NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – SIUE capped its season-opening road trip with a 1-1 draw at CSUN Sunday night. The Cougars are now 0-1-1 after a Thursday night loss to Loyola Marymount.
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"You always want to get the win, but for bouncing back after a tough loss, the guys did everything we asked of them," SIUE Head Coach Cale Wassermann said. "We changed some things tonight. We created more chances tonight. I am happy overall with the performance and I can live with the result with everything the guys did."
SIUE jumped out to an early lead thanks to freshman Will Harris. He picked up his first career goal in the 15th minute. Oskar Lenz served a free kick into the box from the right side. Harris elevated and headed across the six-yard box to the back post for the 1-0 lead.
"We had two goals from two new guys this weekend that is definitely a bright spot," Wassermann said. "It was great to see Will get his first goal. It was a quality finish for sure. He'll be a threat for us on set pieces."
Idriss Oubrik found the game-tying goal for CSUN in the 38th minute. Marley Edwards played Oubrik into the box. Gomez off his line slid past sliding Gomez into back of the net.
"I thought we were the better team in the first half," Wassermann said. "They got us in the blink of an eye, but we responded well after they scored."
CSUN outshot SIUE 16-13 in total, but it was the Cougars who created more chances, putting seven shots on goal. The best chance came in the 67th minute off a corner kick from Jake Karolczak. The ball was headed out to the top of the box where Myles Sophanavong lined a hard drive off the goal post.
"Myles played so well off the bench," Wassermann said. "It was just an overall great performance. Our depth is showing early on."
Sam Gomez made his first appearance in a regular season game, stopping four shots.
"Sam Gomez making his first career start was phenomenal in how he managed the game," Wassermann said of his backstop. "He came up with a big save and his distribution was good. That was important."
The Cougars return home to open the regular season Friday night against Lindenwood.
"We're excited to be playing at home to get back to our routine in training and our own locker room," Wasserman added. "We're looking forward to a great crowd at Korte Stadium."
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