UIC Flames Men’s Soccer’s Home Opener Ends in Stale Mate
Coming off of a 1–3 defeat on the road versus the #22 ranked Grand Canyon University Antelopes, the Flames hosted their cross-city rivals, the Northwestern University Wildcats for their 2021 home opener on Monday night.
Right from the kickoff, the Flames got off to a hot start, keeping the ball and moving their opposition. The first shot at goal came quickly with some nice interplay between the captain of the Flames, Jose Perez-Flores, and winger, Alwin Sietz linking up to allow Sietz to get a shot that ended off target. The Flames held the majority of possession but the opposing Wildcats showed a threat on the counter-attack, breaking with speed and quick forward passes.
As the Wildcats began to settle in, the game became much more open and fast-paced as both teams constantly transitioned from end to end. Both teams sharing possession of the ball and creating chances on goal. However, it was nearly halftime when the Flames gained the upper hand. A collision in the Flames 18 yard box, between the opposing striker and goalkeeper, Andres Vasquez, led to a scuffle resulting in a red card being shown to #18 Joseph Arena of the Wildcats. Now, with the Wildcats down a man, the Flames really applied the pressure for the remaining 15 minutes of the half. The Flames ended the half with 9 shots to the Wildcats 3.
The second half consisted of more of the same, the Flames dominating possession as they peppered the Wildcats with attacks. The Wildcats sat in a deep block on top of their own box, defending the Flame's relentless attacks, looking to counter attack when able. This low block made it difficult for the Flames to penetrate the defense but there were a few chances in which they could have scored. Younes Dayekh had a glancing header in the 74th minute and another in the second period of overtime. Midfielder Aaron Nguyen also had a crack a goal with a left-footed shot from about 25-yards out that just barely missed the inside of the post.
The Flames ended the game in a draw with a total of 24 shots, 12 corner kicks, and allowing only 2 shots on goal. Not the result they were after, but a decent performance overall.
