Nov. 7, 1999

The top-seeded University of Illinois at Chicago soccer team earned its first-ever Midwestern Collegiate Conference tournament championship with a 2-0 shutout of #6 seed Detroit earlier this evening.

"I’m speechless," UIC Head Coach Sasha Begovic said moments after the game. "This is a superb achievement for the university, this team and the UIC soccer program. I can’t tell you how lucky I am to have guys like this, who have worked so hard all year long to achieve this."

The Flames opened the scoring in the game’s 14th minute when 1999 MCC Player of the Year Eric Lukin (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) tallied his third goal of the tournament with a direct kick from 25 yards out. Greg Chrisman (Bloomingdale, Ill./Glenbard North) gave UIC an insurance goal in the 13th minute of the second half when he maneuvered in from the left-hand side and chipped the ball into the right side of the net to give the Flames a 2-0 advantage.

Lukin was named tournament MVP, totaling three goals and one assist for seven points in the Flames’ three games. Senior co-captain John Collins (Bloomingdale, Ill./Glenbard North), juniors Ranko Tutulugdzija (Cypress, Calif./Cypress) and Chris Jamal (Palatine, Ill./Palatine), as well as sophomore Jay Demerit (Green Bay, Wis./Bay Port) were all named to the MCC All-Tournament team.

UIC (16-3) is now just one win away from earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Flames, winners of 17 straight games at home, will host a play-in game on Saturday, Nov. 13, at Flames Field versus Fairfield, the Metro Atlantic Conference champion. The time of the contest has yet to be determined.