UIC fought back from a two-goal deficit, tied the match in the 89^th minute, and earned a 2-2 draw with #16 Saint Louis Friday night.  Andres Moreno had the late magic, scoring the equalizer with 1:42 to play.  Bukola Abdulwahab assisted on both Flames goals.

Coach Phillips' Summary
"I was impressed with our guys' belief.  They just kept plugging away.  Saint Louis is a top-20 team and they created and executed a few times.  They punched us in the nose to start the second half.  Our guys kept fighting, kept playing, and kept working."

Turning Points

• The second half was barely underway when Andres Vasquez made a hands-up save of a 1v1 shot.  The rebound went to an open Billiken, but Pau Mateo cleared his header off the line.  Despite those heroics, Saint Louis went up 2-0 just a couple minutes later.
• Younes Dayekh's first goal as a Flame came at a perfect time.  Just 15 seconds after the Billikens scored, he one-touched a pass from Abdulwahab, curling it inside the right post to halve the deficit and give UIC momentum.
• Moreno held his ground centrally in the six when the ball was played down the end line from Juan Gutierrez to Abdulwahab, whose redirection found Moreno for the finish.

Match Details
After going down by two goals on the road to #16 Saint Louis, UIC had two options: they could play out the string, or they could fight and show the grit that the program is known for.

To a man, they picked the second choice.

"We wanted our play in transition, our work rate, and our energy to continue to get better.  Credit to our guys, they kept fighting.  The work rate is starting to look like our expectation," Phillips said.

Younes Dayekh ignited momentum, answering SLU's second goal with one of his own just 15 seconds later.  The Flames carried possession and chances for much of the rest of the half, with Andres Vasquez and the back line adding big plays when called upon.  A final flurry resulted – some might say inevitably– with the equalizer off the foot of Andres Moreno.

"As the game went on, we moved the ball.  Younes' finish was exquisite," Phillips said, "especially against a goalkeeper of [Patrick] Schulte's quality - but just as good was the passing that led up to it."  After Dayekh's goal, Alwin Seitz took a couple of shots, and the Flames earned consecutive corner kicks, all within five minutes.  A bit later in the period, UIC was awarded free kicks from promising locations above and to the side of the box, but neither resulted in a quality shot.

The Billikens had possession just 35% of the time after the first half.  They capitalized on their chances, but each time Vasquez made a play.  Between punching a corner kick away from the goal, jumping toward the post to deflect a bounding ball, and aggressively cutting down the angle on a dangerous dribbler, he ensured that the hosts would not score again.  Each of those plays had its merits, but his best play of the match may have been the 46^th minute stop that was temporarily negated by SLU's second goal two minutes later.

"Andres continues to gain game experience, which is vitally important in the development of a goalkeeper," said Phillips, who noted that two of the redshirt sophomore's first three career starts came on the road against top-25 teams.  "He made saves tonight including on their first goal" when he got a piece of the shot but it still trickled across the line.  "We expect our goalkeepers to make plays and he's starting to be more comfortable managing the game."  Vasquez had a season high five saves.

The Flames increased the pressure in the last 12 minutes.  Abdulwahab had a shot from eight yards out blocked, and just before Moreno's goal, Dayekh got in but had his shot tipped to the top of the bar.  The ensuing corner kick was headed on goal but also just high.

Moreno, no stranger to late-game heroics, slotted home the tying goal with less than two minutes to play.  Back in 2019, he scored at 89:37 against Wright State to tie that match.  Phillips pointed out that he made his first start of the season Friday.  "Guys are stepping up and making plays.  Juan Gutierrez came in as a sub and initiated the play.  We're starting to find different combinations; guys are becoming more comfortable playing with one another."

"It was a really good game," Phillips summed up.  "We want to thank Saint Louis for helping us get the logistics done.  For a game that got scheduled at the last minute, it was a great environment.  The fans helped create an atmosphere and players from both teams gave them a heck of a game to watch. 

"We go into every game wanting to win.  We're a little disappointed that we weren't able to make enough plays to make that happen.  We still have to get better and make a few more plays defensively so we can find a way to win these games."

The Flames will return home and look for their first win against Houston Baptist Monday night.