CHICAGO – The UIC women's soccer team (2-6-0) kicks off its Horizon League campaign Friday when it heads to Highland Heights, Ky., to take on reigning conference champion Northern Kentucky (3-4-0) at 6 p.m. CT at the NKU Soccer Stadium. The Flames will follow it up with a trip to Des Moines, Iowa, where they will be faced with a non-conference tilt Sunday against Drake (3-3-1) at 1 p.m. at Cownie Soccer Complex.
 
UIC continues a four-match road swing after it played a set down in Tennessee last weekend. The Flames first suffered a 3-0 loss to Belmont (Sept. 8) then dropped a 2-0 decision at Middle Tennessee (Sept. 10). The team was limited to just eight shots in both games for a combined total of 16, while the opposition took 25. Olivia Everin had a team-best four attempts and put two on goal. Annie DiCanio was set in goal for both games and made eight saves.
 
Through eight games this season, UIC has fired off 128 shots to rank second in the conference standings. Everin and Keri Birkenhead owns a team-high 20 attempts, good for sixth in the league, and have each put five on goal, while Tamae Douglas owns a .500 shots-on-goal percentage after having seven of her 14 shots stopped. The Flames have scattered seven goals from seven different players along with six assists from six players. Everin and Morgan Carey have led the scoring effort with three points apiece off one goal and one assist.
 
Goalkeeping duties have been split so far between DiCanio (1.25 GAA) and Kelly Fritz (1.93 GAA), with DiCanio getting the start the last four matches. Between the pair, they have stopped 34 shots while Fritz leads the category with 19 saves.
 
UIC seeks its first win against both of this weekend's opponents, and will also be looking for its first conference opener victory after going 0-3-0 the past three seasons. In the all-time series with the Norse, it owns a record of 0-2-0. Against Drake, the Flames are 0-1-0 after meeting with the Bulldogs for the first time last season.
 
Northern Kentucky is coming off a campaign where it finished sixth in the Horizon League standings and went on to win the conference tournament. This season, the Norse have three wins under their belt after defeating Eastern Kentucky, 2-1, Morehead State, 2-1, and Appalachian State, 2-1 (OT), while they enter competition on a three-game losing streak.
 
Northern Kentucky has executed 80 shots and have put 44 of those attempts on goal. Jessica Frey (24) and Macy Hamblin (23) are the only players in double-digit figures as they have also combined for 27 shots on goal. In addition to leading the team, Frey leads the Horizon League with six of the team's 10 goals and ranks second in points (12). Goalkeeping has been handled by Emily Lohmann for all but 90 minutes as she owns a 1.32 goals-against average and has made 28 saves.
 
Drake has turned out wins over Weber State, 1-0 (OT), UMKC, 2-1, and North Dakota State, 2-0, this season and will take on Creighton on Wednesday night prior to hosting UIC. The Bulldogs have taken 93 shots this year with 43 on goal as Rebecca Rodgers (14), Annie Schmitz (12) and Brooke Salisbury (12) pace the team in attempts and have put a combined 17 on goal. Seven goals and seven assists have been added with Rodgers owning a team-best four points off two tallies. Haley Morris has been the go-to goalkeeper, playing all but 90 minutes and making 41 saves with 11 goals allowed for a 1.75 GAA.