Facing a quick turnaround for the second straight weekend, the UIC Flames (1-1-1) will be back on the pitch Sunday evening to face intrastate rival Eastern Illinois (0-0-3).  Kickoff at Flames Field will be 7:00 pm.  All UIC students are admitted free with a valid I-card.

The Flames faced Marquette on Friday evening, and were extended to overtime for the third straight game.  Goals from Oscar Gonzalez and Jose Fuentes turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 advantage.  The Flames controlled the pace from the midpoint of the first half to roughly the midpoint of the second, but then Marquette turned up the offensive pressure and eventually broke through with the equalizer in the 80^th minute.

Jesus Perez assisted on both of the Flames' goals, giving him a team-high total of three on the season.  The Flames have scored four goals on the young campaign, each by a different player.  Gonzalez leads the squad with 12 shots and five on goal.

The Friday-Sunday schedule presents the Flames with an opportunity to test their conditioning, as well as prepare for eventual conference tournament play.  For more insight from Sean Phillips on playing two matches in three days, please see the video embedded below.

Phillips has used three different starting lineups so far this season.  Abel Guzman and Lyes Ghezali each earned their first start of the campaign against Marquette.  Jaime Alonso and Albert Arabik saw the pitch for the first time in Milwaukee, logging 27 and 49 minutes respectively.  Arabik assisted on Fuentes' goal in the 34^th minute.

Eastern Illinois also played Friday, coming away with their third straight draw in as many matches to open the season, against Western Michigan.  Despite the Broncos outshooting the Panthers 28-4, neither team could score in 110 minutes.  Mike Novotny made 16 saves for EIU to preserve the draw.  He sports a 0.55 goals against average and a .935 save percentage.  Eastern Illinois previously played even against two Horizon League members, Green Bay and Milwaukee (each ending in a 1-1 score).

The Panthers lead the all-time series between the in-state rivals, 11-5-0.  The teams last met in 2013, when the Flames pulled out a 2-1 win in double overtime at Flames Field.  UIC owns a three match winning streak in the series, which dates all the way to 1983, UIC's third season of Division I play.