CHICAGO — Senior midfielder Darrell Turcios scored just 91 seconds into the match and the UIC defense, led by a career-high seven saves from graduate student goalkeeper Owen Cornell, did the rest, turning back every Loyola challenge for a well-earned 1-0 win over the Ramblers in another thrilling installment of the Chicago Clásico on Sunday night at Flames Field.
Turcios gave the Flames (2-3-1) all the offense they would need in the second minute, latching on to a ball at the edge of the attacking third and sending it wide left for junior midfielder Carlos Nevarez, who it turned whipped a pinpoint left-footed cross into the heart of the area. Turcios didn't stop moving and met the cross with a perfectly-placed header inside the left post for his first goal of the season.
Both teams had a handful of chances the remainder of the night, including a trio of dangerous opportunities for Loyola (5-1-2), two in the closing 15 minutes, but all of which were stopped by Cornell. The first came on a 1v1 chance in the 30th minute when the UIC netminder came alertly off his line to cut down the angle and made a leaping save. Then, in the 84th minute, the Ramblers nearly headed in a corner kick, but Cornell dove to his right and pushed the shot wide of the left post. Finally, in the last 15 seconds, Loyola got a clean look from the top of the box at a desperation shot that Cornell again snatched for his seventh and final save of the evening.
Shots were even at 15-15, with Loyola holding a slim 7-6 edge in shots on goal and UIC taking a 10-5 margin on corner kicks. The full box score and play-by-play recap from Sunday's win over Loyola can be found here.
SOCIAL MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Turcios' goal was the fastest score for UIC since Aug. 27, 2023, when Sidney Warden converted a penalty 28 seconds into a win over St. Thomas at Flames Field. The last time the Flames scored a quicker goal in the run of play was Oct. 26, 2019, when Bukola Abdulwahab scored the first of his three goals in a victory at IUPUI (now IU Indy) just 18 seconds into the match.
- UIC improves to 21-15-4 all-time against Loyola, including an 11-9-2 record at home. The Flames have also won four in a row and are unbeaten in their last five meetings against the Ramblers, their longest series winning streak since an eight-match run from 1997-2002.
- In its last four matches against Loyola at Flames Field, UIC is 3-0-1 and has now shut out the Ramblers the last three times they have played on UIC's home pitch (a span of 334:21). Loyola's last goal at Flames Field came on Sept. 25, 2018, in the 26th minute of a 2-1 UIC victory.
- UIC is unbeaten in its last six matches (5-0-1) against Chicago schools, dating back to the 2024 season.
- Cornell's previous career high for saves in a match was six on Sept. 4, 2025, at DePaul.
- Turcios was the fifth different goal scorer for UIC this season.
- Nevarez collected his second assist in as many matches for the Flames.
- This marked the first time in six matches this season that UIC did not finish with the advantage in shots or shots on goal. Conversely, the Flames earned 10 corner kicks, the third time this season they have been credited with double-digit attempts from the flags.
- Head coach Sean Phillips posted his 149th career win on Sunday — he is 149-110-33 in 17 seasons at UIC.
UP NEXT: NORTHWESTERN
UIC continues its five-match homestand Saturday with a 7 p.m. (CT) contest against Northwestern at Flames Field. It will be Senior Night (pre-match ceremony) as well as Alumni Night, with the Flames paying special recognition to their 2006 and 2016 Horizon League championship squads that went on to compete in the NCAA Tournament. In addition, it will be UIC's first ALS Awareness Night (with a special halftime Ice Bucket Challenge planned!), and fans can also pick up this year's full set of UIC player trading cards at the match.
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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