UIC will continue its quest to climb the Missouri Valley standings against Drake Sunday afternoon.  Following their win over Evansville Thursday, the Flames moved into a tie for fourth place.  Drake is two points behind UIC, making the impact of an additional three point even greater for the victor.

Sophia Jaime provided the clutch goal in the Flames' 1-0 win over the Purple Aces.  Her corner kick curled inside the near post with less than 10 minutes to play.  It was her second straight late-match decider, as she had the tying goal against Murray State previously.  She is the first Flame to score multiple goals on the season.

As much as UIC held possession on Thursday – they outshot Evansville 17-4 and had an 11-1 edge in corner kicks – the defense played a huge role in the outcome.  They did not let any Evansville shots go on goal in compiling their fourth shutout of the season.  UIC has held four of their last five opponents to four or fewer shots on goal, and no Valley opponent has taken more than three corner kicks.

Drake has results in their last two matches courtesy of a win over Illinois State and a draw with UNI.  Emma Nagel leads the squad with three goals, and three teammates are tied with two each.  Rachel Panther has four assists.  Vianey Lopez has a save percentage just a tick under 75% and allows 1.6 goals per game.

UIC's only previous trip to Des Moines came in 2017, when they lost a 2-1 battle in overtime.  The match will start at 1 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN3.