CHICAGO – The offense came alive for UIC Wednesday night as the Flames men's soccer program scored four goals in the first 54 minutes, en route to a 4-3 victory over crosstown foe Loyola at Flames Field. Wednesday's competition was the final Chicago Cup match of the spring for the Flames.

COACH'S COMMENTS

"It was a game fitting of a rivalry," said head coach Sean Phillips. "We played really well in the first half and had a very bright start to the second half. Loyola, to its credit, never stopped working and made the necessary plays to get back into the game in the middle of the second half.  Our guys showed some resilience in the last ten minutes to finish out the game when we played a man down."

FIRST HALF

• The first part of Wednesday's contest was a scoreless affair, with both programs looking for opportunities to put shots on goal. In the 16^th minute, goalkeeper Andres Vasquez made a diving stop on a Loyola attempt to keep the Ramblers off the scoreboard.
• At the 24' mark Josh Torres found Sydney Warden inside the box. Warden made a nice spin move before burying a goal past the Loyola keeper to give the Flames the 1-0 lead.
• After a Loyola yellow card at the 32' mark, Jesus de Vicente placed a perfect free kick into the box. Juan Gutierrez found the back of the net to give UIC a 2-0 advantage.
• Andres Lemus had two scoring opportunities in the 43^rd and 44^th minutes to add to the Flames' lead, but both attempts went wide. UIC went into the half with a 2-0 lead.

SECOND HALF

• The Flames came out firing in the second half, with Preston Huitron scoring off an assist from Torres less than one minute into the half.
• Warden added his second goal of the evening in the 53^rd minute off an assist from Paul Brackmann. The graduate student drilled the left-footed shot to the back post after separating himself from his defender outside the 18.
• After a Loyola goal in the 61^st minute, the Flames had an opportunity to extend its lead back to four with a penalty kick at the 63' mark, but de Vicente's attempt ricocheted off the upper crossbar.
• Following two Loyola scores in the 65^th and 67^th minute, the UIC lead was cut to one, but the Flames defense held strong the rest of the game.
• Playing down a man for the final nine minutes, UIC was able to fend off the Loyola attack and hold on for the 4-3 victory.

UP NEXT

The Flames will be back in action at Flames Field Saturday for its final game of the spring against Green Bay. The home contest will start at 4 p.m. and will be open to the public.

SCORELINE

• UIC – 4
  • 24' – 9 Goal, Josh Torres Assist
  • 32' – 12 Goal, 3 Assist
  • 46' – 16 Goal, 10 Assist
  • 53' – 9 Goal, Paul Brauckmann Assist
• Loyola – 3
  • 61' - Loyola Goal
  • 65' – Loyola Goal
  • 67' – Loyola Goal

UIC STARTING LINEUP 1^st HALF

• Vasquez, DeVicente, Gutierrez, Brauckmann, Quintana, Martin, Nedic, Moreno, Lemus, Torres (Huitron), Warden

UIC STARTING LINEUP 2^nd HALF

• Vasquez, DeVicente, Gutierrez, Brauckmann, Quintana (Kallaba), Martin, Nedic (Davis), Moreno (Greven), Huitron, Torres (Lemus), Warden