped a 2-0 decision at Durwood Stadium.
 
The Kangaroos held the upper hand in shots, 19-10, as the Flames had just three of their looks register on goal from Keri Birkenhead, Naomi Rushe and Autumn Rasmussen.
 
Kelly Fritz played her third complete game in goal and needed to make six saves as UMKC put eight of their attempts on goal.
 
With a pair of shots already in place for both sides, the Roos forced Fritz to make her first save of the game before they responded one minute later in the 17th minute with a break down the field that set up Liz Mann, positioned just inside the six-yard box, to score.
 
The Flames tried to make something of the five corner kicks they were awarded over the next 10 minutes but got just one shot off with a great look from Birkenhead that was stopped. Olivia Everin took the ball to the top of the 18 in the 31st minute and let a shot go that sailed just high of the crossbar. Emily Valentine then took the final attempt of the half two minutes later with the ball going wide.
 
In the second half, UMKC put up three attempts before UIC had its first shot go wide. The Roos turned out five more shots before a corner kick in the 69th minute connected with the head of Lexie Howard, who headed the ball into the back of the goal.
 
The Flames were persistent but the UMKC defense continued to break up their opportunities. A chance for UIC came when a corner kick from Naomi Rushe in the 71st minute allowed Rasmussen to register a shot but it was saved.
 
Fritz was forced to make another two saves in the final 15 minutes of play while Rushe made a last chance effort with under five on the clock as she sent the ball in but had it stopped.
 
The Flames will now prepare for a three-game homestand at Flames Field where they are set to face Northern Illinois (Aug. 30), Chicago State (Sept. 1) and SIUE (Sept. 3) over a span of five days. Kickoff against the Huskies and Cougars is 7 p.m. CT, with a 1 p.m. start slated against SIUE.