For the second straight game, Sophia Jaime scored a late goal that affected the outcome.  She curled an 81^st-minute corner kick inside the near post to account for UIC's 1-0 win over Evansville Thursday night.

The Flames ran their overall unbeaten streak to three, and have won their last two at home.  They improved to 2-1-2 in Missouri Valley play, and posted their fourth shutout of the season.



Scoring Summary

• Just nine minutes after entering the match, Jaime stepped to the corner to take one of UIC's season high 11 corner kicks.  She curled it inside the near post, where the keeper leapt and had it deflect off her fingertips and into the net.

Evansville had some of the match in the early goings – Makenna Maloy knocked out an advance into the box, and Ryan Skall defended an attempted entry into the scoring area – but after that, chances were few and far between for the visitors.  Kaitlyn Montague, Makena Shaw, and Megan Bowman applied continuous pressure in the offensive third.  Frankie Frericks put a shot on goal, but most of the Flames' shots did not threaten the net.

That changed in the second half.  Brielle Gomez deposited a free kick into the box for a moment of anticipation, and she later took a long-distance shot that the keeper caught, falling backwards into the net and nearly carrying the ball over the line.  In between, Montague put her head on consecutive corner kicks.  The first was saved high with a poke over the bar, and the second required a defender to make a save in front of an open section of the goal.

Yulexi Diaz put her stamp on the match during a 71^st-minute sequence that saw her make a quality tackle, win a ball on the end line, and head away a shot before it could get near Lauren Keiser.  In fact, Keiser did not have to make any saves, as the Flames allowed no shots on goal for the first time since September 20, 2019.

As she was Sunday against Murray State, when she scored an 82^nd-minute tying goal, Jaime was an impact player from the moment she stepped on to the pitch.  Her goal was a thing of beauty, nearly impossible to defend, and she didn't stop there.  Just minutes later, she beat everyone down the field and had the keeper out of position, but a defender got back in time to thwart her finish.  Undeterred, she sprang clear again on UIC's next possession, using her speed to outmaneuver the Purple Aces' backs.

The final shot discrepancy was 17-4.  Eight of the Flames' attempts were on goal, and six of those came in the second half.  UIC had 11 chances from the corner, and allowed just one.  Montague had five shots to lead the team and set a season high, and Diaz set a season high as well with three attempts.

The Flames will continue Valley play at Drake on Sunday.