Despite a season high in shots, and full control of the match at the outset, UIC managed only one goal in a 3-1 setback at Eastern Kentucky Sunday.
Scoring Summary
- Eastern Kentucky struck first in the 21st minute. A 1v1 battle 30 yards out was won by a Colonel, who took one dribble and shot past Lauren Keiser, who could not get to the shooter in time.
- The home team doubled their lead with just 10 seconds remaining in the first half. An initial shot was blocked, but the ricochet went right to a free runner in the box who banged her shot into the corner of the net.
- It was a 3-0 game after a 72nd minute penalty. Keiser saved the PK, with the ball bouncing back into play where the taker closed in and scored on the rebound.
- The Flames avoided a shutout when Frankie Frericks converted an 83rd-minute penalty kick.
The match was virtually entirely in Eastern Kentucky's end throughout the first 20 minutes. UIC connected several passes in the final third and put legitimate chances toward the Colonel goal.
Kaitlyn Montague had the first, fed into the middle of the box by
Brielle Gomez for a shot that was saved.
Megan Bowman initiated a play in the next minute, deftly playing the ball from her chest to her foot and shooting from a low angle. That try was saved, but Bowman tracked down the loose ball and made a pass that was touched in the box by a Colonel hand.
Montague took the penalty kick, which was saved. Each team was awarded two penalties. EKU missed both of theirs, but the Flames' miss in the seventh minute changed the course of the match. "We started out brightly in the things we needed to be in. The first 10 minutes had great effort and organization,"
David Nikolic said, noting that the Flames took five shots in addition to the penalty, and two corners, in the first 20 minutes. "We did the right things to get the penalty. Missing it changed the way the match was going to go. Overall, we had too many missed opportunities, and the ability for us to take care of those actions and get in front just wasn't there."
Despite allowing just her second goal of the season after the 50/50 ball,
Lauren Keiser made a number of important plays in the first half. She punched away a corner kick, and charged to the edge of the box, diving and sliding for the ball to thwart an attack. "Keiser had a heck of a game," Nikolic said. Her six saves were a career high.
EKU's 45
th-minute goal took some wind out of UIC's sails. Down but not out after a halftime period that was shortened due to threatening weather, the Flames earned a couple of free kicks in the first two minutes of the second half. "After we gave up that goal, we identified the areas at halftime where we needed to be better," Nikolic explained.
The Colonels were awarded a penalty kick after a foul very close to the edge of the box. They missed it high, and the Flames were still in the match. They had open runners on a well-executed restart only to have a header go wide. Keiser stepped up again, leaping to save a 19-yard free kick, and then saving the penalty. "Unfortunately, on their second penalty we missed some assignments which put us in a dangerous position. The reaction was not good; we didn't anticipate she was going to make the save," Nikolic said.
After Frericks got the Flames on the board, the Flames continued to attack the EKY box. But chasing two goals, time was not on their side. "We were still pushing toward the end. If Frankie's goal is 10 minutes earlier, we're still pressing and I can see us getting another one," Nikolic said.
"We dominated pretty much every stat" – shots favored UIC 20-14, and corners were 8-2 – "but it's what happens in the critical moments of this game on both sides of the field. "Keiser was really good. Bowman played well. [Makenna] Maloy was good. [Bella] Baker came in and played her first significant minutes. She's really close to being able to contribute more."
The Flames will return to action in their Missouri Valley Conference opener next Sunday at Flames Field against Illinois State.
