Two goals within eight minutes early in the second half propelled UIC to a 2-0 shutout of Drake Sunday afternoon.  Sophia Jaime scored in the 49^th minute, notching her second game-winner in as many matches, and Frankie Frericks put the game out of reach a little later.

Lauren Keiser made five saves, including two in the last three minutes, to post her second straight shutout and fifth of the season.  Jaime has scored in three straight matches, and UIC has not lost in their last four.

"Over the last four games we've done a really good job," David Nikolic said.  "Each game we've gotten a little bit better.  Goal scoring doesn't come without practice and shooting.  How about the defense again - another shutout.  There was a great block by Makenna Maloy inside the 6, and Keiser made some great saves at the end.  We held strong and committed to getting that shutout and not breaking down."

Scoring Summary

• Jaime scored for the third straight game off a turnover.  Megan Bowman made the steal inside the box, and Makena Shaw took possession and passed to an open Jaime.  She shot inside the right post, catching the keeper flat-footed.
• In the 56^th minute, Jelena Zbiljic fired a shot from the right flank.  It hit the post, and fell right to Frankie Frericks, whose well-timed run positioned her to shield a defender and poke the ball past the keeper.

The Flames continued their trend of controlling possession and dictating the pace of play.  After a ten-plus minute opening stretch in which the teams felt each other out but neither seriously challenged, the biggest threats over the next 45 minutes were all authored by UIC.

After a nice ball was served centrally in the 21^st minute to Frankie Frericks, whose header was tipped out for a corner, the Flames' best chances came off of set pieces.  Twice in the next four minutes, a throw-in triggered dangerous moments close to goal, with Makena Shaw in the mix on the first.  Later, a free kick put pressure on the Bulldog keeper after Shelsea Rigby did well to draw a foul.

"I want to recognize my assistant coaches for putting the game plan together," Nikolic said.  "We've done a really good job in preparing the scouts.  The reports have been spot on.  We tried some different things in the first half, considering our opponent's strengths and weaknesses and how we wanted to match it up.  Credit to the players too because it's ultimately on them to enact it."

UIC's onslaught continued, and paid off, at the start of the second half.  Pressure in the offensive third and a heads-up steal by Megan Bowman directly led to Jaime's goal, which tied her for the most consecutive games with a goal in program history.  Frericks scored soon after, and then both goal-scorers had another shot before the hour mark.  "Both goals were very opportunistic," Nikolic observed.  "Sophia smacks it in on the first time.  Jelena hits the bar and there's Frankie running in."

Drake found a little bit of the game after they went down by two goals, but it wasn't until the last five minutes of the match that they began to consistently threaten the net.  The Flames defended a corner kick with five minutes to play, and Keiser stayed on top of things the rest of the way to keep her sheet clean.

The Flames improved to 3-1-2 in Valley play with four matches to play.  "There's more in us," Nikolic said, looking ahead to the stretch run.  "We have to continue to work.  I'm happy with our trajectory and the support on the bench and how much they're pushing each other.

"This is a really intense period for us, with a game every four days," he continued.  "It's important to have options and to know what we have to do.  We were dominant again in shots, as we have been all year, but now the goals are coming.  How do we keep that going and have the right balance in our rotations and matchups?  It's important to get those things right."

Three of the Flames' last four matches will be at home, starting Thursday against Northern Iowa.