CHICAGO (Aug. 17, 2026) – The UIC men's soccer team was slotted fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason coaches' poll that was revealed Monday. At the same time, UIC senior midfielder Darrell Turcios was selected to the Preseason All-MVC Team, with both the poll and all-conference squad voted upon by the Valley's seven head coaches.
 
A native of San Lorenzo, Honduras, Turcios (name pronounced duh-RELL TUR-see-os) earned second-team All-MVC honors last year, as well as a spot on the MVC Scholar-Athlete Team and College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team. He is coming off the best season of his three-year collegiate career, ranking second on the team in goals (5) and third in assists (4) in 2025, while appearing in all 18 Flames' matches and starting 14 times. Overall, he has played in 52 matches at UIC (44 starts) and has amassed eight goals and five assists to date.

Last year, UIC posted a 10-3-5 record last season and advanced to the semifinals of the MVC Tournament for the second time in three years, while tying a school record for the fewest losses in a single year. The Flames also appeared in the top 10 of the United Soccer Coaches West Region rankings nearly every week during the 2025 season and earned votes in the United Soccer Coaches National Top 25 poll for multiple weeks last year.

UIC will kick off its 2026 season with a four-match road trip that starts Thursday with a 7 p.m. (CT) match at Tulsa, followed by a Sunday matinee (2 p.m. CT) at Oral Roberts. Both matches will be the first-ever for the Flames in the state of Oklahoma, with the opener at Tulsa being UIC's first meeting with the Golden Hurricane, and the ORU match being the Flames' first with the Eagles since 1995 (and second all-time).

Following its season-opening road swing, UIC will play six in a row (the entire month of September) at Flames Field, beginning Sept. 3 with a 7 p.m. (CT) match against crosstown rival DePaul — it will be UIC Campus Celebration Night with official UIC soccer scarves given out to early arriving fans.

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 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).