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thevalley
Jaime player of the game
4
Winner UIC UIC (5-7-4, 4-3-2)
1
Illinois St. ILS (3-8-4, 1-5-3)
Winner
UIC UIC
(5-7-4, 4-3-2)
4
Final
1
Illinois St. ILS
(3-8-4, 1-5-3)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
UIC UIC 2 2 4
Illinois St. ILS 0 1 1

Game Recap: Women's Soccer |

UIC Women’s Soccer Dominates Illinois State in Crucial Conference Match

Flames clinched a berth in MVC Tournament with Thursday’s victory

NORMAL, Ill. (Oct. 19, 2023) – The UIC women's soccer team (5-7-4, 4-3-2 MVC) clinched a spot in the 2023 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on Thursday evening, defeating Illinois State, 4-1 at the Adelaide Street Field in Normal, Ill.
 
Sophomore Sophia Jaime (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) collected two goals and an assist, while senior Makena Shaw (Fontana, Calif./Los Osos) and redshirt sophomore Madison Ferris (Bellevue, Wash./The Bush School) added goals of their own to propel the Flames to a critical conference win in their second-to-last game of the regular season.
 
COACH'S COMMENTS
"The team reacted really well to the demands of the game," said UIC head coach David Nikolic. "We came out and applied a lot of pressure from the kickoff, setting the tempo for what we were aiming to achieve. It was a collective effort today, so we're very pleased with our performance."
   
FIRST HALF
  • Jaime fired her first shot a mere 20 seconds after kickoff, impressively placing all four of her attempts on target during the match.
  • Less than 15 minutes into the match, freshman Emmy Higgins (Evansville, Ind./Castle) displayed excellent ball control along the left flank, allowing Shaw to sprint down the middle for a well-placed, one-timed shot that found the bottom right corner of the net for a 1-0 UIC lead (13:53).
 
  • Exactly 22 minutes later, Jaime continued to apply pressure on the Redbirds' defense and it paid off. She executed a nice cutback move at the top left of the penalty box and delivering a low shot that hit the mark and doubled the Flames' lead heading into halftime (35:53).
 
 
SECOND HALF
  • The second-half rain failed to deter the Flames from finding the back of the net for a third time. Less than seven minutes into the second half, Ferris utilized her height to nudge the ball to Jaime, who delivered a precise shot into the net for her second goal of the night (51:46).
   
  • Just 2:28 later at 54:14, the players swapped favors. This time, Jaime located Ferris on the corner kick, and Ferris headed the ball into the net to give the Flames their highest goal output of the season at 4-0, one more goal than UIC scored in its 3-0 win over Marquette on Aug. 31.
 
  • The Redbirds avoided the shutout with a goal by Katie O'Malley at 57:02.
  • Despite Illinois State's attempts to narrow the deficit, one of the Valley's top goalkeepers, redshirt junior Lauren Keiser (Santa Rosa Beach, Fla./South Walton), expertly defended the net for the Flames, going the distance and making five saves.
  • UIC finished with a 20-13 edge in total shots, including a 15-7 lead in shots on goal. The Flames also had twice as many corner kicks as the Redbirds (6-3).

PLAYER OF THE MATCH
  • Jaime earned the title of Valley 'Player of the Match' after contributing her two goals and an assist. She is now tied with fellow sophomore Makenna Maloy (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) for the team lead with three goals, four assists and 10 points.

PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS
Thursday's contest moved UIC into fourth place in the MVC standings and clinched a spot in the MVC Tournament with one match remaining. Depending on Sunday's results during the final day of the regular season, the Flames can finish as high as third in the conference standings, with the No. 3 and 4 seeds playing host to first-round and quarterfinal matches in the MVC Tournament.
 
UP NEXT
UIC returns home to take on MVC rival Valparaiso at noon (CT) Sunday at Flames Field in the regular-season finale for both schools. Admission is free, and it will be the final "Pups at the Pitch" promotion of the season (free UIC bandanas for all attending dogs), as well as the annual Sparky's Kids Club match (the first 100 Club members in attendance will receive a mini soccer ball) and the Flames' women's soccer team will be available for post-match autographs. The match will also be streamed on ESPN+ and live statistics will be available at UICFlames.com.
 
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).
 

#ChicagosCollegeTeam | #FireUpFlames


 
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