A showdown with Western Michigan awaits UIC Saturday afternoon.  The return leg of a home-and-home series begun last year pits the Flames (6-2) against the Broncos (4-3) in a matchup of two similarly situated teams trying to regain winning momentum.

"We're looking forward to returning last year's game when we hosted Western Michigan," Sean Phillips said.  "There was a lot of good soccer played in that match.  We had to be at our best to get that result and I anticipate the same thing being necessary Saturday.  Western Michigan has gotten some really positive results this year so we will have to play one of our best games of the year to come home with a result."

Both sides have defeated common opponent Green Bay.  The Flames, who are receiving votes in this week's United Soccer Coaches poll, have outscored their last five opponents 12-4.  Western Michigan is on a 10-2 scoring outburst over their last four matches.

UIC won the showdown between the teams last year at Flames Field.  Josiah Ash provided the only goal of the evening in a 1-0 win.  Saturday's match will not be televised.  Follow @UICMensSoccer for live updates.

Last Time Out

• The Flames lost to Northwestern on two late goals.
• Jesus Perez put UIC on top, 1-0, in the 60^th minute.
• The Wildcats scored at 85 minutes to square the match, and won on an overtime goal.
• Playing a man down from the 12^th minute, UIC still had an 11-6 advantage in shots.

Flames to Watch

• Bar Hazut leads the Horizon League and is eighth in the country with seven goals.
• Jesus Perez is the conference leader, and ranks ninth in the nation, with five assists.
• Roberto Alonzo has three goals, all off the bench, in just 343 minutes of action.

Scouting the Broncos

• #2 Virginia topped WMU, 1-0 on Monday after scoring in overtime.
• The Broncos had won three straight, and four of their last five, before facing Virginia.
• Western Michigan leads the nation in shots on goal percentage (.591).  Sam Biek has put four of his five shots on goal, and has a team co-leading three goals.

High Powered Offense

• UIC is the Horizon League's highest scoring team.  They are eighth in the country with 2.5 goals per game.
• The Flames lead the nation in shots per game.  Many of them have been quality attempts, as the team is fourth in shots on goal per game.
• UIC is in the top six in goals per game, assists per game, and points per game.