CHICAGO — UIC took an early 1-0 lead on a goal by junior midfielder Sebastian Khoury, but Evansville responded with three unanswered goals to claim a 3-1 victory over the Flames in Missouri Valley Conference action on Saturday night at Flames Field. It was UIC's first home loss in conference play this season and first defeat of any kind in more than a month.
Khoury put UIC (4-5-4, 1-1-2 MVC) in front in the 26th minute, heading home a left-wing cross from senior defender Sota Nakazono, who was sprung with a lead pass from senior midfielder Darrell Turcios. It was Khoury's career-high fifth goal of the season, while Nakazono and Turcios both earned their second assist of the year.
Evansville (4-8-2, 3-1-0) answered back with a goal in the 38th minute, but the teams went to the dressing room all square. The Purple Aces then broke through with the deciding scores in the 50th and 68th minutes.
The team stat lines were virtually even across the board - tied 13-13 in total shots, while UIC had a 7-5 margin in shots on goal and corner kicks were even at 5-5.
The full box score and play-by-play recap from Saturday's match against Evansville can be found here.
SOCIAL MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Khoury not only posted his career-best fifth goal of the season, but also moved into a tie for the team's goalscoring lead with junior midfielder Martin Montoya.
- Khoury has scored goals in four of UIC's last six matches, including three of the Flames' four MVC contests this season.
- Nakazono picked up a point for the second consecutive outing, having scored a goal in last Saturday's draw at Belmont.
- Since being shut out in the season opener at Tulsa on Aug. 20, UIC has scored in every other match this season. In fact, the Flames have been blanked just twice in their last 34 matches, dating back to the end of the 2024 season (the other was a scoreless draw against their next opponent, Drake, on Oct. 3, 2025, at Flames Field).
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 night. 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 Athletics and UIC men's soccer, visit UICFlames.com. Fans can also follow the Flames on social media through X (@UIC_MSOC and @UICFlames) and Instagram (@uic_msoc and @uicflames).
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