UIC will head south for a Horizon League battle with IUPUI Saturday at noon.  The teams last met in last year's conference semifinals, which ended in a memorable penalty kick shootout.

"Coach Barnett has continued to develop his program into a competitive force in the Horizon League," Sean Phillips said.  "Based on the nature of our Horizon League semifinal last year, I expect Saturday's match to be very hard-fought.  We will have to execute in all facets of the game if we want to come away with a result."

UIC currently sits in second place in the conference, just one point behind Oakland.  IUPUI is in fifth, at the lead of a group of three teams separated by just one point who are all fighting for two tournament berths.  The Jaguars emerged from the #5 seed last year to challenge the Flames in the tournament.  UIC needed an 80^th minute goal to tie the game.  After two overtime sessions, the Flames prevailed 4-2 in the shootout.

The Flames are 1-1 on the road in conference play.  They are 2-4 overall away from home and have lost their last two road matches.

Last Time Out

• The Flames played yet another overtime game, outlasting Oakland 3-2 at Flames Field last Saturday.
• Bukola Abdulwahab and Jesus Perez scored to level the match after Oakland scored twice. Nkusuwila Zulu netted the game-winner in OT.
• In addition to scoring his first career goal, Zulu assisted on Perez' score.
• Sokratis Vasilas made a career high seven saves.
• The Flames improved to 5-1 in overtime matches.

Flames to Watch

• Perez has matched his total from last year with 18 points.  He leads the Horizon League in assists.
• Bar Hazut has a team- and conference-high nine goals.
• Abdulwahab has scored in four straight matches.
• Jacob Graiber has played all but three minutes on the back line this year.

Scouting IUPUI

• IUPUI picked up a non-conference win over Cincinnati, 1-0, Tuesday. It was their first win since September 28.
• Cameron Peterson scored on a free kick for the match's only goal.
• Yan Souza leads the team with four goals and nine points.
• Quinn McCallion sports a 1.25 goals-against average and a .779 save percentage.
• The Jaguars started Horizon League play 2-0, but their recent skid includes a draw and two straight losses within the conference.

A Top-10 Offense

• UIC's relentless attack has placed the team in the top 10 in several categories in the latest NCAA rankings.
• The Flames are third in the nation in shots per game (18.4) and in shots on goal per game (8.1).
• UIC has scored 35 total goals, good for sixth in the country, with 2.5 per game ranking seventh.
• The team is fifth in total assists, with 36, which works out to 2.6 per game and a fifth place showing.
• With 106 points, UIC has yet another fifth place ranking. The Flames are sixth with 7.6 points per game.

Jaguar Junkets

• The Flames have never lost to IUPUI in four all-time meetings.
• UIC holds a 2-0-1 edge in Horizon League play, including last year's conference tournament semifinal.
• UIC has scored four goals in every regular season meeting as conference opponents.
• The only previous match the teams played in Indy was a 4-2 Flames win in 2017.