EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – SIUE men's soccer ran its unbeaten streak to 10 games, playing to a 2-2 draw with Lindenwood Thursday night at Korte Stadium.
The Cougars moved to 7-0-3 overall and 2-0-1 in Ohio Valley Conference play. Lindenwood moved to 4-4-3 overall and 1-1-1 in the OVC.
"It was a hard-fought OVC game to the 90th minute and that's what you have to expect in conference play," SIUE Head Coach Cale Wassermann said. "I thought we were very good overall. Lindenwood fought hard. They used every trick in the book to slow us down. I credit them for challenging us."
Jake Karolczak opened the scoring in the 32nd minute when Lindenwood failed to clear a ball from the box. Sam Layton laid the ball out to the top of the box when Karolczak hit a right foot shot to the far corner.
"Jake Karolczak seems to find that top corner," Wassermann said. "He doesn't score the scrappy ones, he scores nice ones. He played really well in possession, and he defended really well so the goal was a bonus."
Lindenwood equalized three minutes into the second half. Cooper Wilson got his head to a high pass into the box and headed home over SIUE goalkeeper Sam Gomez, who was charging off his line.
Mitchell Murphy made it 2-1 SIUE with a header of his own in the 55th minute. Karolczak picked up the assist with when he lifted the ball in from the corner of the box.
"Mitch has scored some big goals for us," Wassermann said. "He played multiple positions for us so his versatility is very important."
Lindenwood tied the game a second time in the 70th minute on a corner kick. Matty Wackerfuss headed in at the back post for his first collegiate goal.
"It rattled us a little when we conceded," Wassermann added. "I thought we had enough chances to get a third."
Both teams were shown red cards in the 83rd minute following a scrap near midfield.
"We expected a little chippy-ness but it got out of hand," Wassermann said. "We learned a good lesson about leadership and accountability and how you respond in those moments.
"It's a shame that there was a little melee and two red cards," Wassermann continued. "But at the same time we learned some good lessons about ourselves and how to control that should we find ourselves in a similar situation moving forward.
SIUE outshot Lindenwood 15-9. The Cougars put eight shots on goal.
SIUE travels to Virginia to face Liberty, who also has two wins in league play.
