UIC will face undefeated, #20 Oakland Saturday in the program's 25^th Horizon League opener.

Though both teams have fared well to date in non-conference play – UIC enters action at 3-1, while Oakland is 3-0-1 and ranked 20^th in Top Drawer Soccer's national poll – "everyone is 0-0-0 in our league," as head coach Sean Phillips pointed out.

"Any time you start off league play it's always a tough opponent.  Oakland has always been a very competitive opponent.  They've gotten off to a great start, beating DePaul and getting the 6-1 result at Loyola – anybody who has overlooked Oakland has been sorely mistaken.

"Both Oakland and ourselves have done a good job of challenging ourselves in non-conference games.  We're setting up for a very, very good contest."

The match will kick off at 11:00 am Central.

Preview with Jacob Graiber and Manny Cerritos

 
Last Time Out

• The Flames opened their home slate with a 1-0 win over Western Michigan.
• Freshman Josiah Ash scored his first collegiate goal in the 56th minute.
• UIC dominated control and possession, taking 18 shots (6 on goal) to WMU's five shots.
• Sawyer Jackman saved both of WMU's shots on goal for his second clean sheet of the young season.

 Flames to Watch

• Max Todd had his three game goal scoring streak come to an end, but he still ranks second in the Horizon League with four goals, and leads the conference in shots with 22 (5.5 per game).
• Jesus Perez leads the conference with three assists. Oscar Gonzalez is right behind him with two.
• The Flames' back line of Manny Cerritos, Jacob Graiber, Pau Mateo, and Jaime Alonso allowed a season low five shots to WMU.
• Sawyer Jackman has two shutouts this season. That leads the Horizon League. He has blanked the opponents in seven of his last 11 games dating to last season, including the 2017 match against Oakland.

 Scouting the Golden Grizzlies

• The undefeated Oakland side dominated Loyola Chicago, 6-1, on Sunday. That followed a 2-1 win over DePaul.
• Noah Jensen was the Loyola Classic MVP and is the current Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week.
• Three Grizzlies have two goals each. Nebojsa Popovic leads the squad with seven points.
• Sullivan Lauderdale has a .792 save percentage and a 1.18 GAA.

League Opener

• The Flames enter their 25^th Horizon League campaign with a .500 record (84-84-23) in Horizon League play.
• UIC and Oakland played three times in the early 1980s, but not again until Oakland joined the Horizon League in 2013.
• UIC holds a 3-1-1 advantage in the conference series. 
• The Flames will attempt to win consecutive games against Oakland for the first time Saturday. 
• As conference mates, the teams have split three games in Oakland, 1-1-1. UIC has not won in Rochester since 2013.