UIC 1, Oakland 0
The UIC men’s soccer team (13-3-0, 6-0-0) clinched the Horizon League regular season title tonight with a 1-0 victory over Oakland (5-6-5, 3-2-1) at the OU Soccer Field. The Flames are undefeated in conference play this season and claim the No. 1 seed with 18 points for the Horizon League Men’s Soccer Championship starting Tuesday, Nov. 12. UIC last won the regular season title in 2008 and tournament championship in 2007.
The lone goal of the match came in the 36th minute off of a penalty kick by Josh Beard.
UIC will host the semifinals Friday, Nov. 15 and finals Sunday, Nov. 17 of the Horizon League Men’s Soccer Championship with the winner receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The quarterfinal rounds will take place Tuesday, Nov. 12 with game location at the higher seeds.
UIC is currently tied for eighth in the NSCAA Great Lakes Region poll and have received votes in the College Soccer News Top 30 poll the last two weeks.
Additional Horizon League Men’s Soccer Results Wednesday, Oct. 30
Cleveland State 2, Wright State 0
FAIRBORN, Ohio- The Cleveland State men's soccer team posted their third shutout of the season, 2-0 over Wright State.
The Vikings (7-10-0, HL 3-2) were led by Jordan Hart and Admir Suljevic who scored the two goals. Hart scored the first goal of the game in the first half, giving CSU an early 1-0 lead at the 17:43 minute-mark. The goal by Hart is his fourth on the season, tying him for second on the team with midfielder Sergio Manesio. Freshman Amari Williams was credited on the assist. The score would remain 1-0 heading into halftime with CSU's rugged defense making it hard for Wright State.
In the second half, the Vikings would continue to play impressive defense. Towards the very end of the game (89:15 minute-mark), Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week Admir Suljevic would put the finishing touches on WSU, netting his team leading sixth goal of the season to give the Vikings an important 2-0 victory. James Howe set him up for a good look at the net. Nick Ciraldo earned his fourth win of the year, saving five shots at the net.
Freshman goalkeeper Tyler Blackmer had five saves for the Raiders as Cleveland State led 16-11 in shots.
The Vikings will play their final home regular season game of the year at Krenzler Field against Conference opponent Valparaiso on Saturday (Nov. 2) at 7:30 p.m.
Wright State (4-9-1, 2-4 Horizon) heads to Detroit Saturday for a 1:00 contest.
Milwaukee 1, Northern Illinois 0
DeKALB, Ill. - Junior Laurie Bell scored in the 74th minute and the defense recorded its seventh shutout of the season as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team claimed a 1-0 victory over Northern Illinois University Wednesday evening.
The Panthers (12-2-2) and Huskies (4-11-0) spent the entire contest under less-than-ideal playing conditions, as heavy rains fell throughout the entire evening. With the victory, UWM keeps possession of the LeWang Trophy for the third-consecutive season.
Bell's league-leading 11th goal of the season provided the difference. Freshman Kostas Kotselas won the battle for a 50-50 ball near the top of the 18-yard box and the clearance came straight to Bell. He one-timed it to the right side at the 73:27 mark to break up the scoreless draw.
For the game, UWM was outshot for just the third time this season at 9-to-7. NIU also had four of the seven corner kicks and 10 of the 19 fouls.
The Panthers close out the regular season next week Saturday against Cleveland State. Join the team for "Senior Day" against the Vikings, set for a 7 p.m. start under the lights at Engelmann Stadium.
