EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - The SIUE men's soccer team got a second-half goal from Derek Huffman Tuesday night in a 1-1 draw with Nebraska Omaha at Korte Stadium.

The Cougars, now 7-6-4 overall, outshot the Mavericks 11-3 in the first half but it was UNO (1-9-1) that took a 1-0 lead into halftime capitalizing on a failed clearance by SIUE in the 33rd minute.

"Winning games at this time of the year comes down to finishing," said SIUE Head Coach Kevin Kalish. "We need to be able to defend our box very well and we need to finish balls in our box."

Peter Kelly had the best chance for SIUE in the half, blasting a shot off the right post in the 16th minute. Josh Kohring had similar fortune hitting the crossbar in the 30th minute.

Opening the second half, SIUE wasted little time tallying the equalizing goal as Derek Huffman scored his third goal of the season just 1:37 into the half.

Brian Groark played Nash Maduekwe into the right corner where he sent a perfect cross to Huffman, who volleyed the ball past UNO goalkeeper Josh Christensen from the top of the six-yard box to even the score 1-1.

"It was a good ball by Nash," said Kalish. "We had talked about putting more balls in danger areas."

Neither team could find the back of the net for the remaining minutes of regulation as they remained tied 1-1 heading into overtime.

The Cougars controlled play in both overtime periods firing six shots but were kept off the scoreboard as the match ended in a 1-1 draw.

Senior Nick Collico made one save in goal for SIUE in his final home game at Korte Stadium. Christensen pushed aside eight shots for UNO.

The Cougars 23 shots were the second-highest this season and only the third time the team has recorded 20 or more shots in a match.

SIUE will play its final game of the Missouri Valley Conference season Saturday when it travels to Springfield, Mo., to take on Missouri State. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

"The conference is where it's at from here forward," added Kalish. "We need to rest up and prepare for Missouri State."

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