EVANSVILLE, Ind.  – The postseason journey continues for UIC on Wednesday night, as the fifth-seeded Flames venture to No. 1 seed Evansville for a Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Tournament semifinal match at Arad McCutchan Stadium. The contest will kick off at 6 p.m. (CT) and will be broadcast live on ESPN+, with live stats available through UICFlames.com.

MATCH #18
Missouri Valley Conference Tournament — Semifinal
#5 seed UIC "Flames" (10-2-5, 2-1-4 MVC) at #1 seed Evansville "Purple Aces" (6-4-8, 3-1-3 MVC)
When: Wednesday, Nov. 12th  |  6 p.m. CT
Where: Evansville, Ind.  |  Arad McCutchan Stadium
Live Coverage: ESPN+  |  Live Stats
MVC Championship Central: Website

SERIES NOTES
UIC holds a 2-1-1 series lead over Evansville in a rivalry that didn't commence until the Flames joined the MVC prior to the 2022 season. This will be the second matchup of the season between the squads, who played to a 2-2 draw back on Oct. 18 at Flames Field. Sophomore midfielder Sebastian Khoury had a goal and an assist, while freshman defender Daniel Zepeda added two assists and junior midfielder Edouard Nys scored the go-ahead goal in the 51st minute before Evansville scored the equalizer with 5:08 remaining. Nys and junior midfielder Darrell Turcios nearly added to the UIC lead earlier in the second half, each ringing the right post with shots in the 56th and 70th minutes.

The Flames will be making their second-ever appearance at Evansville's Arad McCutchan Stadium. Last year (Oct. 12, 2024), UIC made its inaugural trip to southern Indiana, with the host Purple Aces taking a 3-1 victory after scoring twice in the opening 15 minutes of the second half (the teams were 1-1 at the half after trading own goals).
 
LAST TIME OUT
UIC cashed in on some early pressure with a 10th-minute own goal and made it stand up the rest of the way for a 1-0 victory at Belmont in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on Sunday afternoon at E.S. Rose Park in Nashville. Junior midfielder and MVC Player/Forward of the Year Edouard Nys started the decisive play with a well-weighted ball on an overlap down the left flank to junior defender Sota Nakazono. The Japanese backliner delivered an equally sharp cross towards the left post and with All-MVC junior midfielder Darrell Turcios crashing, the Belmont defense could do little more than turn the ball into its own net.

From there, UIC (10-2-5) played solidly on both ends of the pitch, limiting the Bruins' chances until the latter half of the second stanza when the hosts threw the kitchen sink at the Flames. When it mattered, senior goalkeeper Owen Cornell stood on his head (or more specifically, from his back), making a sensational one-hand tip save while prone on the goal line to preserve UIC's fifth shutout of the season. Cornell finished with four saves, as the Flames advance to the MVC semifinals for the second time in the past three years.

TOURNAMENT TIDBITS
UIC is making its 27th conference tournament appearance and fourth in as many seasons in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Flames are 22-16-6 all-time in conference tournament matches (2-3 in the MVC), including their prior membership in the Horizon League/Midwestern Collegiate Conference (which first held a postseason tournament in 1997). UIC has won six conference tournament titles, all in the Horizon League/MCC — 1999, 2000, 2007, 2016, 2017, 2018.

Wednesday will mark the Flames' second MVC Tournament semifinals appearance in their four seasons as a conference member. In 2023, UIC earned a 2-1 home victory over Belmont in the quarterfinals before narrowly falling to Missouri State in the semifinals, 1-0 in Kalamazoo, Mich.

EDOUARD NYS NAMED MVC PLAYER AND FORWARD OF THE YEAR; DARRELL TURCIOS EARNS ALL-CONFERENCE NOD
UIC juniors Edouard Nys and Darrell Turcios were honored by the Missouri Valley Conference coaches with a handful of postseason awards that were announced by the conference office Sunday morning. Nys (name pronounced ed-WAR Niece) was selected as the MVC Player and Forward of the Year, the first UIC player to earn either honor since the Flames joined the Valley four years ago. He is also UIC's first men's soccer conference player of the year since Jesus Perez claimed back-to-back Horizon League Player of the Year awards in 2018 and 2019.

In addition, Nys and Turcios both earned All-MVC accolades, with Nys a first-team selection and Turcios a second-team choice. It's the first such award for both players and the 15^th consecutive season that UIC men's soccer has produced multiple all-conference honorees.
 
A native of Dottignies, Belgium, Nys was a four-time MVC Offensive Player of the Week selection this year, tying the school record for weekly conference awards in a single season. He was also named to the Hermann Trophy Midseason Watch List, the first UIC player chosen since Perez in 2019.
 
Nys ranks among the top three in the country in six different NCAA statistical categories (see below) and is one of only three players in program history to score 15 goals in one season. He has also amassed the most goals and points by a UIC player in one season since 2000, when All-America Eric Lukin registered 15 goals and 40 points.

Turcios (name pronounced duh-RELL TUR-see-ohs) is enjoying the finest season of his three-year UIC tenure with career highs in all statistical categories. Originally from San Lorenzo, Honduras, he has appeared in all 17 Flames matches this year (starting 13 times) and he currently ranks among the top 10 in the MVC in goals, points and assists. Turcios also played a pivotal role in one of UIC's biggest wins of the season, scoring twice in a Sept. 1 road victory at Big Ten Conference foe Northwestern, including the match-winning goal in the 84th minute.

UIC AMONG THE NCAA STATISTICAL LEADERS
Since day one this year, UIC has ranked among the top 15 in the nation in several NCAA statistical categories. As of Tuesday, the Flames are No. 2 in the country in shots on goal per game (8.47), as well as third in shots per game (19.24) and eighth in assists per game (2.59). They are also 10th in points per game (7.06) and total assists (44), as well as 12th in total points (120), 14th in total goals (38) and 15th in scoring offense (2.24 goals/game).

UIC players have also shown up on the NCAA individual statistical charts throughout this season. Junior midfielder and Hermann Trophy candidate Edouard Nys leads the way, currently No. 1 in the nation in shots per game (5.59) and shots on goal per game (2.76), as well as second in total goals (15), and third in total points (35), goals per game (0.88) and points per game (2.06).

NYS NAMED TO HERMANN TROPHY MIDSEASON WATCH LIST
UIC junior midfielder Edouard Nys is among 31 NCAA Division I players who have been selected for the 2025 Hermann Trophy Midseason Watch List, it was announced Oct. 10 by United Soccer Coaches. The Hermann Trophy is college soccer's most prestigious award, having been presented annually since 1967 to the nation's top player. Nys is the first UIC player to be named to the Hermann Trophy Watch List since Jesus Perez in 2019.
 
Nys is the only Missouri Valley Conference player on this year's Hermann Trophy Midseason Watch List. The MVC has had two players (none from current Valley member schools) receive the Hermann Trophy during its history — Creighton's Johnny Torres (1997) and SMU's Luchi Gonzalez (2001). 

ZEPEDA NAMED TO TOP DRAWER SOCCER TOP 100 FRESHMAN LIST
Freshman defender Daniel Zepeda earned national recognition recently when he was ranked No. 24 on the Top Drawer Soccer Midseason Top 100 Freshman List. Zepeda, a native of Aurora, Ill., has started 13 matches for UIC during his rookie season, collecting his first career goal on Sept. 7 against Wright State and adding four assists, most recently setting up both Flames' goals in a 2-2 draw with MVC leader Evansville on Oct. 18. In addition, he has been instrumental in UIC's four shutouts this season.

THE TIES THAT BIND
UIC's 1-1 draw at Bowling Green on Oct. 31 marked a school-record fourth tie in conference play for UIC this season, as well as the Flames' fifth deadlock overall. The only prior time UIC had even recorded three conference ties in a single conference campaign was 2007, when the Flames went 4-1-3 in Horizon League play to finish third (and ultimately advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight). The last time UIC had this many ties in one season was 2009, when it recorded a school-record seven draws (6-6-7 record) in the year prior to current head coach Sean Phillips assuming that title.

CHICAGO'S COLLEGE TEAM
The Flames finished 3-0-1 against Chicagoland opponents this season, defeating Northwestern (3-2) and Loyola (3-1) on the road, and Chicago State (2-0) at home, while tying 1-1 at DePaul. Collectively, the UIC men's soccer, women's soccer and volleyball programs went 7-0-2 against Windy City teams this fall, the best intracity record by any of Chicago's Division I schools.

UP NEXT: MVC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
With a victory on Wednesday, UIC would move on to the MVC Tournament championship match against either No. 2 seed Drake or No. 6 seed Western Michigan on Saturday night. If the Flames face Drake, the match would be played at 6 p.m. (CT) at Mediacom Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa, and if UIC meets Western Michigan, the Flames would play host to the title match at 7 p.m. (CT) at Flames Field. All MVC postseason matches are broadcast live on ESPN+, with live stats for matches involving UIC available at UICFlames.com. More information on the 2025 MVC Tournament can be found on the conference's Championship Central website. 
 
FOLLOW THE FLAMES
UIC students, staff and youths in eighth grade and under are admitted to all soccer matches free of charge, while adults and youths in ninth grade and above can purchase tickets for $5 each at the northwest entrance to Flames Field (off Morgan St.) on match night. Discounted tickets for military veterans, first responders and groups of 10+ adults, are on sale for $3 each. In addition, fans can buy the new Flames Fast Pass, a one-time $50 purchase that will provide the bearer with access to all UIC home athletics events (except men's and women's basketball) during the 2025-26 academic year.
 
For more information on UIC men's soccer, fans are encouraged to visit UICFlames.com, or follow the Flames on social media through X (@UIC_MSOC and @UICFlames) and Instagram (@uic_msoc and @uicflames).

 
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