CHICAGO (Sept. 25, 2024) – Fresh off a victory in its Missouri Valley Conference opener last week, UIC (2-7, 1-0 MVC) heads back on the road for a pair of conference clashes this weekend, visiting Murray State on Thursday afternoon before heading to Belmont for a Sunday matinee. Both contests will be televised live on ESPN+ and will have additional live stats coverage.

MATCH INFORMATION at Murray State "Racers" (4-3-2, 0-0-1 MVC)
Thursday, Sept. 26 | 3 p.m. CT
Cutchin Field | Murray, Ky.
ESPN+
Live Stats
 
MATCH INFORMATION at Belmont "Bruins" (5-5-1, 2-0 MVC)
Sunday, Sept. 29 | 1:30 p.m. CT
E.S. Rose Park | Nashville, Tenn.
ESPN+
Live Stats
 
LAST TIME OUT
UIC returned to the win column last Thursday (Sept. 19) with a 2-0 victory over UNI at Flames Field. Junior forward Riley Collett scored both goals for the Flames, who picked up their first win over UNI in six career meetings. UIC was scheduled to play last Sunday at home against Indiana State, but that game was postponed due to inclement weather and rescheduled for Oct. 8.
 
SCOUTING MURRAY STATE
Murray State comes into Thursday's matchup with UIC owning a 4-3-2 record, including a 0-0-1 mark in MVC play. The Racers started their conference season last Sunday with a 0-0 draw at Evansville, despite finishing with a 15-13 edge in shots (6-2 in shots on goal). After opening 1-2 (including a one-goal loss at home to nationally-ranked Xavier), MSU has earned results in five of its last six outings (3-1-2), the only blemish being a 1-0 loss at Kentucky.

Junior forward Mary Hardy leads the Racers with four goals this season, while classmate Sydney Etter has tallied three scores, leading a well-balanced Murray State attack that has featured seven different goal scorers to date. Sophomore Griselda Revolorio has played nearly every minute in goal for MSU thus far in 2024, recording three shutouts, a 0.90 goals-against average and an .843 save percentage.

UIC is 1-0-2 all-time against Murray State, having not faced the Racers prior to joining the Valley in 2022. The teams played to a 1-1 draw in their first-ever encounter that season (in Murray, Ky.), before the Flames picked up a 1-0 win (on a 20th-minute goal by Makenna Maloy) in their regular-season matchup last year at Flames Field. UIC and Murray State then met against in Chicago in the MVC Tournament quarterfinals, playing to a scoreless draw through two overtimes. The Flames ultimately prevailed, 4-3 in the penalty kick shootout behind three key saves from goalkeeper Trish Georgiou and the clinching spot kick in the sixth round by Madison Ferris. 

SCOUTING BELMONT
Belmont (5-5-1, 2-0 MVC) enters the weekend with a share of the top spot in the very early MVC standings alongside Missouri State. The Bruins should be well-rested when they face UIC, having a bye on Thursday following a sweep of their first two conference matchups against Evansville (1-0 at home on Sept. 19) and Illinois State (2-0 on the road on Sept. 22).

Despite starting just once this season, freshman midfielder/forward Ava Labocki leads Belmont with four goals, while freshman forward Reagan Ross and junior defender Kennedy Wise each have scored twice. Graduate student (and Lipscomb transfer) Sydney Jones has played the bulk of the minutes in goal for the Bruins, registering three shutouts and a 1.26 goals-against average with a .793 save percentage.

UIC is seeking its first-ever win against Belmont, which is 1-0-3 all-time against the Flames. However, since UIC joined the MVC in 2022, the teams have twice played to 0-0 ties (at Nashville in 2022, in Chicago last year). The schools also played to a scoreless deadlock in their first meeting (Aug. 21, 2016 at Flames Field), with the only result in the series to date being a 3-0 Belmont win on Sept. 8, 2017, in Nashville.
 
COLLETT IS MVC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior forward Riley Collett was named MVC Player of the Week on Tuesday after scoring both UIC goals (the first of her career) in the Flames' 2-0 win over UNI on Sept. 19. Collett is the first UIC player to earn conference honors this season and was the first to score multiple goals in a game since Oct. 19, 2023 (2 by Sophia Jaime at Illinois State).
 
SUPPORT YOUR FLAMES
Fans are strongly encouraged to support NIL opportunities for UIC scholar-athletes through contributions to The Chicago Collective.
 
FOLLOW THE FLAMES
For more information on UIC women's 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).