UIC will face Northern Kentucky in the Horizon League semifinals on Sunday afternoon.

"This is what you play all year for," Dustin Downey said.  "These girls grow up with aspirations to play D-I soccer, and when they get to UIC, we want to play for championships.  So these are the games the girls dream of.  We get to live that out so our team morale is good."

The regular season match between the teams was cancelled, meaning that the squads haven't faced each other since the 2019 conference semifinals, when UIC won 1-0 in double overtime.  "In terms of excitement, there's no anxiety or overconfidence or emotion carrying through from a win or a loss against them," Downey explained.  "We're going to go out and play like it's a clean slate.  Both teams have earned the right to be here and in this league, on any given day any given team can win 1-0.  We're going to give it all we got."

UIC enters the tournament as the #4 seed.  They solidified their spot in the standings with a win and a draw in their last two matches.  Northern Kentucky would have home field advantage throughout the tournament as the #1 seed, but in the last meeting at NKU Soccer Stadium, UIC left with a 1-0 win.

The Flames will bring a diversified attack into the postseason.  In the eight-match regular season, six different players scored a goal, and six players had an assist.  Louise Trapp, Grace Setter, and Savannah Jackson tied for the team lead with three goals apiece.  Kaitlyn Montague had five assists, good for 25^th in the nation on a per-match basis.

Also capable of clamping down defensively, the team won three matches via shutout and allowed more than one goal only once.  Lena Kurz had an .824 save percentage, behind a back line that received tremendous consistency from All-League selection Grace Haines and All-Freshman member Brielle Gomez.

Youth was served on this edition of the Flames, with four freshmen starting every match, and five more getting significant minutes throughout the year.  In fact, aside from Kurz, only two players who saw action in last season's semifinal match are currently active. 

The match will begin at noon, and can be seen on ESPN+.

OPENING KICK

• UIC will face Northern Kentucky in a Horizon League semifinal.
• The teams meet in the semifinal round for the second straight year.  UIC defeated NKU, 1-0 in double overtime, last season.
• The Flames have won two straight against the Norse.  The teams did not play each other during the regular season.

HORIZON LEAGUE HONORS

• Grace Haines was named to the All-Horizon League Second Team.
• Brielle Gomez is an All-Freshman Team selection.
• Both defenders played every minute this season.
• Gomez is second on the team with three assists.  Haines has one assist.

SCOUTING THE NORSE

• Northern Kentucky went undefeated in Horizon League play, shutting out six of the eight league foes they played.
• Kailey Ivins' four goals lead the squad.  Lindsey Meyer has six assists.
• Mimi Stines has a 0.33 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage.

HORIZON LEAGUE TOURNAMENT

• UIC won its first-ever conference tournament game last season.
• This is the third time that the Flames have qualified for the postseason.
• This year, the tournament is a four-team event.  Seeds #1 and #2 host the semifinals, and the highest remaining seed will host the championship.
• The Flames are 0-2 in tournament road games, and 1-0 at neutral sites.

NORSE NUGGETS

• UIC has won two straight over NKU, after the Norse won the first four meetings between the programs.
• Each of UIC's wins came by a 1-0 score.  NKU outscored the Flames 9-0 in their four wins.
• The Flames won their program-record sixth straight game, 1-0 in double overtime against Northern Kentucky in the 2019 Horizon League semifinals.
• UIC dominated chances, with a season high 26 shots (12 on goal) to NKU's nine shots, with three on target.
• Lena Kurz made three saves, all in a 10-minute span to start the second half. It was her 10th shutout.