UPDATE September 4, 2:45 p.m.: Due to continued repairs to the playing surface at Flames Field, the match against Western Illinois will be played at Wedgbury Stadium at Mercyhealth Sportscore Two in Rockford, Ill.  For more information, please see this article.

At long last, the Flames are coming home.

UIC will face Western Illinois in the much-anticipated home opener Sunday afternoon.  After four straight road matches, and over 5,300 miles traveled, David Nikolic's team is more than ready to play on their home pitch.

"Being on the road is draining.  The travel, the unfamiliar fields, not having many of your fans in the stands – it wears on you," Nikolic said.  "But hopefully it hardened us and will be something we can draw on when we have to travel for conference games.  We're excited to have the opportunity to be back at home for the first time in about a month and play in front of our fans."

The Flames played two Power 5 teams to virtual standstills in the first two matches – Wake Forest only managed an 85^th-minute goal, and Minnesota did not score on the Flames in 110 minutes.  But as the offense has been unable to light up the scoreboard, UIC's defense has stumbled in the last two games, allowing six combined goals.

"There is pressure on the offense, and the key for us is to improve our chances.  Are we taking quality shots and are we building on what we are doing?" Nikolic wondered, before continuing, "but the pressure is even more so on our defense.  We've been good a lot of the time, but then we'll have one breakdown and end up giving up a goal.  We'll keep trying different combinations and see what works."

The Leathernecks enter with significant offensive momentum, having scored eight goals in their last two matches with wins over Illinois State and Northern Iowa.  Amy Andrews ranks sixth in the nation with five goals.  Western Illinois topped UIC in the teams' only previous meeting, 2-1 in 2019.