UIC fell to Louisville in the season opener, 3-0 Thursday evening.  A couple of fortuitous bounces went the Cardinals' way early, staking them to a 2-0 lead within the first 10 minutes, and UIC could not overcome the deficit.

"It's good for our players to see this and play through this, because we have expectations at the beginning and the end of the year to be playing these types of teams," David Nikolic said.  "We'll get there at some point.  We have to sort through these moments and continue to improve."
 
Moments That Mattered

• Sara Sanabria made the best save of the game on a free kick taken just past the top of the box, diving strong to her left to deflect the ball.  It took a bounce off the post and into the field, where a Cardinal was able to chip it across the goal mouth and in.
  
  "Sara made an unbelievable save.She went full extension and we couldn't ask for more from her.The goal was on a great shot into the corner, but our mistake was giving them a hand ball in a bad position," Nikolic said.
• The Flames were back on defense and able to get a foot on the ball, only to strike it awkwardly and not clear.  It trickled to an on-rushing Maisie Whitsett, who slammed it home from 20 yards out.
  
  "Whitsett is phenomenal," Nikolic stated."I expect her to be on the ACC watch list for everything.She is difficult to handle, but again we gave the ball to them inside the box."
• Louisville scored their third goal in the 36^th minute.  A corner kick went close to the goal line and a Cardinal player got position in front of Sanabria to head it in.

Match Summary

Though the scoreline might indicate an imbalance in the control of play, UIC more than held their own for significant stretches of their season opener against perennial ACC contender Louisville.  Especially after halftime, when opening day nerves subsided and the team regrouped, the Flames held possession much more consistently and generated scoring opportunities.

"The second half was much better," Nikolic said.  "We shuffled the formation, which seemed to suit the game better but doesn't necessarily help our personnel to play that way for long periods of time.  I'm proud of the effort they put in.  They worked hard together in a formation we haven't trained; we just talked about at halftime.  That shows that there's mental strength in the group to take information and act on it and play."

Jelena Zbiljic had the team's best chance to score when she found herself in open space left of the goal in the second half.  She had a good look at a shot but it stayed high past the crossbar.  Several restarts in the final third were well-executed as well.
 
Nikolic shuffled 19 field players into the match as he experimented with many personnel groupings.  "We started three freshmen.  For their first time out, playing a top ACC school is difficult," he observed.  "Natalie Montini played 75 minutes at center back.  She had a great performance after playing at holding mid last year.  We have a lot of options and a lot of depth.

"The expectation is that the work rate has to continue to be high.  Finding the right combinations is always a challenge when you're chasing a game," he added.

Lauren Keiser made a number of excellent plays in goal late in the match.  She confidently came off her line to cut down the angle and make a point-blank save in the 82^nd minute.  Before the match ended, she made an athletic play to tip away a shot on an odd-man break, and then made a stop on a shot through traffic after the ensuing corner kick.      
 
Facts and Figures

• Three freshmen – Riley Collett, Hannah Gryzik, and Chopper Carriere –  made the start in their collegiate debut.  Jazzy Ellis made her Flames debut after two years on the sidelines, and started in the midfield.  Kaysey Castro, who played at Bowling Green last year, also started.
• In all, eight newcomers, including Carmella Nowak, Makenna Maloy, Frankie Frericks, and Sophia Jaime, saw action in their first collegiate game.  Madison Ferris joined Ellis from the ranks of returning players who made their first appearance.
• Sara Sanabria got the opening day start in goal.  It was her second career start.  Lauren Keiser spelled her after the break and played the final 45 minutes.
• UIC was awarded one corner kick, while the hosts took 10.
• Louisville was flagged offside 10 times, several of which were due to UIC holding the line.

Up Next

• The Flames will host city rival DePaul next Thursday.
• The match will be the first regular season contest at the new Flames Field.