August 30, 2012
TOUGH TASK
UIC visits Marquette Friday

CHICAGO –The UIC Flames will get another crack at a Big East opponent on Friday, when they travel to Milwaukee to face Marquette at 7:05 p.m. CST. The Flames defeated the Golden Eagles in the 2011 season opener at Flames Field, 2-1.

UIC (1-1-0) is coming off a 2-0 win at Ohio State last Sunday. Junior forward Ned Pavlovic got the Flames on the board in the sixth minute, and senior midfielder Ivan Stanisavljevic provided an insurance goal in the 83rd minute to seal the Flames’ third straight win over the Buckeyes, dating back to the 2009 season.

After collecting three points against DePaul and OSU last week, senior midfielder Ivan Stanisavljevic was named the Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week. Junior goalkeeper Piotr Kikolski recorded his fifth-career shutout against the Buckeyes.

Marquette is off to a 2-0 start for the first time in more than a decade after defeating Horizon League foes Milwaukee (Aug. 24) and Green Bay (Aug. 26) in the opening weekend of the season. The Golden Eagles are currently ranked No. 4 in the Great Lakes Region by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

“We’re going to have to continue to get great leadership from our upperclassmen in order to get the result we are looking for Friday night,” said UIC head coach Sean Phillips. “Marquette has never been an easy opponent; they won their division of the BIG EAST last year, and this game is at their place, which always presents a tougher task.”

Eric Pothast, Sebastian Jansson, Adam Lysak and Bryan Ciesiulka have each scored one goal to bolster a balanced scoring attack through two matches. Marquette goalkeeper Charlie Lyon has allowed two goals this season.

Pavlovic scored his first-career goal in the 57th minute, and Joe Radice added a tally just over two minutes later, to lead UIC to a 2-1 win over Marquette in the 2011 season opener for both teams at Flames Field (8/27/11). The Golden Eagles sliced the advantage in half with just over two minutes remaining in regulation (87:42), but UIC fought off the rally to claim their first of seven home wins during the 2011 campaign.