CHICAGO – UIC endured more than 85 minutes of scoreless play Sunday afternoon before Naomi Rushe put the game-winner in the back of the net with a little over two minutes to play for the 1-0 victory over SIUE at Flames Field, marking the second-straight clean sheet for the Flames.
 
UIC had plenty of chances throughout the contest as it put together 18 shots. Rushe led all players and matched her career high with five attempts, followed by Emily Valentine with two, as it was Rushe (3), Valentine (2) and Tamae Douglas (2) who made up the team's seven shots on goal.
 
Annie DiCanio was strong in goal for the second-straight game as she garnered her second shutout. While she came up with five-big time saves, the Flames defense kept the Cougars from creating more than their 14 shot opportunities.
 
The first half of play presented UIC with nine shot attempts as it the defense held the Cougars to five looks at the goal while breaking up their run of play.
 
DiCanio had her first save in the 13th minute before UIC had a succession of shots that went wide from Olivia Everin, Valentine and Rushe. DiCanio was faced with two more shots in the half and made another save at the 30th minute.
 
Several opportunities were created for the Flames in the final 15 minutes leading up to halftime. An offsides was called on what would have been the best opportunity of the match leading to a shot saved from Valentine off a corner kick. A shot from Douglas that was stopped in the 38th minute before the team had a pair of corner kicks and a shot blocked from Pallo.
 
After Douglas had a shot saved just over a minute into the second half, SIUE put together a run of six shots in seven minutes, featuring another save for DiCanio and a ball that corralled off the post.
 
In the 63rd minute of play, Rushe nearly converted not once, but twice, as the Cougars' goalkeeper made back-to-back point-blank saves. UIC would have just one shot over the next 15 minutes while DiCanio made another pair of saves. Approaching 10 minutes to play, Valentine let go of a shot that was saved before Everin sent one just wide of the net.
 
Coming off an offside call on the Cougars, the Flames played the ball up the right side in the 88th minute with Ashlin West sending the ball to Everin, who then passed it off to the six-yard box where Rushe was waiting to bury it home for her first goal of the season.
 
UIC will now prepare for a string of four games on the road beginning next weekend in Tennessee. The Flames will take on Belmont on Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT in Nashville, Tenn., before heading over to Murfreesboro, Tenn., to face Middle Tennessee on Sunday at 2 p.m.