CHICAGO (Sept. 15, 2026) – Fresh off a pair of shutout wins, two members of the UIC men's soccer defense who played critical roles in those clean sheets were recognized with weekly honors by the Missouri Valley Conference on Tuesday morning. Senior defender Takeru Chiba was tapped as the MVC Defensive Player of the Week, while graduate student Owen Cornell was named the MVC Goalkeeper of the Week, with both players earning the first weekly conference awards of their respective careers.
 
Chiba (name pronounced TOCK-er-OO CHEE-buh) is the first UIC player to receive the MVC's weekly defensive accolade since Sept. 23, 2025, when Jacobo Cruz was selected. Meanwhile, Cornell is the first Flames' netminder to earn a weekly conference plaudit since Oct. 31, 2023, when Oren Asher garnered the second of two MVC Defensive Player of the Week honors that season (the Goalkeeper of the Week award is a new honor instituted by the Valley in 2026).
 
Chiba, a native of Sendai, Japan, played all 90 minutes in both UIC victories last week at Flames Field, a 2-0 win over Western Illinois on Sept. 10 and a 1-0 victory over previously unbeaten Loyola three nights later. Both opponents had come into their matches with the Flames averaging 2.0 goals per contest, but neither found the back of the net against Chiba and the stout UIC defense that not only logged its first two shutouts of the season, but its first back-to-back whitewashes since Sept. 6-15, 2024.
 
Cornell, who hails from La Grange, Ill., backstopped the Flames in both victories, going the distance and making a combined 10 saves against the Leathernecks and Ramblers. On Sunday against Loyola, Cornell made a career-high seven saves, including two key stops in the closing 10 minutes, to secure the first back-to-back shutouts of his career.
 
UIC (2-3-1) returns to the pitch at 7 p.m. (CT) Saturday when it plays host to Northwestern at Flames Field.  It will be Senior Night (pre-match ceremony starting just after 6 p.m.) 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. For those unable to attend, Saturday's match will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and live stats will be available at UICFlames.com.
 
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).