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Post by uic53 on Aug 27, 2008 12:04:32 GMT -6
Actually, the big game this weekend takes place on Monday night. Number 3 Santa Clara comes to town. I will definitely be at this game! What a great early season match up! We will definitely need a big crowd on hand for this game.
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Post by uic53 on Sept 1, 2008 14:06:29 GMT -6
Getting ready to go out for dinner and beers before the game! Hopefully a lot of you guys can make the game and we can get some great support from the community like we have been getting. I would love to see us get our first win of the young season tonight!
GO FLAMES!!!!
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Post by uic53 on Sept 2, 2008 5:41:20 GMT -6
Big win last night! Great crowd on hand as well. Unfortunately, I got stuck sitting in the midst of what few Santa Clara fans there were last night. It was quiet like a library.
Anyway, congratulations Flames! Great win last night!
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Post by Big D on Sept 2, 2008 8:35:10 GMT -6
Congrats to UIC on this very nice win! Is this the highest ranked opponent we've ever beaten at UIC? Santa Clara was ranked #1 in one of the polls. I'm a little disappointed in the attendance....I thought it would be higher.
Surprisingly, after all the talk of great defense and no offense during preseason, it's been the exact opposite in our first two games. The defense has been suspect, and the offense has been explosive.
Trask hinted that we're fairly injured right now and someone on the bigsoccer site stated that Bubonja has a severe doubly dislocated finger, which he's playing through.
I think it's safe to say that Santa Clara was a bit overrated coming into this season having not won in two games in Chicago, but anytime you can beat a #1 team while injured, that's a great sign.
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Post by soccer fan on Sept 2, 2008 12:08:17 GMT -6
A couple of notes on the game:
1. Santa Clara looked like a basketball or volleyball team, they were that big and tall.
2. The final thug score was 16 fouls, 3 yellows for Santa Clara to 11 fouls, 0 yellows for UIC. Santa Clara obviously planned to exploit their size advantage through physical play. Unfortunately (for them), they are not very good intimidators.
3. The Fury did a superb job, and you can see them in the photo on the Athletic Dept. website, which was taken last night. What the picture does not show is Mayo, Kreps, Stewart, Buttell (just to name a few) from the basketball team in the Fury section. I think it was a good public relations move. Why not take advantage of the crowd to remind people that your season starts in a couple of months?
4. I was REALLY impressed with UIC's offensive production. All four of UIC's goals were highlight reel material, and two of them came off of deadly accurate passes. It was great to see Sarachan/Spiess connecting again (they are a really dangerous combination), and Husidic's goal also came off a perfect pass from Trout. Unassisted goals are always thrilling to watch, and we got two of them. When you add these to the three near-misses from the KC game, the offense is looking more than just good.
5. For those not in attendance, the game went right down to the wire. Santa Clara never gave up, they pressed as hard as they could, and the game ended in front of the UIC's goal when Bubonja finally got posession after three consecutive Santa Clara corner kicks. It was a thrilling finish, and everyone was on their feet.
6. I expect Santa Clara to regroup and be formidable down the stretch. There is simply too much talent on that team for them to be bottom feeders. Yeah, they got mugged in Chicago (twice), but its a long season, and as we all know, its how you finish, not how you start. They controlled the game for several fairly long stretches, but just weren't able to seal it.
All in all, an exciting game, a nice win, and a lot of fun. Everyone got their money's worth - except the Santa Clara fans, who have to be shaking their heads.
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