CHICAGO, Ill. – The Drake women's soccer team suffered its first loss in league play on Saturday night in a road match against UIC, 1-0.
 
It wasn't very long into the contest for Drake to rip off its first shot of the night, which the Bulldogs did plenty of by the end of the match. Just 49 seconds after the opening whistle, Madelyn Smith forced Flames starting goalkeeper Francesca Faraci to make a save on an early tester.
 
The Bulldogs continued to put pressure on the UIC defense over the first 45 minutes of play, totaling eight shots in the half, but never could find the back of the net.
 
Comparatively, the Flames tallied just three shots in the first half but only one registered on target, which was saved by Addie Ford leading for the two sides to head into the locker rooms at halftime deadlocked at 0-0.
 
When action resumed, Drake picked back up with its aggressive play and looked to break the scoreless tie. Claire Emmerich provided the Bulldogs with a couple of opportunities, but still the Bulldogs couldn't break past the Flames as Sara Sanabria took over in net.
 
Fortunes ultimately changed in favor of the Flames in the 72nd minute. Following a restart after a yellow card was issued to Izzy Snowden, UIC gained possession in the midfield and pressed forward. Riley Collett started the breakout for the Flames by connecting with Emmy Higgins on the far side of the pitch with plenty of green grass in front of her. Higgins did the rest of work herself taking the ball nearly to the top of the box and let a shot fly from long range which sailed just over the outstretched arm of Ford and into the goal.
 
With just 18 minutes remaining, Drake needed an equalizer to leave the Windy City with at least a point, but nothing came to fruition. The Bulldogs didn't lack for effort on the offensive end as they sent four shots away in the final three minutes, but to no avail and the final horn sounded with the scoreboard reading 1-0 UIC.
 
"We knew UIC was going to be tough to beat at home, but the most disappointing part of this loss is getting shutout after creating 18 scoring chances, yet aside from the first few minutes of the game, none of them were truly dangerous," Drake head coach Lindsey Horner said. "Tonight we performed well underneath our potential and part of that is credit to UIC and their defensive organization but too much of it had to do with our individual decisions and execution. Fall break is coming at the right time, but we have to have a rebound performance this coming weekend."
 
Drake outshot UIC by a mark of 18-7 and had 10 attempts come on target, while the Flames mustered just two shots on goal. Individually, Emmerich and Layla Kelbel paced Drake with five shots each and three shots on goal each. Isabella Balsley added two shots with one attempt on net as well. Ford made just the one save in goal for Drake.
 
The Bulldogs will be back home for their next contest on Saturday, Oct. 18 as they welcome in-state rival UNI to Mediacom Stadium. The battle with the Panthers will begin at 5 p.m. CT.