Purdue Fort Wayne capitalized on a UIC red card in the 20^th minute, and went on to score two goals against a 10-man Flames squad in a 2-0 win at Flames Field Saturday night.  The Flames were unable to generate many serious attacks throughout the match, finishing with just 12 shots and three on goal.

Sean Phillips' Summary
"Purdue Fort Wayne, to their credit, came in with a good tactical plan and they were frustrating us.  The timing of the red card didn't allow us to play out of it, as we have done before."

Turning Points

• Nkusuwila Zulu was shown a straight red card in the 20^th minute after a tackle in the center circle.  The Mastodons had carried the majority of possession up until then, and they would continue to do so the rest of the match.
• Purdue Fort Wayne scored in the 34^th minute.  Alejandro Lopez dribbled out of the corner, made a turn, and went into the box toward the end line.  He took a shot from a very sharp angle that snuck between Andres Vasquez and the post.
• The rugged match saw nine yellow cards issued after Zulu's disqualification.  No card, nor even a foul, was whistled when Bukola Abdulwahab was taken down in the box after a through ball.  The Mastodons' second goal, which went off Vasquez' fingertips, clinched the result.

Match Details
Purdue Fort Wayne set the tone early, proving difficult to break down from the opening touch.  The Flames started three forwards – Younes Dayekh, Josiah Ash, and Nkusuwila Zulu – for the second straight match, but the offensive tone they hoped to set never materialized.

On the other end of the field, UIC's defense likewise held strong for the moments after the team went down a man.  Their first goal came after a Mastodon dribbled to a spot that might not have seemed dangerous, yet he was able to sneak a shot in from a sharp angle.  "We weren't able to keep it at zeroes until halftime, which would have allowed us to make adjustments," Phillips said.

UIC's passing was crisper at the start of the second half, especially in the middle of the field where they were able to get a few pushes organized toward the final third.  Bukola Abdulwahab was played ahead on a couple of occasions that resulted in shots, as well as the controversial no-call in the box that had the large crowd screaming for a penalty.

"When you're down a man, you just try to create a couple of chances, and I think we did.  We got in behind before they got their second goal, and we weren't able to take advantage of it," Phillips observed.  "Then it wasn't until the last 10 or 12 minutes that we were able to create any more chances.  Purdue Fort Wayne made it difficult for us to get our chances."

Josiah Ash was on the receiving end of two corner kicks after the Flames were down 2-0, that he was able to head toward the goal.  He finished with a team-high three shots, but did not force keeper Danny Salazar to make a save on any of them.  The Flames' three total shots on goal were their lowest output in Horizon League play.

The Flames will take one last step out of conference play.  They will visit Notre Dame on Tuesday before entering the stretch run of three more Horizon League contests.