CHICAGO (Sept. 28, 2023) – The UIC women's soccer team (4-5-2, 3-1 MVC) secured another Missouri Valley Conference victory on Thursday, triumphing 1-0 against Murray State behind a goal scored by Makenna Maloy (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville). The victory is the Flames' second conference win in a row.

COACH'S COMMENTS
"Some good opportunities were created in the first half, especially from our set pieces, but we wasted several others," said head coach David Nikolic. "Murray State is a very well-coached team and put us under a lot of pressure throughout the match. I'm proud of how we handled that pressure. Now, we need to prepare ourselves to match the intensity of the defending champions, Missouri State, in our next match."

Hear coach Nikolic's thoughts on tonight's win! ?? #FireUpFlames pic.twitter.com/P4NizHsR3j

— UIC Women's Soccer (@UIC_WSOC) September 29, 2023

FIRST HALF

• Murray State nearly gave the Flames a scare within the first 30 seconds of the match when Reagan Tate's shot narrowly missed the goal.
• The Flames set up for a corner kick at the 20-minute mark,with Sophia Jaime (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) delivering the ball into play. Jaime sent the ball toward the net, where Makenna Maloy managed to push it past the Murray State defenders to give the Flames the lead.

Check out this first half goal ??#FireUpFlames pic.twitter.com/bwq08qAdt8

— UIC Women's Soccer (@UIC_WSOC) September 29, 2023

• Maloy took another well-aimed shot on goal toward the end of the half. However, the Racers goalie was there to make the save.

SECOND HALF

• The Racers made several attempts to level the score, but UIC's defense remained resilient.
• Trish Georgiou (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township) secured her first career shutout in her second collegiate start. The sophomore goalkeeper made three saves during 90 minutes of play.
• In the 84th minute, Katelyn Nardulli (Naperville, Ill./Xavier) came close to extending the Flames' lead with a close-range shot that narrowly missed the net.

Flames were in striking distance, but Katelyn Nardulli just misses the net.

UIC 1, MURST 0#FireUpFlames pic.twitter.com/d6UPsiVRzx

— UIC Women's Soccer (@UIC_WSOC) September 29, 2023

• The Flames successfully kept Murray State from scoring. The match is the Racers fifth consecutive match without scoring a goal.

UP NEXT
The Flames will return to Flames Field on Sunday to take on Missouri State, the defending Missouri Valley Conference champions. The match kicks off at noon 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).