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UIC Athletics

thevalley
Nakazono_OAK_082726
CeeJay Round
2
UIC UIC (0-2-1, 0-0-0)
3
Winner Oakland OAK (1-1-1, 0-0-0)
UIC UIC
(0-2-1, 0-0-0)
2
Final
3
Oakland OAK
(1-1-1, 0-0-0)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
UIC UIC 0 2 2
Oakland OAK 1 2 3

Game Recap: Men's Soccer |

Men’s Soccer Battles Hard in 3-2 Loss at Oakland

Flames back on the pitch Sunday night at Northern Illinois

ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. — Senior defender Sota Nakazono and junior midfielder Martin Montoya both scored their first goals of the season and UIC once again claimed a sizable statistical edge over its opponent, but Oakland made the most of its chances on Thursday night to slip by the Flames, 3-2 at the Oakland Soccer Field in Rochester Hills, Mich.

Nakazono leveled the match at 1-1 when he scored unassisted less than three minutes into the second half. Montoya then pulled UIC (0-2-1) back within a goal with his strike in the 74th minute, converting a pass from freshman midfielder Artem Grinblat to set up a frantic final quarter-hour as the visitors searched for the equalizer. In those closing 15-plus minutes, the Flames earned eight corner kicks and six shots (three on goal), but simply ran out of time before the tying score came.

UIC finished with a 21-11 edge in total shots, 10-7 margin in shots on goal and staggering 16-5 spread on corner kicks. Junior midfielder Sebastian Khoury led the Flames with a career-high four shots on the night.

The full box score and play-by-play recap from Thursday's match at Oakland can be found here.

SOCIAL MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS





BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

  • UIC's 16 corner kicks were the Flames' highest number of attempts from the flags since Oct. 23, 2022, when they earned 19 corner kicks in a 6-2 win at Bradley.
  • UIC had a season-high 21 shots and 10 shots on goal during Thursday's match at Oakland.
  • Nakazono scored his second goal in a UIC kit and first since his Flames' debut on Aug. 21, 2025, against Air Force.
  • Montoya netted his first goal since coming to UIC and his first overall since Nov. 5, 2025, when he scored twice for Northern Illinois in a home win over Bowling Green.
  • Grinblat picked up his first collegiate point with the assist on Montoya's second-half goal.
  • Khoury's previous career high for shots in a match was three at Marquette on Oct. 7, 2025.


UP NEXT: NORTHERN ILLINOIS
UIC winds up its season-opening four-match road trip at 7 p.m. (CT) Sunday, traveling to DeKalb, Ill., to take on its former Missouri Valley Conference rival, Northern Illinois. While the match will not be streamed, live stats will be available on 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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