CHICAGO, Ill. – UIC picked up a goal late in the first half to snap a 1-1 tie and lift it to a 2-1 victory over Villanova in the regular season finale for both sides Monday afternoon in the Windy City.
 
"I thought we battled to the end," stated Villanova head coach Tom Carlin. "We kept persevering even when the results weren't there."
 
Both teams dealt with a soft natural turf surface at Flames Field – reopened in 2022 - that made the footing uneven at times.
 
"The field was a big influence on the game," said Carlin. "It was slippery in certain spots and we had a number of guys lose their footing at times."
 
The Flames (10-4-2 overall) gained the early edge by scoring at the 7:07 mark of the first half. The shot came off the right foot of Joshua Torres to elude Wildcats' goalkeeper Michael Sheridan. Assists on the score were credited to Jesus De Vicente and Bart Muns.
 
However, Villanova quickly responded to get itself back to level.
 
The sequence began with a free kick taken by Balthi Saunders. Villanova kept the pressure on in the final third until graduate student Marcus Brenes sent a shot into the top center of the goal past Flames' goalkeeper Oren Asher at 9:43 to tie the match at one. Saunders and Branden Johns each picked up assists on the play.
 
The goal was Brenes' third of the regular season.
 
UIC found the decisive goal in the 30^th minute. Torres found Luke Nedic at 29:26 and Nedic sent a shot into the upper right corner of the net to push the Flames back on top, 2-1.
 
"We were a little unlucky on that goal," said Carlin.
 
That is where the score remained at halftime.
 
Villanova pressed forward in an effort to pull even in the second half. Kent Dickey came on to replace Sheridan in goal and made three saves in the period to keep Nova in striking range. But the 'Cats couldn't generate the equalizer, falling to 1-8-7 overall in 2023.
 
"It was a case again where we produced a number of chances and half-chances in the final third, especially late in the game," Carlin said. "We just couldn't get the equalizer."
 
Carlin pointed to the work of freshmen midfielders Mikhail Zaretser (66 minutes) and Diego Valles (52 minutes) after the match.
 
"I thought Misha (Zaretser) won a lot of battles for us in the midfield," stated Carlin. "And (Valles) changed the game in a positive way when he was in there."
 
Now, begins the task of putting a difficult, injury-filled 2023 campaign into the rear view mirror and working towards better days ahead.

"We'll rest up for a bit and then we'll start the work to prepare for next season," Carlin said. "It will take a lot of hard work and preparation but I think we have the right attitude going into it."