CHICAGO (Oct. 1, 2023) – The UIC women's soccer team (4-6-2, 3-2 MVC) wasn't able to find the back of the net Sunday afternoon, as the Flames dropped a 3-0 contest against defending Missouri Valley Conference champion Missouri State at Flames Field.  

COACH'S COMMENTS
"This is a tough one to digest. We believed our preparation was good and our plan was solid," said head coach David Nikolic. "The fact that we generated more shots and earned more corners demonstrates our efforts to position ourselves dangerously, but we need to act on those with more confidence. They capitalized on transition moments, and we paid the price for it. I expect us to regroup and come prepared for Thursday's match against Indiana State."

FIRST HALF

• Sophomore Sophia Jaime (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) initiated the attack for both teams by taking a shot that went wide of the right side of the net just two minutes into the match.
• Freshman Emmy Higgins (Evansville, Ind./Castle) also had a promising opportunity on goal around the 26-minute mark, but her shot veered to the right as well.
• At the 29-minute mark, Missouri State's Julia Kristensen provided the assist for Kaeli Benedict, who found the back of the net, giving the Bears the 1-0 lead.
• Missouri State wasted no time adding to their lead, with Grace O'Keefe setting up a goal scored by Riley Smith at the 37-minute mark.
• The Flames entered halftime trailing 2-0.

SECOND HALF

• Makena Shaw (Fontana, Calif./Los Osos) took a shot 50 minutes into the match, but it sailed too high.

 

50'

Makena Shaw fires a shot, but it was too high. The Flames still looking for their first goal!

UIC 0, MoST 2#FireUpFlames pic.twitter.com/JzdwtNloi2

— UIC Women's Soccer (@UIC_WSOC) October 1, 2023

• Gracie English, the leading goal-scorer for the Bears, scored her fifth goal of the season at the 55-minute mark, extending her team's lead to 3-0.
• Shortly thereafter, Jaime attempted to keep the Flames in contention with a shot that was on target, but the attempted was stopped by the Missouri State goalkeeper.
• In the 81^st minute Makenna Maloy (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) looked to cut the Missouri State lead to two, but her penalty kick attempt went wide to the left of the goal.
• Despite not managing to score a goal, UIC made persistent efforts, firing nine shots in the second half.
• Missouri State maintained pressure on UIC at both ends of the field, preventing the Flames from scoring during the entire 90 minutes of play.

KEISER IN NET

• Goalkeeper Lauren Keiser (Santa Rosa Beach, Fla./South Walton) made her return at goalkeeper for the Flames. This marked the redshirt junior's first appearance since UIC's season-opening match against Toledo on Aug. 17. She recorded one save during her 90 minutes of play.

UP NEXT
The Flames will head to Terre Haute, Ind. to take on Indiana State for a Thursday conference matchup. The match kicks off at 6 p.m. at Memorial Stadium and can be streamed on ESPN+, with live stats also available on the Flames' website.

For more information on Flames soccer, fans are encouraged to visit UICFlames.com, or follow the Flames on social media through X (@UIC_WSOC and @UICFlames) and Instagram (@uic_wsoc and @uicflames).