CHICAGO – UIC continues its five-match homestand at 2 p.m. (CT) Saturday when it welcomes crosstown opponent and Big Ten Conference member Northwestern to Flames Field. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Scott Sudikoff on the call, while live stats can be viewed at UICFlames.com.

Prior to Saturday's match at 1:05 p.m. (CT), UIC will recognize its eight seniors in a special Senior Day ceremony. At halftime, the Flames will also celebrate their returning alumni and honor both their 2006 and 2016 Horizon League championship teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament. In addition, Saturday is UIC men's soccer's inaugural ALS Awareness Match and select attendees will participate in the famed ALS Ice Bucket Challenge at halftime. Fans attending Saturday's match will also receive a pack of UIC men's soccer player trading cards. 

All UIC home matches are free to attend for UIC students, staff and youths in eighth grade and under, while tickets for adults and non-students (in ninth grade and above) can be purchased at the gate on match day, and discounted tickets for groups of 10 or more adults.

MATCH #7
Northwestern "Wildcats" (3-3-1, 1-1-0 Big Ten) at UIC "Flames" (2-3-1, 0-0-0 MVC)
When: Saturday, Sept. 19th  |  2 p.m. CT
Where: Chicago, Ill.  |  Flames Field
Live Coverage: ESPN+  |  Live Stats
Promotions: Senior Day (pre-match ceremony at 1:05 p.m.), Alumni Day (halftime ceremony, special recognition for 2006 and 2016 Horizon League champions/NCAA Tournament teams), ALS Awareness Day (ice bucket challenge at halftime), UIC player trading card giveaway
Tickets: Free for UIC students, staff and youths 8th grade and under; adults and youths 9th grade and older are $5 each; discounted tickets ($3 each) for groups of 10 or more adults.

SERIES NOTES
Through the years, the UIC-Northwestern rivalry has been a close and highly competitive one, with the Flames currently maintaining a 15-13-2 series edge over the Wildcats, including a 7-6-2 lead when the scene shifts to Flames Field. Last year, UIC captured a 3-2 win at Northwestern, the Flames' first win over the Wildcats since 2018 (a 3-1 victory at Flames Field, UIC's last home win over Northwestern) and their first in Evanston in nearly a decade (Oct. 11, 2016 - also UIC's last prior win over a Big Ten opponent).

Saturday will see the Flames go in search of back-to-back wins over the Wildcats for the first time since 2006-07 (1-0 at home, 2-0 on the road). UIC is also seeking its first home win over a Big Ten opponent since Sept. 4, 2023 (a 2-0 victory over Wisconsin).

THE CHICAGO CONNECTIONS
UIC brings a six-match unbeaten streak (5-0-1) against Chicago opponents into Saturday's match, following last weekend's 1-0 win over Loyola. Last year, the Flames downed Northwesterm (3-2), Loyola (3-1) and Chicago State (2-0), while tying DePaul (1-1). UIC's 2-0 win over Loyola in 2024 at Flames Field was the start of the current run.

UIC also has 17 players on its 25-man roster who hail from the state of Illinois, and all but one of them are from the Chicagoland area.

LAST TIME OUT: LOYOLA
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 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 10 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.

CHIBA, CORNELL EARN MVC WEEKLY HONORS
On Tuesday, 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 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.

ON THE FRONT FOOT
During all six matches this season, UIC has had the upper hand for large portions of each contest, making its 2-3-1 record quite deceiving. In fact, the Flames have recorded almost as many shots on goal (54) as their opponents have total shots (57) to date. Overall, UIC has outshot its opponents by nearly a 2-to-1 margin (111-57), including an even wider spread in shots on goal (54-25) and almost a 3-to-1 advantage on corner kicks (59-21).

NCAA RANKINGS
UIC leads the nation with 9.83 corner kicks per match, while ranking second in the country in shots on goal per match (9.0) and sixth in total shots per match (18.5) — the Flames also lead the MVC in shot accuracy (.486). Individually, Sebastian Khoury is 14th nationally in shot accuracy (.688) and 21st in shots on goal per match (1.83).

UP NEXT: BRADLEY
UIC will open its 2026 Missouri Valley Conference season next Friday, Sept. 25, when Bradley comes to Flames Field for a 7 p.m. (CT) kickoff. It will be Community Soccer Night as the Flames welcome numerous local organizations and the UIC players will be available pitchside after the match to sign autographs and take photos with all fans.

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 day. 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).

 
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