California State University, Northridge, and Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, played to a 1-1 men’s soccer tie Sunday night at Matador Soccer Field.

Will Harris put the Cougars into the lead in the 15th minute when he headed in an Igancio Abeal Pou free kick. The Matadors tied the score in the 38th minute when Marley Edwards sent Idriss Oubrik on a run that resulted in Oubrik scoring from just in front of the SIUE goal.

The clubs each recorded a pair of shots in the first 20 minutes of the final stanza. Edwards threatened with two attempts that Cougars’ goalie Sam Gomez saved 29 seconds apart in the 64th. Jake Karolczak’s blast at 72:59 was turned away by CSUN keeper Cooper Wenzel who deflected the ball out of bounds. The resulting Cougars’ corner was pushed away by the Matador defense.

With just under 15 minutes to play, Gomez was whistled for a yellow card after tripping a CSUN offensive player inside of his box. The Matadors were awarded a penalty kick which Edwards took. His shot went high, keeping the score tied. Wenzel saved Max Broughton’s shot in the 79th minute. With five minutes to play, Gomez knocked a Bryan Bustamante attempt out of bounds to earn CSUN a corner kick which was defended successfully by the Cougars. A Jamar Ricketts shot with one second remaining just went wide right as time expired.

The Stats

CSUN outshot SIUE (0-1-1) 16-13, but the Cougars were plus-two on goal (7-5)…Wenzel tied his career-high for the Matadors as he made six saves…Gomez, a grad student, made his first career start and appearance for the Cougars…Gomez made three saves…Edwards posted a match-high four shots while Alsadiq Hasan led SIUE with three attempts…both teams recorded four corner kicks…it was a physical match as SIUE was whistled for 16 fouls compared to nine for the Matadors…The Matadors used nine substitutions in the first half and played 20 of the 29 healthy players on the roster…CSUN held a 51-49 advantage in possession.

“I am happy about the progress we are making as a team. We played against a good team in SIUE,” said head coach Terry Davila. “They battled back after losing Thursday at LMU. We knew that they were going to come out and play their best game, so tip your hat to them. When they get the ball up to their top five, they are very good. They are well-coached and well-disciplined.

“We had opportunities to win it. We missed the penalty kick that could have made it 2-1 with 10 minutes left, I don’t know if they could have tied us, but I would have liked to have seen it. We created the opportunity for the PK. It takes courage to step up and take a PK, not a lot of people want to do that, but Marley did.

“It is hard on opening weekend in college soccer to play at this pace. You must use your bench, or it could end up hurting you at the end of the year. Those players performed well and there is a lot of competition for positions, and it is good for the team.”

Up next for the Matadors
CSUN (1-0-1) travels for the first time in 2022 when the Matadors head to Pacific (1-1) Thursday night. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Stockton and will be streamed by the WCC Network.