OMAHA, Neb. ? The Western Illinois men's soccer team tied No. 10 Creighton, 1-1 Friday night in front of 3,236 fans.

The Leathernecks (4-5-2) got on the board first courtesy of freshman Kevin Hinds (Charleston, Ill./Charleston). In the 16th minute, fellow freshman Kenji Yamamoto (Naperville, Ill./Nequa Valley) found Hinds on a long pass, which he headed off the post and in for the goal. The goal was the first of Hinds' career, while the assist was the first career one for Yamamoto.

“That was a great goal on the cross from Kenji,” said Dr. Eric Johnson of the goal. “Hinds went up and somehow the little guy headed the ball in. It was a good goal though and what we needed.”

The Bluejays (4-1-3) came out aggressive, firing two shots on goal in the first eight minutes. After the goal by Hinds, Creighton picked up the intensity. They finished the first half with five more shots than Western.

“They really picked it up after the goal,” added Johnson. “Sometimes you like to score a goal and be able to just play ahead from there. But they brought it even more and kept pushing on us. We did well though to keep them off of us.”

After intermission, Creighton came out firing, taking the first six shots of the frame. They got on the board in the 68th minute when Andrei Gotsmanov beat Charlie Sales (Springfield, Ill./Lehigh) on a penalty kick. Neither team would score the rest of the game.

Junior Patrick Gritz (Jupiter, Fla./Cardinal Newman) registered a header in the first overtime, while senior Preston Bernardi (Naperville, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) got a shot off in the second overtime, for the only shots on goal for either team in the extra frames. The shots by Western resulted in the only two saves of the night for Bluejay goalkeeper Matt Allen.

The Leathernecks got a strong effort from Sales in net all night. He played the entire 110 minutes, recording six saves, only allowing the penalty kick goal.

“Charlie had a great game in goal,” Johnson said of his junior keeper's effort. “He made some nice saves and tipped the ball over the cross bar on a couple of shots.”

Sales was not alone in logging all possible minutes tonight. Senior Phil Duret (Sarasota, Fla./Cardinal Mooney) and sophomore James Raabe (Jacksonville, Ill./Jacksonville) played the entire contest. Raabe had the tall task of shutting down Creighton's Tim Bohnenkamp, younger brother of former Leatherneck Nick Bohnenkamp.

“Raabe shut down one of the best wingers in the country in Bohnenkamp,” Johnson added. “He matched him stride for stride all game, and not many guys can do that. Phil was on the spot all night. He cleared a lot of balls away and did a nice job of backing everyone up. The two of them just worked hard and had such a high energy level tonight. They both lead with their effort.”

The attendance of 3,236 was by far the largest crowd Western as played in front of this season.

“The environment was incredible, I just loved it and I know the guys did too. To get a tie in that place is unbelievable. I thought our guys handled it all very well. Tonight is what college soccer is all about. Creighton is a great team and they're going to do really well. We just stuck in and played as hard as we could. It was another good result on the road for us so we are happy.”

Western stays on the road for a match up with Northern Illinois, at 1 p.m., Sunday.