Kaitlyn Montague scored two goals, and two Flames keepers combined on a four-save shutout in UIC's 2-0 win over Robert Morris.  It was the team's first win of the season, and David Nikolic's first as a head coach.

David Nikolic's Summary
"They deserved it.  They've really been working extremely hard.  I'm happy for them because they were able to capitalize on the opportunity and put it all together.  That's two shutouts in a row, and we're undefeated in three straight games.  The pieces are starting to come together."

Turning Points

• Montague's first goal came in the 67^th minute.  After taking a pass out of traffic near midfield, she advanced toward the goal before unleashing a shot from beyond the semicircle, rifling it to the far corner of the net.
• Just three minutes and six seconds later, Montague doubled her pleasure on a virtually identical shot.  This time, she took a pass from Allie Tefend and used her first touch to settle the ball at her feet, before shooting from the same spot on the field to the same location in the goal.
• Lena Kurz made three saves in over 72 minutes, and Sara Sanabria had one save – albeit on perhaps RMU's most dangerous shot of the match, an 86^th-minute try by Haleigh Finale.

Match Details
Kaitlyn Montague has been trying to take a more active role in UIC's offense.  Thursday was her breakthrough performance, as she blew past her previous career highs by taking eight shots and putting five on goal, two of which resulted in the first goals of her career.

"I felt more confident.  I've never had that many chances before," Montague said.  "Whenever I get the first one, I get more confident.  Yulexi [Diaz] and Allie [Tefend] set me up with good balls."

Montague was in the mix from the opening kick.  Teammates found her in attacking areas twice in the first 14 minutes.  On the second try, the Flames nearly took an early lead when her shot was tipped, and then trickled into open space inside the box.  Colonial keeper Isabella Bohlen raced to the loose ball and just beat Megan Bowman to it.

UIC's next best chance of the first half came on a free kick to the left of the penalty box.  Montague lined up the kick, and sent a shot ringing off the left post.  "She's got a dynamic release," Nikolic said.  "She's really aggressive when she gets the ball, so we've been trying to find the right spots for her. 

"We started the season with her as an outside defender, then we moved her to a holding mid, and now she's the right mid," he continued.  "That right wing works out to be the best spot for her.  She's in dangerous areas in practice all the time, we just couldn't find a way to do it until the last couple of games."

Montague had a program record-tying three assists against Robert Morris last season.  Her two goals against the Colonials tied that team record, and the Flames' defense made sure they would stand up.  Thanks to heady play in the defensive third and opportune dispossessions, very few of Robert Morris' 13 shots were dangerous.  Lena Kurz made a nice stop on a headed corner kick, and Sanabria shut the door late in the match.

"Sara was brought in with the idea that she's going to compete," Nikolic stated.  "She's very level-headed and plays with a veteran mentality.  We're in October now for baseball playoffs – she's like the closer.  She comes in to take care of the eighth and ninth innings."

In front of the keepers, Brielle Gomez and Grace Haines each had a 90-minute shift.  Haines also headed a corner kick just over the crossbar, right before Montague's outburst.
Nikolic earned his first win as a head coach.

"I'm elated," he said.  "I'm going to keep the stat sheet.  It took longer than I thought, and longer than I wanted it to.  I'm happy for the staff, who's put in a lot of hours working with the team.  They worked really hard to find solutions and that's what we continue to do.  Hopefully we can keep this going."

The Flames will face first-place Milwaukee on Sunday.