October 13, 2012
FLAMES ON FIRE
Second half goals fuel 3-1 win

DES MOINES, Iowa – Zach Kaleta, Slobodan Aleksov and Ivan Stanisavljevic each scored in the second half to give UIC a 3-1 win over Drake at the Cownie Soccer Complex Saturday night. The Flames have scored a combined six goals in their past two games.

With the win, UIC improved to 6-5-2 Drake dropped to 4-8-3. The victory marked UIC’s third road triumph of the season.

“We knew tonight’s game was going to be a challenge coming off Wednesday’s game against Loyola – we expended a lot of energy to get that result,” said UIC head coach Sean Phillips. “I thought Drake controlled the run of play for the first 20-25 minutes, but our defense did a nice job during that stretch. Once we got our legs under us, I thought we started to control the game. What was nice about this match was that we had a lot of solid contributions off the bench.”

UIC recorded an 18-8 advantage in the shots, that included a 7-1 edge in the first half, which ended with the score tied, 0-0.

Kaleta scored his second goal of the season in the 47th minute, putting the ball in the back of the net following a set piece – freshman Jorge Alvarez was credited with the assist.

Drake answered with the equalizer in the 52nd minute, when leading scorer Michael Thaden converted a penalty kick.

Aleksov scored his second game-winning goal in as many matches in the 75th minute, converting an unassisted strike from the top of the 18-yard box following a scrum.

Stanisavljevic then put the game out of reach in the 85th minute, fielding a touch pass from sophomore Jesus Torres near the top of the box, and converting the finish. It was Stanisavljevic’s sixth goal of the season, and Torres’ second assist in as many games.

“For Slobodan to tally his second game-winner of the week; it says a lot about that kid,” Phillips said. “He started early in the year; and after not playing a lot of minutes, has battled back and gotten back to form.”

UIC goalkeeper Piotr Kikolski, making his second-straight start, made two saves, while Drake net minder Rich Gallagher was forced to make eight stops. Along with the decisive advantage in shots, UIC also posted a 6-4 advantage on corner kicks.

UIC will jump back into Horizon League play next Saturday (Oct. 20), when the Flames travel to Green Bay. The Phoenix dropped a 1-0 decision at Loyola Saturday night.