Frazier's Two Goals Push Flames Past Dayton, 2-1
CHICAGO - Good things come to those who wait. Senior forward Eric Fraziermade his return to the Flames lineup count, scoring a pair of goals, including the game-winner with just over one minute remaining in regulation, lifting the UIC men's soccer team to its third-straight win, 2-1 win over Dayton at Baujan Field Friday night.
Frazier, who had been sidelined since Sept. 9 with a hamstring injury, scored in the 35th minute of the first half on an unassisted goal, then added the game-winning tally from junior Joe Radice with 88:30 on the clock. It marked Frazier's respective fifth and sixth goals of the season - he has scored in four-of the five matches he has played in this season. The win improved UIC's record to 5-1-2 on the season, while Dayton moved to 1-7.
"We had another great result tonight," said head coach Sean Phillips. "This is a tough trip to make, and we played a team that is much better than their record indicates. It was nice to get the combination of Eric Frazier and Joe Radice working together again. Before Eric's injury, that was our best offensive combination, especially in the middle of the field."
Frazier's first-half tally marked the Flames' lone shot-on-goal in the opening stanza. While the goal was credited as unassisted, Radice set up the tally, playing the ball to Frazier, who then created the chance and beat Dayton goalkeeper Alec Storm on a low-post strike.
Dayton's Whitney Browne tallied the only other shot-on-goal of the opening 45 minutes, as UIC goalkeeper Piotr Kikolski made a crucial save in the 29th minute (28:45). UIC out-shot the Flyers 6-5 in the opening stanza, while Dayton held a 4-0 advantage on corner kicks.
The Flyers' Andres Acevedo tied the match at 1-1 just over six minutes into the second half (50:50), beating Kikolski for an unassisted goal. The match remained scoreless for nearly the next 30 minutes, before Frazier sealed the victory with the game-winning goal as overtime was approaching - he played a ball from Radice, and found the back of the net after gaining clearance mid-way through the 18-yard box.
"One thing that has been great to see is that our offense doesn't need a ton of chances to score," Phillips said. "We had six shots-on-goal tonight, and were able to score off two of those chances. We've been an efficient offensive team all year, and when our defensive effort catches up with our offense, I think we'll be in a position to accomplish our goals."
UIC held a 15-12 advantage in the shots department, including a 6-3 edge in shots-on-goal. Sophomore Phil Galounis led the Flames with five shots, while Frazier took four, and Ivan Stanisavljevic recorded two shots. Kikolski made two saves, securing his fifth win of the season between the posts.
UIC will be idle until next Tuesday (Sept. 27), when the Flames travel to East Lansing, Mich., to take on Michigan State beginning at 3 p.m. CST. The Spartans will open Big Ten Conference play Saturday, traveling to Northwestern with kick-off set for 7 p.m.
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