A first-half goal proved to be too much for UIC to overcome, despite a spirited second half that saw the Flames manufacture more than a few promising opportunities, in a 1-0 loss at Cleveland State Saturday night.  UIC held the Horizon League's top offense to a lone goal, and only five shots on goal, in the 12^th one-goal outcome in the last 15 meetings between the programs.

Sean Phillips' Summary
"Cleveland State is a very talented team offensively.  I thought we did a good job tonight limiting their chances; however, when you have as talented an attack as they do, it doesn't take many chances.  They were opportunistic with the chances they had."

Turning Points

• The Vikings had most of the first half, and they were rewarded in the 39^th minute.  A pass into the final third just eluded UIC's last defender, and Bojan Kolevski finished past Andres Vasquez.
• Bukola Abdulwahab was at the center of UIC's attack early in the first half.  He took a shot in the 54^th minute that looked promising but stayed high.
• The Flames earned a corner kick in the 87^th minute.  It took a deflection in the box, and went across the goal mouth, but did not get pushed over the line.

Match Summary
Cleveland State was comfortable for most of the first half.  While UIC ably snuffed out push after push, neither did the Flames muster much of an attack of their own.  The Vikings controlled possession to the tune of nine shots, with five on goal, to the Flames' one.  Andres Vasquez reacted fast enough to stop a one-timed shot in front of the left post, which represented CSU's most dangerous chance until their goal.

Abdulwahab made sure things would be different in the second half, starting in the first minutes after the break.  He was played into the box and won a corner kick, one of four the Flames took in the half.  In the 54^th minute, Abdulwahab got things started with a very nifty pass to Josh Torres, whose timing was just disrupted by a defender.  Then came Abdulwahab's long distance laser that Viking keeper Omeed Naeemy was only too happy to watch fly over the crossbar.

"In the second half, we made some changes that the guys implemented very well overall.  But when you're trying to knock off the league leader at their place, you have to be better in front of the goal," Phillips said.  "We were not as efficient as we needed to be to get a result tonight."

Another corner kick was cleared out of the box, but only to Aaron Nguyen 25 yards from the goal.  He, too, took a long-distance shot that had a better shape and forced Naeemy to made the save.  Alwin Seitz got in three minutes later and had an open shot but yanked it wide.

Jacob Graiber, who put in a 90-minute shift, made a winning defensive play to make up ground and deflect a shot after a Viking was played in deep.  Then Graiber was on the receiving end of a service that barely missed his head right on the doorstep.

As the minutes ticked away, the Flames continued to press for a game-tying goal.  Andres Moreno and Abdulwahab both had credible opportunities, the latter on a well-placed pass from Manny Cerritos.  Ultimately, the Vikings' defense carried the day and held the Flames to their lowest shot output in Horizon League play.

Phillips noted that the Flames have not scored in three straight matches, putting an outsized amount of pressure on the team's defense.  "Our team defending overall showed good strides from the previous couple of games.  That's something we can build on," he said.  "We need to continue to get sharper in the final third.  We have the talent to do it.  We need to work to become more efficient, and with a full week of training ahead of us, I look forward to working on that as we prepare for Detroit Mercy."

The Flames will host Detroit Mercy next Saturday for Senior Night at Flames Field.