UIC will begin the 2018 season against Campbell at the SMU Tournament in Dallas.  The Flames and Camels will kick off their respective campaigns, as well as the tournament itself, at 5:00 Friday afternoon.

"Campbell and Providence [who the Flames will play Sunday] offer unique and different styles of play," head coach Sean Phillips noted when the schedule was announced.  He sees these first two matches as a chance to determine who will step into the leadership roles on his squad.  "Our team needs to remain humble and hungry," he continued.  "We return a lot of depth and experience" from the back-to-back Horizon League tournament championship teams, "but the seniors who graduated were leaders in every area and the losses from their departure cannot be measured simply by their on-field statistics."

For more thoughts from Phillips on the Flames' leadership, team goals, and positional analysis, see Part I and Part II of the season preview.

Last Time Out

• UIC wrapped its exhibition schedule with a 4-1 setback at Wisconsin Saturday night.
• Oscar Gonzalez was the goal scorer, with an assist from Alwin Seitz.
• The Flames responded to Wisconsin's opening goal within minutes to tie the match, but the Badgers scored three unanswered the rest of the way.

Flames to Watch

• Gonzalez had three points in the team's two exhibition outings.  He scored the team's lone goal in the first match against Western Illinois.  He also tied for the team lead with 18 points last year and led the squad with 8 goals.
• Jesus Perez, the team's leading assist man in 2017 and the co-leader in points, logged an assist against Western Illinois.
• Sawyer Jackman led the Horizon League in saves last season.  He had five shutouts, all of which came in the final seven matches before the NCAA Tournament.

 Scouting the Camels

• Ten starters return from Campbell's 2017 squad that went 9-7-3.
• JJ Donnelly ranked 13th in the country in goals per game (0.68), earning all-conference and all-region recognition, and was named co-Big South Preseason Attacking Player of the Year.
• Last year's Big South Freshman of the Year, Alemu Mercer-Miko, and first-team all-league defender Gideon Betz also return.
• The Camels played to draws with Elon in a weather-interrupted match and Appalachian State in their two exhibition matches.

Familiar Faces

• Players who scored 26 of the team's 30 goals (87%) and 26 of its 29 assists (90%) in 2017 return for 2018. 
• All of the goalkeeping minutes in 2017 were played by returners to the 2018 squad. 
• The 2018 roster consists of six seniors, all of whom played at least 10 games last year.

Topping the Poll

• The Flames were voted #1 in the Horizon League preseason poll by conference head coaches. 
• With six first place votes and 70 points, UIC was the only team to garner more than one first place vote. 
• Green Bay (64 points) was slated second, Wright State third, and Milwaukee fourth.  UIC will play all three of those teams within a 14 day span in October.

Schedule Notes

• Friday's match is the first-ever meeting between UIC and Campbell.
• It is also the first time the Flames will play an opponent from the Big South.
• Sunday's opponent, Providence, as well as Charlotte, are also first-time opponents on the Flames' 2018 schedule.