COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State men's soccer team dropped a tough 1-0 decision to visiting UIC Wednesday night at a chilly Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The Buckeyes, ranked No. 15 in this week’s Soccer America poll, are now 7-3-3 on the season, while the Flames improve to 4-4-4 overall.

"We came out with a complete lack of intensity to start the game," head coach John Bluem said. "You cannot give up an early goal to a team like [UIC] because they are just too well organized and will not open up. The red card certainly hurt us, but I think that we had some good opportunities in the second half and just did not take advantage of them."

Ohio State's Joshua Breto was ejected in the 24th minute of play, causing the team to play with 10 men for the final 66 minutes of action. The teams were tied in shots on the night with nine, though the Buckeyes mounted a 7-5 advantage once they were down a field player.

The Buckeyes' closest scoring opportunities came in the middle portion of the second period. Doug Verhoff had a straight-on shot from 10 yards that was saved by UIC 'keeper Jovan Bubonja. Andrew Magill's free kick turned shot on goal met the same fate just over five minutes later, as Bubonja finished the match with four saves, three in the second half.

Austin McAnena continued the offensive pressure in the 65th when Chris Hegngi fed him the mall midway through the penalty area, but his efforts were thwarted by a UIC defender that was glued to his flank.

Though the Flames were kept at bay for much of the second half, Kevin Stoll had one final shot with 10 minutes to play, that Buckeye goalkeeper Matt Lampson got a hand on to drive wide right and keep the score 1-0.

UIC has shown to be much more talented than its record has shown. Earlier this season, the Flames tied then-No. 20 Michigan State and later posted a goal in a 3-1 loss to top-ranked and undefeated Akron - one of just two teams to score against the Zips all season.

The Buckeyes return to action and their conference schedule with a 2 p.m. Sunday match against Penn State. The Nittany Lions picked up a 2-0 win over Lafayette Wednesday night and are 8-3-2 on the year.