EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – SIUE men's soccer used a late strike to pick up its fourth win of the year Tuesday. The Cougars earned a 1-0 win over Western Illinois, their fourth consecutive win in the series with their in-state and soon-to-be Ohio Valley Conference rival.

SIUE remained unbeaten on the year, moving to 4-0-1. It is the first time the Cougars have started the year unbeaten through five games since 2018, when they also were 4-0-1 after five.

Western Illinois fell to 0-5-1 with the loss.

The game was scoreless until the 80^th minute when Jake Karolczak's left-footed strike from 21 yards away curled perfectly into the upper corner putting the Cougars on top for good.

"These guys fight to the final whistle," SIUE Head Coach Cale Wassermann said. "A clean sheet was vital tonight, and they were bought in. We found a way. And the important thing was no matter how it looks, we get the job done."

The lone goal came when Western Illinois failed to completely clear after a corner kick, Stephan Moreira gained control of the ball and left it for Karolczak on the arc outside the penalty area.

"Jake Karolczak scored an amazing goal, but even just his maturity and his tactical awareness of where to go, when to hold up…he was phenomenal tonight," Wassermann said.  

SIUE outshot Western Illinois 15-9 and had an 8-4 advantage in shots on goal.

"There were some moments where we knew we could score, but our chances were coming fewer and further between, however we were gaining more control of the game in possession," Wassermann added. "That settled us down and allowed us to wait for the right chances."

In total, 10 different players took a shot Tuesday and Karolczak became the eighth different player to register a goal for SIUE.  

"We played 18 guys tonight," Wassermann said. "We're extremely deep. It helps us in training and helps us rotate some guys. Our goal is to be fresh to the end of games. That's two games in a row where we've scored in the last 10 minutes of a game."

Sam Gomez earned his second shutout of the year, making four saves in the win.

The Cougars travel to Bradley for a Saturday night contest with former their former conference mates.

"We're away at Bradley next and we'll be ready for that trip and we'll be excited to come back here next week," Wassermann added.