NASHVILLE, Tenn. – If it's November, it must be the postseason for UIC men's soccer, and in recent years, it's likely meant a matchup with Belmont. That will again be the case on Saturday, as the Flames and Bruins meet in a Missouri Valley Conference Tournament quarterfinal for the fourth time in five years, kicking off the latest installment at 6 p.m. (CT) from E.S. Rose Park in Nashville. ESPN+ will broadcast the match (and all Valley postseason contests) live, while fans can follow the live stats feed at UICFlames.com.

MATCH #16
2026 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament - Quarterfinals
#5 seed UIC "Flames" (4-7-4, 1-3-2 MVC) at #4 seed Belmont "Bruins" (6-6-4, 2-2-2 MVC)
When: Saturday, Nov. 7th  |  6 p.m. CT
Where: Nashville, Tenn.  |  E.S. Rose Park
Live Coverage: ESPN+  |  Live Stats

SERIES NOTES
UIC and Belmont will square off for the 14th time in their series history, with the Flames holding a 9-2-2 edge over the Bruins (4-2-2 since both schools joined the MVC prior to the 2022 season). UIC is also 6-0-2 all-time against Belmont when playing in Nashville, where the teams will be meeting for the fourth consecutive time. Back on Oct. 17, the Flames and Bruins played to a 2-2 draw, with Sebastian Khoury scored in the 41st minute to erase an early score by the hosts and Sota Nakazono giving UIC a short-lived lead in the 59th minute before Belmont drew level from the penalty spot five minutes later.

UIC is 2-1 all-time against Belmont when playing in the MVC Tournament (all coming in the quarterfinal round), with the Bruins taking the first encounter in 2022 (1-0 at Flames Field) and UIC capturing the next two (2-1 in 2023 in Chicago; 1-0 last year in Nashville).

POSTSEASON PEDIGREE
UIC has won six conference tournament titles during its history, all coming as a member of the Horizon League (and its predecessor, the Midwestern Collegiate Conference). The Flames' last conference tournament championship came in 2018, capping a stretch of three consecutive crowns in the Horizon League. In UIC's first four seasons as an MVC member, the Flames have advanced to the Valley semifinals twice (2023 - won at home vs. Belmont, 2-1; lost at Missouri State, 1-0; 2025 - won 1-0 at Belmont, lost 4-1 at Evansville). This will be the third consecutive year in which UIC has started MVC Tournament play on the road (in 2024, the Flames dropped their quarterfinal at Bowling Green, 4-1).

LAST TIME OUT: BOWLING GREEN
UIC spent much of Wednesday night's regular-season finale camped in the attacking third, but Bowling Green capitalized on its lone shot on goal in the first half, then settled into a counterattack posture the rest of the night to keep the Flames at bay and take a 1-0 Missouri Valley Conference win at Flames Field.

Along with its sizable edge in time of possession, UIC had several prime scoring chances during the evening, including an early breakaway by junior midfielder Sebastian Khoury in the second minute, but his shot just sailed wide of the left post. However, after largely defending its own end for most of the opening half hour, Bowling Green scored on its first true foray into Flames' territory, heading home a cross on the doorstep in the 28th minute.

UIC would not go quietly and peppered the Falcons' net throughout the second half, including a remarkable 11 shots in the final 14 minutes. Khoury had two more golden opportunities, one in the 80th minute, when he found space on the back door near the left post, but put his shot into the outside netting. In the 86th minute, he got loose near the top of the box for a wicked blast that took a deflection and had the BGSU keeper initially going the wrong way, but he recovered to dive back and tip the ball wide left.

UIC outshot the Falcons, 27-9, but BGSU had a slim 7-5 advantage in shots on goal. The Flames also earned an 8-2 edge on corner kicks during the contest. Graduate student goalkeeper Owen Cornell made six saves between the pipes for UIC, including an important diving stop on a free kick in the 76th minute to keep the hosts in contention.

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 15 matches this season, UIC has had the upper hand for large portions of each contest, making its 4-7-4 record quite deceiving. In fact, the Flames have outshot their opponents by more than 100 (273-151), including similar spreads in shots on goal (117-74) and on corner kicks (104-58).

NCAA RANKINGS
UIC ranks second in the nation in shots per match (18.2; NJIT is first at 19.53), fourth in shots on goal per match (7.80; defending national champion Washington is first at 8.12), and ninth in corner kicks per match (6.93; Akron leads at 7.87). Individually, junior midfielder Sebastian Khoury is ninth in shots on goal per match (MVC-leading 1.93), 22nd in shots per match (3.33) and 23rd in shot accuracy (.580).

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: MVC TOURNAMENT SEMIFINAL
The winner of Saturday's MVC Tournament quarterfinal will advance to the semifinal round next Wednesday (Nov. 11) and travel to top-seeded Bowling Green for a 6 p.m. (CT) match — ESPN+ will carry that contest (and all MVC Tournament matches) live. 

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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