OMAHA, NEB. –
Matt Karasinski saved a penalty kick in the second half and shorthanded Campbell earned a hard-fought point Wednesday night after a scoreless draw against Omaha at Caniglia Field.
In just his second start in a Camel uniform, Karasinski made five saves – including a foot save on Diego Gutierrez' penalty in the 59th minute – to earn his first collegiate shutout. His reaction save inside the box in the 93rd minute off Nil Ayats' left-footed effort kept the game alive.
Campbell (5-4-1) ended a two-match losing streak while playing a man down into overtime for the second time in three outings.
Ian Rees saw straight red for an 86th minute challenge and the Camels played the final 24 minutes with 10 men.
"This was a very good performance to build off of on the road," said Campbell head coach
Dustin Fonder. "We showed a lot of character, grit and toughness. It was a great opportunity to grow tonight as a team."
Campbell outshot the Mavericks (2-5-1) 9-4 in the opening half, but neither team could find the net.
Aigbekan Nosegbe was involved in a pair of chances for the Camels. In the 16th minute, he squared the ball across the area, but
Matt Lock was unable to direct the ball on frame.
About 10 minutes later,
Thibaut Jacquel's pass split the Mavericks back line, but Nosegbe missed wide of the left post.
Omaha had a golden opportunity to grab the lead in the 59th minute after the Camels were whistled for a foul in the box. However,
Matt Karasinski stopped Diego Gutierrez's penalty with a foot save to keep the game scoreless.
Campbell appeared to go in front in the 80th minute on
JJ Donnelly's header off Jacquel's re-start, but the offside flag came up to nullify the score.
Just before Rees was sent off, Gutierrez broke free in the Camel end, but Karasinski covered the near post and the Omaha striker had no angle except to shoot wide into the side netting.
Omaha nearly grabbed a result in the final minute of regulation, but
Ben Morrison tackled the ball away from Gutierrez as the striker broke into the Camel box.
Donnelly's 91st minute header nearly ended the game, but slipped wide of the right post.
Both teams finished with 14 shots, while Omaha had a slim 5-4 edge in shots on target. Campbell took seven corner kicks to nine for the Mavericks. Ugo Tritz finished with four saves in the Omaha nets.
Campbell returns to action next Tuesday (Oct. 9) in a 7 p.m. kickoff at No.-23 Duke.
