TULSA, Okla. — On a sweltering summer evening in Tulsa, the UIC men's soccer team turned up the heat for the full 90 minutes against the host Golden Hurricane, finishing with statistical edges in nearly every category. However, Tulsa capitalized on a second-half own goal and made it stand up for a 1-0 decision in the season opener for both teams on Thursday night at the Hurricane Soccer & Track Stadium.
UIC (0-1) wound up with a 14-9 edge in total shots and a sizable 8-2 margin in shots on goal, along with a 6-5 advantage on corner kicks. The Flames also had multiple shots ring the woodwork during the first half, as well as several near-misses in the closing stages of the match as they pressed for the equalizer.
Seniors Sota Nakazono and Darrell Turcios each had three shots, with all three of Nakazono's tries and two of Turcios' looks ending up on frame. In addition, freshman Artem Grinblat redirected a Nakazono cross off the right post in the 18th minute, and sophomore Daniel Zepeda fired a pair of dipping long-range blasts in the closing 17 minutes, one that was tipped over the bar and another that just curled wide.
Graduate student goalkeeper Owen Cornell was credited with two saves on the night.
The full box score and play-by-play recap from Thursday's match at Tulsa can be found here.
SOCIAL MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The temperature at opening kickoff was 99 degrees.
- UIC and Tulsa were meeting for the first time in the regular season. The Flames were also playing in the state of Oklahoma for the first time.
- The Flames were opening on the road for the first time since the 2022 season (2-0 loss at No. 8 Kentucky).
- Nakazono tied his UIC career high with three shots (set twice before, the last at Marquette on Oct. 7, 2025) and set a new personal best with three shots on goal (1 on seven occasions, the last vs. Western Michigan on Nov. 5, 2025).
- Turcios tied his career high with three shots, the fifth time he's done that and first since Sept. 11, 2025, vs. Western Illinois.
UP NEXT: ORAL ROBERTS
UIC gets back to work Sunday when it travels to the other side of Tulsa to take on Oral Roberts at Case Soccer Stadium. Kickoff has been adjusted to noon (CT) and the match will be streamed live on the Summit League Network (subscription required) with live stats at UICFlames.com.
FOLLOW THE FLAMES
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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