UIC prevailed in their exhibition opener, 2-0 over Southern Illinois at Flames Field Tuesday night.

An early, eighth-minute goal by Grace Haines proved to be all the Flames would need.  The home team dominated possession in the first 20 minutes, refusing to allow the Salukis to connect a pass anywhere on the pitch.  UIC peppered the SIU goal with shot after shot.  They unleashed 12 attempts in the first 27 minutes and forced Sofia Howe to make five saves.  In all, the Flames put 11 of their 20 shots on target.

"I thought we did fine tonight.  There were some good performances and some good moments," head coach Tom Anagnost said.  "Obviously there are things that we need to clean up and make better decisions.  I think we could have put a few more goals in."

Haines collected a loose ball around the left corner of the box and wasted no time in rifling a shot toward the far post.  SIU's keeper had no chance to react, and the freshman had her first goal as a Flame.

Lena Kurz made two saves and efficiently directed traffic around the area.  The Salukis took down a Flame in the box in the 64th minute, and after a discussion between the referee and his assistant, a penalty kick was awarded.  Emily Kavanaugh sent the shot past the keeper to account for the final margin.

The Flames dominated corner kicks, 7-1, and generated a few impressive looks off of set pieces but were unable to finish with a goal.

Lightning struck in the vicinity of Flames Field just before halftime.  A delay of nearly an hour ensued, which the coaches agreed would double as the halftime break.  The final 49 minutes of the game were played continuously.

UIC will play its second and final exhibition match on Thursday night.  "Right now we're going to regenerate our bodies and recover so we can put our best foot forward against a really good Cincinnati team," Anagnost continued.  "But overall it was a solid first performance, and now on to the next one."