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thevalley
Cristian Sanchez vs NIU
Bill Calvert
1
Northern Illinois NIU (3-6-0)
3
Winner UIC UIC (3-5-1)
Northern Illinois NIU
(3-6-0)
1
Final
3
UIC UIC
(3-5-1)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Northern Illinois NIU 0 1 1
UIC UIC 0 3 3

Game Recap: Men's Soccer |

Flames Tame Huskies, 3-1

Three Second Half Goals Power Flames to Second Straight Win

Three second half goals powered UIC (3-5-1) past its in-state rival Northern Illinois (3-6-0), 3-1, at Flames Field Tuesday evening.  After the Flames drew first blood, NIU tied the contest in the 67th minute.  But less than 90 seconds later, Max Todd scored on a free kick, and Peter Becht added the insurance goal in the 76th minute.

UIC dominated possession and got consistent play from its back line, thwarting NIU at almost every turn.  The three goals tied the team's season high.

Game Headlines
  • Flames Set the Tone Early: UIC maintained possession for most of the first half.  They put pressure on NIU's keeper in the 11th minute when Oscar Gonzalez sent a cross through the box that Konrad Dziedzic was forced to poke away.
  • Close, but No First Half Goals: The Flames' two best chances of the half came between the 26th and 29th minutes.  Jesus Perez first had enough space to send in a cannonball of a shot that Dziedzic leapt to knock over the crossbar.  Later, Peter Becht sent a ball across the goal mouth that, after going off Dziedzic's fingertips, stalled tantalizingly in front of an open net, but NIU's defense got there first.
  • Huskies Turned Away: The Flames' defense was up for the challenge on the occasions that the Huskies made an advance.  Ricardo Vega headed a ball out of the 8-yard box, the Flames had a couple of additional blocks, and Sawyer Jackman made an easy save on NIU's only shot on goal of the first half.
  • Gonzalez Scores First:Oscar Gonzalez scored the game's first goal following some nifty ball movement in the final third.  Jesus Perez and Max Todd sent one-touch passes across the box to Gonzalez in the right corner, where he spun and sent a shot into the middle of the net.
  • Teams Exchange Goals: The Huskies tied the game in the 67th minute, but it took UIC less than 90 seconds to reclaim the lead.  Max Todd was fouled as he tried to maintain possession at the top of the box.  He took the free kick, and sent it straight to the back of the net.
  • Flames Strike Again: Peter Becht scored his first goal of the season to give the Flames additional breathing room.  On a two-on-two break, he took a pass from Gonzalez and struck a shot from right to left, beating the keeper to the far post.
 Facts and Figures
  • The game was UIC's ninth of the season, and featured the ninth different Starting XI.  Vega returned to the starting lineup after a three game absence.
  • Gonzalez and Perez each logged their fourth assist of the season.  They are tied for the team lead.
  • Sawyer Jackman faced just two shots on goal, saving one.  He advanced to 3-3-1 on the season.
  • Max Todd's goal was his second of the campaign, and his first since the DePaul game nearly one month ago.  He played 35 minutes after missing the previous two games.
  • The Flames outshot Northern Illinois, 16-5, and had a 9-2 edge in shots on goal.  Ten different Flames had at least one attempt, tying the season high.
  • Four yellow cards were issued, three of which came in the final seven minutes.  Lyes Ghezali and Jacob Graiber were carded for UIC.
  • The Huskies committed 16 fouls; the Flames eight.
Up Next
  • The Flames return to Horizon League action at IUPUI Saturday.
  • The match against the conference's newest member will kick off at 6:00 Central.
Postgame Reaction
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