EDWARDSVILLE – SIUE used a pair of second-half goals to stay undefeated in the Ohio Valley Conference with a 3-1 win over Liberty at Korte Stadium Sunday afternoon.
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The Cougars moved to 5-0 in OVC play and 7-3-2 overall. Liberty fell to 5-5-1 and 3-2 in the league.
The Cougars got on the board first, when Stephan Moreira worked the ball out of a tight spot on the right side of the goal, he spun through traffic and placed a ball in the air to the middle of the six-yard box, where Jacobo Sanfeliu headed home for the 1-0 lead.
Liberty equalized with less than four minutes to play in the first half. Perry Blay made a run down the right side before curling a pass into the box. The ball was deflected into the net by the Cougar defense to tie the score 1-1 heading to halftime.
It stayed level until the 78th minute when the Cougars were awarded a free kick just outside the box. Yasha Schaerer took the shot, which was saved by Liberty goalkeeper Owen Moore, who gave up a rebound in front of the goal. Jacob Bilyeu was there to bang it in for his first of the year.
Carles Zomeno scored his first goal as a Cougar to seal the win for SIUE with just 3:29 to play. Zomeno caught Moore off his line and sent a ball in from more than 70 yards away for the final score.
SIUE outshot Liberty 18-13. Seven of SIUE's shots were on goal, while the Flames put six on frame against SIUE. Rob Gjelaj turned away all six.
Schaerer and Nacho Abeal each had five total shots and two on goal to lead the Cougars.
SIUE goes on the road for the next two games and finishes the season with four of five away from home. Thursday the Cougars will play at Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
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