UIC had the lion's share of possession and shots, but nothing found the back of the net in a 0-0 draw with Northwestern at Flames Field Monday night.

A huge, partisan crowd was energized when the Wildcats received a red card in the 31^st minute.  The Flames went on to a 24-5 edge in shots, but only four went on target and all of those were saved.

Coach Phillips' Summary
"Northwestern deserves a compliment.  A lot of times when teams get a red card, they can fall backwards.  They used it to galvanize themselves.  While we did have 24 shots, not a lot of them were dangerous.  Northwestern was compact and very difficult to break down.  I feel bad that we couldn't get a win for our fans.  We had a great turnout tonight, some great spirit, a great environment.  They were behind us all the way and we're going to look forward to doing that again Friday."

Turning Points

• Younes Dayekh had two tremendous opportunities to score.  He was in the box for a 74^th-minute header that went high, and late in the second overtime he headed a corner kick just wide of the post.
• Aaron Nguyen lined up a bullet of a shot from 25 yards away, straight on to the goal in the 84^th minute.  The keeper was unable to react, but it tailed outside the left post.
• Andres Vasquez was not challenged often, but came up big in the 57^th minute when the Wildcats had a breakaway on which he cut down the angle and made the save.

Match Details
The Flames started out on the front foot and were in attack mode even before Northwestern went down a man.  Josiah Ash, who returned to the starting lineup for the first time since an injury in 2019, worked in close for a shot that got tipped out.  Alwin Seitz put two shots on goal during the match, but it was his volley back in from the end line that gave Jacob Graiber a chance to head it on net before his run was disrupted.

"Up until the red card, I thought we were playing very well," Sean Phillips said.  "We challenged our guys to be dynamic, to be committed in transition and coming off a tough game at Grand Canyon I think they answered that call.  We were a lot more efficient in our transition."

Consecutive corner kicks gave way to a free kick just outside the penalty area late in the first half.  The Flames finished with 12 corners, allowing none, but only had a couple of them result in connections in front of the net.

"Younes [Dayekh] and Alwin [Seitz] played well, and it was great to get Josiah [Ash] back for his first extended minutes since the fall of 2019," Phillips said.  He continued, "Brian Perez came in and gave us a spark; Robby Alonzo looked like the Robby Alonzo of the past.  I would anticipate the more that group of guys plays together, plus when we start to bring in some other guys coming back from injury, I think this can be a very dynamic group."

Dayekh had a game-high seven shots.  Alonzo was well inside the area for a shot, following a free kick that was awarded just outside the area early in the first overtime.  His effort was blocked as it became evident that the Wildcats would pack in their defense and play for a draw.

Andres Vasquez finished with two saves and his first career shutout.  After the red card, six yellow cards were issued, three to each side.

The Flames will welcome St. Louis to Flames Field Friday night.