CHICAGO – The UIC men's soccer team kicks off the second half of its Missouri Valley Conference schedule Saturday night when the Flames play host to Evansville in a 7 p.m (CT) contest. Both teams are among five in a tightly-bunched Valley race separated by all of four points — Evansville is on six points (third place), UIC is on five (tied for fourth place), with Bowling Green currently atop the MVC table on nine points. ESPN+ will broadcast Saturday's match live from Flames Field, with Andres Tejada on the call, while live stats will be available at UICFlames.com.

All UIC home matches are free to attend for UIC students, staff and youths in eighth grade and under, while tickets for adults and non-students (in ninth grade and above) can be purchased at the gate on match day, and discounted tickets for groups of 10 or more adults.

MATCH #13
Evansville "Purple Aces" (3-8-2, 2-1-0 MVC) at UIC "Flames" (4-4-4, 1-0-2 MVC)
When: Saturday, Oct. 24th  |  7 p.m. CT
Where: Chicago, Ill.  |  Flames Field
Live Coverage: ESPN+  |  Live Stats
Promotions: Pride Night (free UIC Pride t-shirts while supplies last)
Tickets: Free for UIC students, staff and youths 8th grade and under; adults and youths 9th grade and older are $5 each; discounted tickets ($3 each) for groups of 10 or more adults.

SERIES NOTES
UIC and Evansville will be playing for just the sixth time in series history, a rivalry that did not start until the Flames joined the MVC in 2022. The series is all square at 2-2-1, with UIC owning a 2-0-1 record when hosting the Purple Aces at Flames Field (its last win in the series was a 5-1 home victory on Oct. 14, 2023).

Evansville has earned results in the past three series meetings, prevailing in the 2024 regular season (3-1) and 2025 MVC Tournament semifinals (4-1), with both matches played in southern Indiana. Last year's regular-season matchup was played at Flames Field, with UIC and Evansville playing to a 2-2 draw after the Flames took a pair of one-goal leads and the Purple Aces twice rallied to tie, the second coming on a goal with 5:08 left in regulation. Among current UIC players, Sebastian Khoury had a goal and an assist, while Daniel Zepeda had two assists in that regular-season draw, 

LAST TIME OUT: BELMONT
Junior midfielder Sebastian Khoury picked up a goal and an assist, and senior defender Sota Nakazono gave UIC the lead early in the second half, but Belmont netted the tying goal on a penalty kick in the 64th minute and the Flames and Bruins settled for a 2-2 draw in Missouri Valley Conference play on Oct. 17 at E.S. Rose Park in Nashville. With Saturday's result, UIC remains unbeaten in eight all-time match against Belmont in the Music City (6-0-2).

Junior midfielders Martin Montoya and Carlos Nevarez were credited with assists on Khoury's 41st-minute strike, which leveled the score and cancelled out an early Belmont tally. Khoury then earned the lone assist on Nakazono's go-ahead goal in the 59th minute, ripping a shot that the Bruins' goalkeeper parried off the crossbar, but Nakazono alertly crashed the play and headed in the rebound.

UIC controlled possession for large swaths of the match, but finished with a slim 10-9 edge in total shots, while each team posted five shots on goal. Belmont ended up with a narrow 3-2 margin on corner kicks.

TURN THE BEAT AROUND
Starting with a 2-0 win over Western Illinois in its Sept. 10 home opener, UIC is unbeaten in seven of its last eight matches, going 4-1-3 in that span (the only loss coming on Sept. 19 vs. Northwestern in a match the Flames led 1-0 at halftime). UIC is also averaging just shy of two goals per match in this eight-match run, including a season-high four goals in a Sept. 25 win over Bradley.

READY, SET, DRAW
Finishing with a share of the spoils has become a regular occurrence for UIC in the past two seasons (2025-26), as the Flames have recorded nine draws in that time (five last year, four this season). By comparison, UIC had nine draws combined in the six prior seasons (2019-24), including none in 2024 and one apiece in 2019 and 2020 (the latter a COVID-abbreviated season rescheduled to the spring of 2021).

ON THE FRONT FOOT
During all 12 matches this season, UIC has had the upper hand for large portions of each contest, making its 4-4-4 record quite deceiving. In fact, the Flames have outshot their opponents by nearly a 2-to-1 margin (225-123), including similar spreads in shots on goal (103-57) and on corner kicks (86-48).

NCAA RANKINGS
UIC ranks second in the nation in both shots per match (18.75; NJIT is first at 19.64) and shots on goal per match (8.58; defending national champion Washington is first at 9.08), as well as seventh in corner kicks per match (7.17; Washington also leads at 8.38). Individually, Sebastian Khoury is fourth nationally in shot accuracy (.667) and seventh in shots on goal per match (MVC-leading 2.0), while Carlos Nevarez is 20th in assists per match (conference-best 0.55).

A PRICELESS POINT
At No. 13 in the United Soccer Coaches poll coming into its Sept. 29 draw at UIC, Notre Dame was the highest-ranked opponent UIC tied or defeated since Sept. 6, 2014 (0-0 vs. No. 7 Michigan State). It was also the Flames' first result of any kind against a Top 25 team since Sept. 3, 2021 (2-2 double-overtime draw at No. 16 Saint Louis). In addition, UIC captured its second-ever point against a current Atlantic Coast Conference school and first since Sept. 13, 2009 (1-1 in double OT at Louisville in the UofL Invitational).

UP NEXT: DRAKE
UIC will play its final road match of the regular season next Friday, Oct. 30, when it travels to Des Moines, Iowa, to take on another of last year's MVC regular-season champions, Drake. Kickoff from Mediacom Stadium is set for 6 p.m. (CT), with ESPN+ broadcasting the match and live stats available at UICFlames.com.

FOLLOW THE FLAMES
Once again this season, UIC students, staff and youths in eighth grade and under are admitted to all home soccer matches free of charge, while adults and youths in ninth grade and above can purchase tickets for $5 each at the northwest (Morgan St.) or southeast (Granderson Stadium home plate) entrances to Flames Field on match day. Discounted tickets for groups of 10+ adults, are on sale for $3 each. In addition, fans can buy the 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 2026-27 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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