UIC will finish off a season-opening road trip with a match at Penn Thursday night.

Following a 3-0 loss at DePaul Sunday, David Nikolic observed, "we have work to do before we go to Philadelphia," and not much time to do it.  The DePaul match was extended by a nearly hour-long lightning delay, pushing back UIC's return to campus.  Following a mandatory off day Monday, the Flames will have had one training session at home and one on Penn's pitch before lining up against the Quakers.

A UIC squad hungry for its first goal of the season – much less its first win – will be facing Penn for the first time in program history.  Makena Shaw leads the team in shots.  She has put one of her four tries on net, and had another hit the bar and deflect straight down but not over the line.  Kaitlyn Montague is the only other Flame with multiple shots.

The Quakers enter play undefeated at 1-0-1, having defeated George Mason Sunday.  Lena Kurz will be tested, as over 63% of Penn's shots go on target, ranking them in the top 20 nationally.  Kurz sports an .833 save percentage and has one shutout on the young season.

The Flames have gone scoreless in three straight games for the first time since matches against IUPUI, Cleveland State, and Valparaiso in 2018.

Following the encounter at Penn, the Flames will make their home debut Sunday afternoon against Western Illinois.  Thursday's match will be streamed on ESPN+ starting at 5 pm Central.  Links to follow the action are in the blue box above.