A crosstown rivalry will be renewed when Loyola visits Flames Field to end Labor Day weekend.

UIC, still hunting its first win of the young season, will face a Ramblers squad that comes to the near west side undefeated.  Loyola is the second of UIC's three opponents to be receiving national attention in the United Soccer Coaches poll.  Kentucky was ranked #8 at game time, and Loyola is receiving votes in this week's poll.

"Chicago Derby matches are always special," Sean Phillips said.  "There is a lot of familiarity between players on both sides going back to their club days.  We are looking forward to rekindling our rivalry with Loyola.  They are a very talented team that will present a number of challenges that we will have to be ready for.  Our mission will be to put together a team-wide 90-minute effort.  We have shown the ability to play very well for stretches of a match.  It will take a consistent level of play to get a result, especially against a team of Loyola's caliber."

The Flames had the better of the match for the first 70 minutes in their last outing against Cleveland State.  Brian Perez staked UIC to a 1-0 lead, which held up until the later stages of the second half.  The Vikings scored twice late to send the Flames to 0-2 on the season.

UIC and Loyola have met 35 times over the years, dating back to 1985, but they have not played each other since 2019.  The Flames have a slim 17-15-3 advantage in the all-time matchup, but Loyola has won five of the last seven meetings.  Only two of the last 18 meetings were decided by more than one goal.

Loyola outscored Bucknell and Bowling Green by a combined 5-1 in getting off to a 2-0 start.  They drew with Northwestern on Friday, 0-0.  Billy Hency has two goals on the young season.  Simon Jillson has saved 85.7% of the shots he has faced and has two clean sheets to his credit.

The match will begin at 7:00 p.m. on Monday night.  Admission to Flames Field is free.