CHICAGO (Sept. 7, 2023) – The UIC women's soccer team dropped a close contest against crosstown foe DePaul, as the Flames fell 1-0 to the Blue Demons on a chilly Thursday evening at Wish Field. Following the match UIC moved to 1-3-2 on the season.

COACH'S COMMENTS
"Today's loss was extremely frustrating and disappointing," said head coach David Nikolic. "We moved the ball well and got into dangerous areas, especially in the second half. We had a number of opportunities; we just couldn't get it across the line. We're putting a lot of pressure on our defenders, but I like the direction the team is playing and I'm eager to get back at it Sunday against Maine."
 

Hear head coach David Nikolic's thoughts following the match against DePaul!

???? Maine on Sunday pic.twitter.com/dxEp6sXKJw

— UIC Women's Soccer (@UIC_WSOC) September 8, 2023

FIRST HALF

• Riley Collett (Fond du Lac, Wisc./Fond du Lac) took the first shot of the match for the Flames four minutes in.  
• DePaul responded with its own attempt at the 10-minute mark, but Sara Sanabria (Wentzville, Mo./Holt) was there for the save.
• At the 13^th minute of play, a right-footed shot from DePaul's Beth Smyth found the back of the net, putting the Flames down one goal.
• Makena Shaw (Fontana, Calif./Los Osos) tried to answer at the 19 minute mark, but the shot attempt was cleaned up by DePaul's goalie.
• DePaul's back line proved challenging for UIC, as the Flames were called for offsides three times in the first half of action.

SECOND HALF

• The Flames were playing catch-up from the start of the second half, trying to even the score.
• UIC had a chance to get on the scoreboard after good ball movement resulted in a shot on goal for Kathryn Rutledge (Simsbury, Conn./Simsbury). The senior fired a shot that hit the top of the goal, just missing the net.
• Hannah Gryzik (Elk Grove Village, Ill./Elk Grove), Sophia Jaime (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso), and Makenna Maloy (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) all had a good looks on goal, but none of the shots were able to get past the Blue Demons' goalkeeper.
• Sanabria snatched two crucial saves to keep the Flames within reach. The MVC Goalkeeper of the Week ended the contest with five saves.

 

WHAT A SAVE!@sarakeeper01 snatches the ball out of the air to keep the Flames within one with 20 minutes left to play ??#ChicagosCollegeTeam pic.twitter.com/9KQr047DKr

— UIC Women's Soccer (@UIC_WSOC) September 7, 2023

RESERVES STEP UP
The Flames' reserves kept the pressure on throughout the match. Sophomore Bella Baker (West Bend, Wis./West Bend) attempted a header off a corner kick. As well, Madison Ferris (Bellevue, Wash./The Bush School) fired a shot and Rutledge took two.

UP NEXT
The Flames are back at Flames Field Sunday, taking on Maine in their final nonconference match of the regular season. The contest begins at 1 p.m. 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).