Story by Austin Cannon

The Drake men’s soccer team played at the University of Illinois-Chicago on Sunday and fell 3-1 to the Flames.

UIC scored two goals in the final 10 minutes to deal the Bulldogs their seventh loss of the season.

Drake was without redshirt junior Jarred Arde for most of the second half. Arde received a red card in the 53rd minute and was ejected, forcing the Bulldogs to play a man down for the rest of the match.

The loss of Arde gave the Bulldogs a surge of energy, trailing 1-0.

“After the red card, we came alive and were very dynamic,” said Drake head coach Sean Holmes in a Drake athletics press release. “Playing a man down, as it usually does, gave us a huge infusion of energy, and we really fought hard.”

The extra energy paid off in the 79th minute, as Drake was able to tie the score at one when redshirt junior midfielder Logan North knocked in a shot from 10 yards out.

It was North’s first goal of the season. He gathered senior midfielder Addison Eck’s header before beating UIC goalkeeper Andrew Putna for the score.

The score remained tied for only four minutes. UIC’s Aris Zareiratos scored the winning goal in the 83rd minute, beating Drake’s redshirt freshman goalkeeper Darrin MacLeod.

The Flames tacked on an insurance goal in the 88th minute when Slobodan Aleksov scored his second goal of the game.

Aleksov, UIC’s leading scorer, found the back of the net in the 28th minute to give the Flames an early lead.

The three-game road trip to end the season has been tough, but Holmes thought his team has prepared well for the MVC Championships.

“We knew this three-game road swing to end the year would be tough, but we feel we’re on task to be playing our best soccer,” Homes said.

The Bulldogs face the Central Arkansas Bears in Conway, Ark., tomorrow night at 7 p.m.