CHICAGO – Fresh off another road win at a Windy City foe, the UIC men's soccer team returns home to Flames Field Thursday for a 7 p.m. (CT) matchup against Chicago State. It will be the final pre-conference contest for UIC before heading into Missouri Valley Conference play, with Thursday's match serving as both UIC's Hispanic Heritage Night and Faculty/Staff Night. Fans who cannot make the match in person can tune in for the live broadcast on ESPN+, with live stats also available at UICFlames.com.
MATCH #8
Chicago State "Cougars" (0-6-0, 0-0-0 NEC) at UIC "Flames" (6-0-1, 0-0-0 MVC)
When: Thursday, Sept. 18th | 7 p.m. CT
Where: Chicago, Ill. | Flames Field
Live Coverage: ESPN+ (Max Anderson, p-b-p) | Live Stats
Themes/Promotions: Hispanic Heritage Night | UIC Faculty/Staff Night
Tickets
• UIC students/staff/youths eighth grade and under - free
• Adults/youths ninth grade and older - $5 each
• Military veterans/first responders/groups of 10+ adults - $3 each
SERIES NOTES
Thursday will mark just the sixth all-time meeting between UIC and Chicago State, with the Flames holding a 5-0 series lead on the Cougars (2-0 at Flames Field). The teams last met on Sept. 19, 2023, with UIC posting a 2-1 victory at CSU. The prior year (Sept. 9, 2022), UIC captured the most recent series matchup at Flames Field, a 2-0 victory.
LAST TIME OUT
UIC junior defender Jacobo Cruz picked the perfect time to score his first two goals in a Flames' uniform, twice heading home corner kicks in the second half to power UIC past Chicagoland rival Loyola, 3-1 on Monday night at Loyola Soccer Park. Junior midfielder Edouard Nys added a goal and an assist, finding the back of the net for the sixth consecutive match (the longest streak by a UIC player since at least 2014, with further research pending). Nys now leads the country in goals (8) and points (21) this season, and is among the NCAA pacesetters with five assists. Junior defender Sota Nakazono delivered a pair of assists, while sophomore midfielder Carlos Nevarez dished out his nation-leading sixth assist of the 2025 campaign.
UIC found itself facing a rare deficit on Monday, trailing for the first time all season when Loyola (2-2-3) scored in the 27th minute. However, it took less than eight minutes for Nys to find the equalizer, setting the stage for Cruz's second-half heroics. Senior goalkeeper Owen Cornell made the lead stand up with two saves, including a kick save off a potential game-tying Rambler shot just over a minute after Cruz had put the Flames on top in the 56th minute.
OUR KIND OF TOWN
UIC will be facing the last of the other four Division I Chicago schools on Thursday when Chicago State comes calling. The Flames are 2-0-1 against their Windy City rivals this year, with all three results coming on the road (3-2 at Northwestern, 1-1 at DePaul, 3-1 at Loyola). Both UIC and DePaul are 2-0-1 in Chicago play this year (DePaul defeated Loyola and Chicago State, but does not meet Northwestern this year), while Northwestern is 0-1-1 (tie with Loyola in addition to the loss to UIC), Loyola is 0-2-1 (losses to UIC and DePaul, plus a tie with Northwestern and it faced Chicago State during exhibition play) and CSU is 0-1 (loss at DePaul).
POLL POSITION
On the strength of its early-season success, UIC has earned votes in both the United Soccer Coaches and College Soccer News Top 25 polls this week. This is the Flames' first appearance in either ranking this season.
A HOT START
With Monday's win at Loyola, UIC is unbeaten this season at 6-0-1, the Flames' best start to a season since 1997, when they also opened 6-0-1. UIC has also scored 22 goals in its first seven outings (3.14/game), tying the Division I-era school record for most goals in a season-opening seven-match stretch (also in 2008). What's more, the Flames have scored at least three goals in six of their seven matches this season (the lone exception being a 1-1 tie at DePaul on Sept. 4).
THREE FOR NYS
For the third time in the first four weeks of the 2025 season, UIC junior midfielder Edouard Nys has been chosen as the Missouri Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday. Nys, who also earned a spot on the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week for the second time this year, previously received the MVC honor on Aug. 26 and Sept. 9, and he is the first Flames' men's soccer player to be a three-time weekly conference award recipient since 2000, when Eric Lukin captured three Horizon League awards en route to earning All-America honors and being named Horizon League Player of the Year.
Originally from Dottignies, Belgium, Nys had a hand in four of UIC's five goals during its lone match in the week of Sept. 8-14, collecting two goals and two assists in a 5-3 win over Western Illinois on Sept. 11 at Flames Field. He also extended his goalscoring streak, which now stands at six matches after another tally in Monday night's win at Loyola (a result that came after the MVC award was selected). Nys' six-match goalscoring streak is the longest by a UIC player since at least 2014, with further research pending.
UIC AMONG THE NCAA STATISTICAL LEADERS
UIC is littered across the latest NCAA statistical report released Wednesday, ranking among the top 10 in the nation in nine different statistical categories. The Flames lead the country in total assists (27), shots on goal per game (9.86) and shots per game (23.43), are second in assists per game (3.86), third in total points (71), fourth in total goals (22) and points per game (10.14), fifth in scoring offense (3.145 goals/game) and seventh in goal differential (+14).
Individually, UIC players are also front and center in the top 10 of the NCAA statistical rankings. Edouard Nys is No. 1 in the nation in total points (21), points per game (3.00) and shots per game (5.86), second in total goals (8) and shots on goal per game (2.86), third in goals per game (1.14) and sixth in total assists (5). Carlos Nevarez leads the country in total assists (6) and is third in assists per game (0.86), while Rui Reis is third in the country in shots per game (4.71).
UP NEXT: BRADLEY
Following a nine-day break, UIC will kick off Missouri Valley Conference play at 7 p.m. (CT) Sept. 27 when it travels to Peoria, Ill., to take on Bradley. At press time, the match was not scheduled to be televised, although live stats will be available on the main and men's soccer schedule pages at UICFlames.com.
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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