UIC roared back with two goals in just over two minutes, pulling even with Green Bay and eventually playing to a 2-2 draw at Flames Field Sunday afternoon.  Quinn Ruiz got the Flames on the board with a heads-up follow-on shot, and Megan Bowman converted a penalty kick to complete the comeback.

David Nikolic's Summary
"I'm relieved.  Still not happy, but relieved.  I think we deserved it.  When you put yourself in a hole, you have to fill in the hole before anything will grow.  They played hard and outside of the minutes early against DePaul, the work has been fantastic.  They were rewarded with two goals and I'm happy for them and relieved, knowing we still have a lot of work to do."
 
Turning Points

• Green Bay struck first in the 40^th minute, on a free kick taken near midfield.  Service went into the box, where a runner connected with a redirection inside the right post.  Another set piece netted the Phoenix their second goal, when a corner kick went off a Flame and into the net.
• Ruiz scored her first collegiate goal in the 77^th minute.  A shot from the left wing was blocked by a Phoenix defender and went straight to Ruiz, who slotted it to the far post.  "When we got the first goal, it was things we talked about, getting on the outside, getting end line, that created the goal," Nikolic said.
• Buoyed by the momentum of halving the deficit, the Flames quickly mounted another attack.  Green Bay committed a handball in the box, putting Bowman on the spot where she calmly converted to tie the score.

Match Summary
UIC ended a seven-match losing streak with a gritty comeback against Green Bay.  A shuffled starting lineup gave the team a jolt from the opening kick, as Kathryn Rutledge, Nia Harley, and Janai Cedeno each made their first start of the season.  Effort and attitude were abundant, even if the connections were just not quite made in a scoreless first half.

"It shows the strength within the team we have that people are ready to step up and contribute and put time in," Nikolic said of the reconfigured XI.  "I think it also fueled some of the people who were removed, to say 'I want to get my spot back,' and they came out with a little more drive and a little more energy when they came off the bench.  It shows me some different options, different ideas, different things we can look at in the future."

Trailing by a goal coming out of halftime, the Flames had several promising attacking moments.  Kaitlyn Montague was heavily in the mix, sending a cross into the box that the keeper had to play, and then taking a free kick that was played into a corner opportunity.  Grace Haines put a scare into the keeper when her free kick from past midfield forced a leaping save.

Lena Kurz made the save of the game with a leap to her left.  It resulted in the corner kick that did not go near any Phoenix players, but still deflected off a Flame for an own goal. "I was very concerned" about going down 2-0, Nikolic said.  "We haven't come back this year, so it's hard to get one, let alone to try and get two after the 61^st minute.  We knew we would have to try different options."

One of those options came in goal, where Kurz was relieved for the first time since the 2019 Horizon League championship match.  Sara Sanabria came on in the 77^th minute and had one save, but also figured heavily in restarts as the free kick taker, including on the play that put Bowman on the spot.  "Sara is one of the freshmen who really stepped up.  She came in and within a minute, she put the ball in where we got the penalty kick," Nikolic stated.

Fellow freshman Nia Harley had the Flames' only two shots in the remainder of regulation.  Grace Setter nearly ended things in the first minute of overtime with a shot that was pushed over the bar.  That ended up being the team's best chance in the 20 extra minutes, but importantly, their defense limited Green Bay to two shots in the first overtime and none in the second.

It was the second straight draw in the series, the second on the season for UIC, and their first point in conference play.  They will look to build on the result on Saturday when they travel to Youngstown State.