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thevalley
Christian Crespo
Steve Woltmann

Flames to Face Panthers Tuesday

Teams Last Met in Horizon League Semifinal

2/15/2021 1:29:00 PM

UIC will face Milwaukee in a rematch of the 2019 Horizon League semifinal.

The 38th renewal of the rivalry – which is deadlocked, 16-16-5 – will take place indoors at the brand new Mosh Performance Center.  The Flames are looking to get back in the win column against the Panthers, who got the best of UIC in consecutive matches at the end of the 2019 season.

"Both programs are looking forward to this matchup, as it's a rivalry not only steeped in competition with how tight the games have been, but from a historical perspective with Chicago and Milwaukee being soccer hotbeds," Sean Phillips said.

"The alumni always ask me how was the game against Milwaukee; that's the one I get the most calls about.  It has a little extra something because of the alumni interest.  It's two schools that have been at the top of the Horizon League for a long, long time.  Not only is the win-loss record close, but the games are always close.  I would anticipate that to be the case again Tuesday."

The Flames enter play coming off a draw with Oakland.  From their opening win over Wright State through Tuesday's match, UIC will have faced all three of their fellow 2019 conference semifinalists in the first three matches of 2020-21.

There will not be a live stream, but an audio broadcast and live stats will be available.

OPENING KICK
  • UIC will travel north for a match against Milwaukee.
  • It is the Flames' third straight match to open the season against a fellow semifinalist from last season's Horizon League tournament.
  • The teams match up for the third time in five matches dating to the end of the 2019 season and that year's conference tournament.
  • The two programs have combined to win 11 of the last 20 Horizon League tournaments.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
  • Milwaukee dropped a 1-0 decision to Northern Kentucky last week.
  • Freshman Logan Farrington scored twice as the Panthers jumped out to a 3-0 lead on Purdue Fort Wayne in their opener, and they held on to win 3-2.
  • Nick Chiappa and Ben Nast have each played one game in goal.
LAST TIME OUT
  • The Flames erased a deficit twice and played Oakland to a 2-2 draw.
  • Nkusuwila Zulu scored the Flames' first goal, redirecting a free kick.  (The goal was originally credited to Jose Perez Flores, who sent in the free kick, but Zulu was determined to have gotten a piece of the ball after video review.)  Pau Mateo tied the match in the 84th minute on a penalty kick.
  • Sokratis Vasilas had six saves, including three - all highlight reel-worthy efforts - in extra time.
PANTHER PAIRINGS
  • Milwaukee has a win and a draw in the last two meetings, pulling even in the all-time series, 16-16-5.  Those matches occurred consecutively for UIC at the end of the 2019 regular season and in the semifinals of the Horizon League tournament.
  • Prior to those results, UIC had won four straight.
  • The last six decisions, and fourteen of the last seventeen, have been one-goal finals.
  • Four of the last seven matchups have gone to overtime.
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