CHICAGO ? The Western Illinois men's soccer team lost its first road game of the season to UIC, 2-0 Tuesday night.

The Leathernecks (3-3-1) struggled to get their offense going all night and was only able to manage two shots for the entire game. Jona Andrade (Miami, Fla./Sunset Senior) recorded the lone shot on goal for Western, giving preseason All-American goalkeeper Jovan Bubonja his lone save for the night.

The Flames (2-1-1) struck early, scoring their first goal in the 13th minute, off a penalty kick taken by Ceasar Zambrano. That goal would prove to be the game winner for UIC, as their defense held strong, keeping Western from scoring opportunities.

Western nearly tied the game up a second time as freshman Kevin Hinds (Charleston, Ill./Charelston) ripped a shot in the 54th minute that hit off the crossbar.

“The guys came back with some spirit in the second half,” said head coach Dr. Eric Johnson of the effort. “ I'm proud of them, if we can do that, we're going to win some games. That is the best team we have seen by far.”

An insurance goal was added late in the game as Dan Simek scored off a sharp pass from Pavle Dundjer in the 86th minute to secure the win.

Charlie Sales (Farmersville, Ill./Lehigh) got his first start in net for the Leathernecks, and was tested throughout the night. Sales recorded eight saves for the game on 10 shots.

“They got one late, but they had to earn it,” added Johnson. “We didn't give them anything tonight. I think we took some steps forward in the second half. We came back and put them under some pressure. They had to avoid us scoring a goal to try and tie it up. We had some good moments and just couldn't get them to work out.”

Western returns to Macomb for a match-up with former conference foe Valparaiso, 4 p.m., Friday.