CHICAGO – UIC got offensive contributions from six different players to fuel the Flames' 3-1 season-opening win over the U.S. Air Force Academy on Thursday night at Flames Field. Junior defender
Sota Nakazono opened the scoring in the 19th minute, with sophomore forward
Carlos Nevarez putting UIC ahead for good less than three minutes into the second half, and senior midfielder
Rui Reis icing the win in the final minute. Freshman midfielder
Daniel Zepeda and junior midfielders
Darrell Turcios and
Edouard Nys all picked up assists in the victory. Redshirt junior
Kevin Dabrowski picked up the win in goal, making one save while going the full 90 minutes.
UIC (1-0-0) outshot Air Force, 25-3, including a 14-0 margin in the second half, when the Flames hit the woodwork twice and had another shot cleared off the line along with their two deciding goals. The Flames also earned five of the seven corner kicks in the match. Thursday marked the third consecutive season UIC has scored three goals in its season opener, as the Flames secured their fifth season-opening win in the past eight seasons.
The full box score and play-by-play recap can be found
here.
SOCIAL MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
UP NEXT
UIC continues its season-opening five-match homestand (the program's longest stretch at home since 2000) on Sunday night with a 7 p.m. (CT) contest against Eastern Illinois at Flames Field. It will be the nightcap of a UIC soccer doubleheader, with the Flames' women taking on Chicago State in the opener at 4 p.m. (CT) — it will be a single-admission doubleheader, with one ticket good for both matches. Live stats will also be available through
UICFlames.com.
TICKET INFORMATION
- UIC students/staff and youths eighth grade and under - Free
- Adults/youths ninth grade and older - $5 each
- Military veterans/first responders/groups of 10+ adults - $3 each
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