Younes Dayekh and Eduardo Garcia had a goal and an assist each as UIC downed Houston Baptist 3-0 Monday night.  Andres Vasquez made three saves to register his second shutout of the young season.

Sean Phillips' Summary
"Are we where we want to be yet?  No.  But it's nice to get the shutout.  It's nice to get the opening goal, especially the way we scored some of the goals.  We got our first set piece goal.  In the second half we asked the guys to be sharper and braver, and they did it.  Houston Baptist was still dangerous at times, and that's something we have to get better at.  But we're continuing to make strides in all those areas."

Turning Points

• Younes Dayekh scored his second goal of the season when he headed a corner kick, served up by Alwin Seitz, into the net in the ninth minute.
• Shortly after halftime, Eddie Garcia slotted a shot inside the right post, courtesy of a Dayekh assist.
• Bukola Abdulwahab opened his account in the 68^th minute.  Garcia played him in from the right edge, and he was open in front of the goal.

Match Details
The Flames were out on the front foot from the start.  They held possession while trying to link up in the final third.  Though their aggression resulted in the corner kick that yielded the eventual game-winning goal, they were otherwise just off with their crosses and lead passes in the first 20 minutes.

'Some of our attacking players are starting to get healthy.  Some of the guys are getting used to playing with each other.  The coaches are starting to figure out where to put guys," Phillips said.  "Younes is a new piece of the puzzle.  Josiah [Ash] is coming back.  Bukky has been consistent for us the last couple of years but he hasn't played with these guys.  Jonathan Mayen is coming along.  It was a nice game for a lot of those guys and nice that we scored in a variety of different ways."

The tide turned in the later stages of the first half.  Ash uncorked a nice shot that sailed high, and Alwin Seitz put a worthy try on goal that required a save.  The effort continued right after the halftime break with Garcia's 50^th-minute tally.

"I want to thank Houston Baptist for coming up here and playing at the alternate site," Phillips said.  "I also want to compliment our guys.  We were asking more questions after Northwestern.  We had to change venues and play St. Louis on the road, and we were asking more questions after that match.  We got home late from St. Louis and asked the guys to get on another bus, and the performance we got tonight was good."

Though Vasquez made three saves to keep his sheet clean, it was the plays he made to disrupt action before a shot could get off that stood out.  He made a diving play after coming off his line to go for the ball, only to have it trickle away from him and toward a free Husky and an open net before his lunge back toward the goal was true.

While the margin was still two and Houston Baptist was applying pressure, Andres Moreno ran through the box and intercepted a pass to finally end a threat.  Abdulwahab scored three minutes later to allow the Flames to breathe easier for the last 20 minutes.

"The guys did well tonight," Phillips concluded.  "We were fortunate in a few moments, but as we say, the more honest you are in your approach to the game, the more honest the game will be to you.  The harder you work, the more often the knife's edge will turn in your favor.  We need to continue to improve in those areas."

The Flames will open Horizon League play at Milwaukee Saturday night.