A final spot as high as second in the Missouri Valley Conference standings is among the fates possible for UIC as it prepares for the regular season finale at Drake Wednesday night.

Currently fourth in the conference, the Flames are three points behind the second-place Bulldogs, and would win a tiebreaker if they defeat Drake.  Teams in the second through fourth spots in the standings will host first-round matches in the Valley tournament.  The Flames would be guaranteed to be one of those hosts with a win or a draw.

The Flames enter as winners of their last two Valley matches, including a six-goal outburst against Bradley and a shutout of Evansville.  Josh Torres scored the insurance goal against the Aces to register his team-best eighth of the campaign, and his fourth straight match with a goal.  Paul Brauckmann has scored in three straight matches, and provided the game-winner in each of the last two.

Torres is second in the Valley in scoring, and Christian Crespo is third in assists (4).  Andres Vasquez moved into second place among conference keepers with his fifth shutout against Evansville on Saturday.

Drake has results in four of their last five matches.  They tied league leading Missouri State last weekend and have two shutouts in that span.  A.J. Franklin, whose penalty kick was the difference in Drake's 1-0 win over UIC September 17, has seven goals this year.  Jonathan Burke is tied with Vasquez with five shutouts, and has a 0.83 goals-against average.

The Missouri Valley tournament will begin Sunday at campus sites.  If the Flames earn the right to host, game information will be posted on uicflames.com.

Wednesday's match starts at 6 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.