NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Redshirt freshman forward AJ Sabanovic netted arguably the biggest goal of his young career, scoring in the 58th minute to propel fifth-seeded UIC to a 1-0 victory at No. 4 seed Belmont in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday night at E.S. Rose Park in Nashville, Tenn. With the win, the Flames advance to the Valley semifinals for the third time in the past four seasons.
Sabanovic's second-half goal was the completion of a strong build-up that began on the right flank with redshirt junior Martin Montoya, who worked his way to the byline, then knifed past his mark before whipping a cross through the six-yard box that deflected off the diving Belmont goalkeeper. It popped up to junior midfielder Carlos Nevarez, who redirected it towards the goalmouth, where Sabanovic alertly poked the ball home from three yards out for his second goal of the season.
The Flames had several chances in the closing moments to pad their lead, most notably in the 87th minute, when second-team All-MVC junior midfielder Sebastian Khoury curled a shot that beat the keeper but caromed hard off the right post.
UIC (5-7-4) finished with an 18-9 edge in total shots, including a 9-4 advantage in shots on goal, as well as a 9-1 margin on corner kicks. Graduate student goalkeeper Owen Cornell made four saves to earn his third shutout of the season, and fourth for the Flames, who also got an alert early team save from senior defender Takeru Chiba, who knocked down a Bruin shot that was ticketed for goal in the 17th minute.
The full box score and play-by-play recap from Saturday's win at Belmont can be found here.
SOCIAL MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- UIC and Belmont were playing one another in the MVC quarterfinals for the fourth time in the past five years and the second consecutive season in Nashville. UIC has won three of those four postseason matchups, including the past two in the Music City by identical 1-0 scores.
- UIC is 10-2-2 all-time against Belmont, including a 7-0-2 record when playing in Nashville, where the two schools were playing for the fourth consecutive time in the series,
- UIC picks up its first road win of the season.
- Sabanovic's other goal this season came on Oct. 10, the lone marker in the Flames' home victory over Saint Xavier.
- Nevarez was credited with his career-high seventh assist of the season (he had six last year), continuing to lead the MVC in that category. Nevarez is also the second UIC player in the post-COVID era with at least seven assists in a season (Jesus De Vicente had 11 in 2023).
UP NEXT: BOWLING GREEN (MVC SEMIFINAL)
UIC will travel to top-seeded Bowling Green for its MVC Tournament semifinal match, which will take place at 6 p.m. (CT) next Wednesday (Nov. 11) at Cochrane Stadium in Bowling Green, Ohio. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+, while live stats can be found through UICFlames.com. UIC and Bowling Green will be meeting for the second time in a week, having just faced off in the regular-season finale on Nov. 4 at Flames Field, with the Falcons edging the Flames, 1-0.
For more information on UIC Athletics and UIC men's soccer, visit UICFlames.com. Fans can also follow the Flames on social media through X (@UIC_MSOC and @UICFlames) and Instagram (@uic_msoc and @uicflames).
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