UIC's Stanisavljevic Collects Second Player of the Week Accolade of Season

INDIANAPOLIS -- UIC junior midfielder Ivan Stanisavljevic (Belgrade, Serbia) has been named Horizon League Men’s Soccer Player of the Week, for the week of Sept. 26-Oct. 2.  The award is the second of the season for Stanisavljevic and third of his career.

In UIC’s (6-2-2, 1-0-0 Horizon) League-opening match, Stanisavljevic tallied his second hat trick of the season, leading the Flames past visiting Green Bay, 3-1.

The Serbian opened the scoring by converting a penalty kick in the 14th minute and put UIC ahead 2-0 in the 54th minute, playing a ball from senior Eric Frazier on the left wing just outside the 18-yard box. Cutting his defender, Stanisavljevic finished to the low post for his sixth goal of the year.

After a Green Bay goal cut UIC’s lead in half, Stanisavljevic gave the Flames an important insurance goal, taking another pass from Frazier in the 87th minute and beating the keeper to the far post. The tally pushed Stanisavljevic past his teammate Frazier for the Horizon League lead in goals (7).

Also pacing the League with 19 points, Stanisavljevic earned a place on the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week for the second time this season.

UIC heads to Indianapolis for a key Horizon League match on Saturday, Oct. 8, at Butler. The match between the Flames and Bulldogs will begin at 7 p.m. ET under the lights of the Butler Bowl.

Top Performers for the Week:

• Blake Leyden, Butler (Jr., M) - Leyden notched the game-winner at Loyola with a corner kick.  He hooked the ball from the left side and it dropped in front of the goal and crossed the line. The junior added an assist on Butler’s third goal of the night in the 3-1 victory. 
• Admir Suljevic, Cleveland State (So., F) - Leading the way in Cleveland State’s 3-2 win at Milwaukee, Suljevic tallied a goal and an assist, picking up the eventual game-winning goal after assisting on the Vikings’ second goal of the match.
• Pat Lepera, Detroit (Jr., M) - Lepera helped Detroit snap a five-match skid with two goals and an assist in the Titans’ 3-2 win over Western Michigan on Wednesday. In League play, the junior forced overtime at Valparaiso with a goal in the waning minutes. 
• James Howe, Loyola (So., D) - Howe scored the first goal of the match in an eventual 3-1 loss to Butler, weaving his way through the defense on a long run from midfield before beating the keeper. 
• Cody Banks, Milwaukee (Jr., M) - In an instant classic, Banks recorded the game-winner in Milwaukee’s 3-2 double overtime defeat of Green Bay. The junior picked up the goal with seven seconds left on the clock, handing the Panthers the Chancellor’s Cup. Banks added his second goal of the week in a 3-2 loss to Cleveland State on Saturday.
• Chadd Sult, Valparaiso (Sr., D) - Sult played a role in Valparaiso’s first two goals in Saturday’s 3-2 overtime win over Detroit. Assisting on the first goal of the match, Sult followed with his second goal of the year, giving the defenseman a team-best six points.
• Derek Zuniga, Wright State (So., M) - Zuniga lifted Wright State to a 2-0-0 start in Horizon League play by burying a penalty kick in overtime to push the Raiders past Cleveland State, 2-1, on Tuesday.

Men’s Soccer Players of the Week:
Aug. 22:         Anthony Shepherd, Detroit
Aug. 29:         Eric Frazier, UIC
Sept. 5:          Austin Oldham, Butler
Sept. 12:        Ivan Stanisavljevic, UIC
Sept. 19:        Gerardo Saavedra, Milwaukee
Sept. 26:        Ivan Stanisavljevic, UIC