UIC will play its final Horizon League road game of the regular season Saturday night in an important match with Green Bay.  Coming at the end of a 14-day stretch in which the Flames (10-3-1, 4-1-1 HL) will have played the teams ranked second through fourth in the Horizon League preseason poll, it will be a rematch of last season's conference championship match against the Phoenix (6-4-2, 2-2-1 HL).

"We're looking forward to going up and playing Green Bay," head coach Sean Phillips said.  "Coach Bonomo has done a very good job of getting that program to the top of the Horizon League in a short period of time as evidenced by last year's regular season championship and appearance in the Horizon League final.  Watching the film, they are very well organized and disciplined, and I expect another entertaining game." 

The Flames are tied for first place in the conference standings.  Green Bay is tied for fourth with three matches to play.  "Green Bay has enough quality to make a late season run," Phillips warned.  "We were in a similar position last year [and ended up in second place].  Green Bay is a talented group, maybe a couple of breaks haven't gone their way yet, which is why we have to be focused and on our toes.  Throw in how the two games went last year," when the Flames defeated Green Bay in the regular season and in the conference championship, "and they'll be very motivated to play us."

Phillips concluded, "All we can control is how we perform on Saturday.  The team's looking forward to it.  We had a good day of practice [Thursday]; I anticipate a good practice in Green Bay [Friday night].  It's going to take energy and focus, and the guys are continuing to sharpen their focus which they also did against Northwestern and Milwaukee.  We'll have to continue to make those strides to get a win on the road in the Horizon League." 

Kickoff will be at 7:00 pm.  The match can be seen on ESPN3.

Last Time Out

• The Flames stormed back from a 1-0 deficit to defeat Northwestern, 3-1, on Senior Night at Flames Field Tuesday.
• It was UIC's first win this year after trailing at halftime.
• Oscar Gonzalez had the team's first goal and assisted on their second, less than six minutes apart. Markell Saddler added a goal in the 90th minute.
• The Flames had season highs in shots (26) and shots on goal (12).
• With wins already this season over Loyola and DePaul, the Flames completed a sweep of the other three Chicagoland Division I programs for the first time since 2000.

Flames to Watch

• Max Todd leads the Horizon League in total goals in conference play.
• Markell Saddler leads the conference in points. He, Oscar Gonzalez, Jesus Perez, and Cristian Sanchez are all in the Horizon League's top five in assists.
• Perez has an assist in four of the last five games.
• Peter Becht scored his second goal of 2018 against Northwestern.

Scouting the Phoenix

• Green Bay is coming off a 1-0 win over Central Arkansas. An 89th-minute goal by Joey Bourgeois made the difference.
• Tomer Zloczower has a team high four goals. No Phoenix player has more than one assist.
• Nikola Kahvedzic has a 0.90 goals against average and two shutouts.
• Green Bay has not surrendered more than two goals in a game this season.

Horizon League Scenarios

• With a win tonight, UIC will clinch 2nd place in the Horizon League regular season standings and a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
• The Flames can still finish first depending on Wright State's results the remainder of the season.
• It would be the fourth straight top-two finish for the Flames, and their fifth in the last six years.

Statistically Speaking

• UIC is second in the country in total assists (41), and in assists per game, with 2.93. Only #1 Wake Forest is out-assisting the Flames.
• Jesus Perez is the NCAA leader with 11 total assists. He is also first nationally in assists per game, with 0.85.
• UIC's total scoring output of 31 goals is good for 11th nationally, and their 2.21 goals per game rank them 13th.
• Max Todd ranks fifth in the nation with five game-winning goals. He is sixth in shots on goal per game (2.23), and ninth in total goals (11) and in goals per game (0.85).
• Oscar Gonzalez is eighth in the country with 8 assists, and 11th in assists per game with 0.57.

Phoenix Familiarity

• Green Bay is UIC's longest standing rival, with 44 matches between the squads since 1981.
• The teams have played every year in UIC's Division I history.
• They have also met seven times in postseason play. UIC holds a 5-2 advantage in those matches.
• The Flames have won seven straight in the series to pull within one game of Green Bay in the all time record. Five of those wins have been shutouts.