TOWSON, Md. – The Drew University men's soccer team rallied from an early deficit to come away with a 1-1 tie at Goucher College in its Landmark Conference (LC) opener Saturday afternoon.
 
The Rangers (8-0-1) saw their eight-game winning streak – their longest in five years – come to an end but have matched the second-best start in team history through nine games.
 
The Gophers (4-1-3, 0-0-1 LC) struck first, scoring with 15:23 left in the opening half. A long throw-in drifted into the box, where back-to-back headers resulted in a goal from Ali Kazim Nakhid just inside the right post.
 
Drew responded in the closing minutes of the half. Sophomore Thomas Zurkowski delivered a corner kick into the box, where goalie Ale Sternini punched it out toward midfield. Senior Garrett Mironenko hustled in to recover the loose ball, then sent a pass to the right wing, where sophomore Tino Puentes fired a shot inside the far post for his second goal of the year.
 
The second half featured a defensive battle in which both side managed just one shot on goal.  Senior Calum Erlenborn gloved a shot through traffic following a corner in the 55th minute. Meanwhile, the Gophers did not allow a shot on frame until the 86th minute, when Sternini saved a header from Puentes.
 
The Rangers finished the match with advantages in shots (11-9) and corner kicks (7-3).
 
Erlenborn turned aside five shots for Drew while Sternini saved three shots for Goucher.
 
Drew picks up its schedule on Tuesday, when it visits DeSales University at 3:30 p.m. in a non-conference affair.