SAN ANTONIO, Texas – SIUE goalkeeper Rob Gjelaj made six saves on his way to his seventh shutout of the season as the Cougars played to a scoreless draw Thursday night at Incarnate Word. It is the fifth time in six Ohio Valley Conference games that SIUE has kept its opponent off the scoreboard.
SIUE maintained its hold on first place in the OVC, moving to 5-0-1 in the league and 7-3-3 overall. The Cougars have 16 points in UIW moved to 2-2-2 in the OVC and 4-5-3 overall.
Incarnate Word goalkeeper Alejandro DeLa Torre made five saves and icked up his second clean sheet this season.
Both goalkeepers were on top of their games, with Gjelaj making numerous tough saves. The biggest save may have come in the 65th minute when he came off his line and stopped a point-blank strike from Emmanuel Martinez.
DeLa Torre made several saves in the air, including two in the first half. In total, UIW outshot SIUE 15-8. The Cardinals finished with a 6-5 advantage in shots on goal.
Nacho Abeal led the Cougars with three saves, including one on goal. Jacobo Sanfeliu had two saves and also one on goal.
Martinez and Timothy Ospina each put two shots on goal for the Cardinals.
The Cougars continue their Texas trip with a Sunday contest at Houston Christian. HCU sits second in the OVC. The Huskies are just three points behind SIUE in the standings.
