DES MOINES, Iowa - For the third time in its young season, the No. 24 UIC men's soccer team (3-0-1) played extra minutes on Monday night and came away with a 1-0 double-overtime victory against Drake (1-2-1) at the Cownie Soccer Complex. Junior Jorge Alvarez, who led the Flames with six shots on the night, scored his first goal of the season and the game-winner in the 106th minute off a cross from redshirt-junior Piotr Lagowski.
In the contest, UIC recorded 17 shot attempts and had a majority come off of its 11 corner kicks, a mark that had not been met since collecting the same tally in a match against Detroit in 2010.
Alvarez took the first shot for the Flames in the 23rd minute, which spearheaded their attack. In the final 20 minutes of the first half, UIC took seven of its corners and fired off four shots, with two from sophomore Kyle Hamann and freshman Jose Fuentes resulting in saves by the Bulldogs' goalkeeper Darrin MacLeod.
Redshirt-junior Zack Judickas got the Flames off to an early start in the second half when he took a shot in the 47th minute, with MacLeod coming up with his third save of the night. UIC was able to get additional shot contributions in the half from Alvarez, redshirt-junior Thomas Villamil and freshman Roberto Torres, but all were off target.
In overtime, the Flames continued to work off the corner as Torres took the kick in the 98th minute and Villamil attempted a header that was blocked to an awaiting Hamann, who had his shot blocked as well. Fuentes had his shot go high in the 104th minute, but it was Alvarez who came up with the golden goal in the 106th minute on a pass from Lagowski for the win.
UIC held Drake to nine shots, with sophomore goalkeeper Andrew Putna not having to make a save until the 83rd minute and then coming up with two additional stops in overtime. Putna improved his goals-against average to 0.45 after posting his third shutout of the season.
The Flames will resume competition on the road this Friday, Sept. 12, when they head to DeKalb, Ill., for a 7 p.m. CT matchup with Northern Illinois at the NIU Soccer Complex.
**Release courtesy of UIC Athletic Communications.
