NEW YORK — Despite controlling the majority of the game, outpossessing and outshooting Army on a clear September night at Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium, the Columbia men's soccer team was never able to find a winner. John Denis answered Army's first-half goal with an equalizer just five minutes before halftime as Columbia played the Black Knights to a 1-1 draw in the Lions' 2019 home opener.
 
Columbia (0-1-2) walked away from the game still searching for its first victory but is now unbeaten in its home opener seven years running. The Lions outshot Army (1-1-1) 15-9 and took nine corners to just four for the Black Knights. Eight of Columbia's 15 attempts were on goal.
 
"I thought there was some pretty good stuff by us in the first half – we stuck to the game plan and we were able to execute what we thought was going to be the best plan going into this game," head coach Kevin Anderson stated in his postgame interview. "We controlled most of the game and most of the tempo. Obviously, to give up a goal against the run of play is difficult, but to find a way to come back and get ourselves back into the game shows a little bit of who we've been so far this season. Now we've got to try and put two halves together."
 
Army scored in the 34th minute on its first shot attempt of the night. Columbia applied pressure with three shots and three corners in the game's opening 30-plus minutes, but the Black Knights turned it around on a moment's notice. Army brought the ball down the near side of the field when Vana Markarian broke up a pass on the outer edge of the penalty area. The deflection off Markarian went straight back to Army's Sam Epitime, who turned and slipped a pass to Keenan O'Shea at the top of the area. O'Shea took one touch before striking a shot that caromed twice between the surface and the crossbar. Andrew Stevens attempted to clear the ricochet off the line, but the assistant referee signaled the ball was over the line to give the visitors an unexpected lead.
 
It didn't take long for the Lions to draw level on a piece of tremendous interplay between John Denis, Beto Carrillo and Uri Zeitz. Denis brought the ball into the attacking third and slipped a pass to Beto Carillo through a pair of Army defenders. Carrillo controlled the ball near the top of the penalty arc and quickly touched it off to his right for Zeitz about 15 yards from goal. The first-year out of Bethesda, Maryland one-touched the ball back through the box to a streaking Denis, who struck it first time to the left of keeper Justin Stoll and into the back of the net.
 
The score remained even into halftime off what was Denis's 13th career goal. The senior nearly assisted a go-ahead strike off the boot of first-year Jon Ned in the opening minutes of the second half, but Ned's redirect in midair trickled just wide of the post. Ten minutes into the half, a Blake Willis cross made its way all the way through the box to Zeitz on the far side, who struck it hard and low at goal but had his opportunity saved.
 
Columbia went nearly 30 minutes without another shot. Just before the end of regulation, Zeitz created a dangerous opportunity by getting a step on Tyler Mitchiner, who fouled Zeitz from behind about 35 yards from goal to earn himself the game's only booking. The ensuing shot by Denis didn't threaten goal as the sides headed for overtime.
 
The Lions put together a flurry of shots in the final seconds of the first extra session. A shot by Beto Carrillo from five yards outside the box had to be blocked away and gave Columbia a corner with 20 seconds remaining. Zeitz sent an inswinger from the near corner that found Denis, whose attempt was sent high over the crossbar.
 
Army had a couple of looks toward the end of the final 10-minute session. First-year goalkeeper Michael Collodi saved the final attempt for one of his four stops on the night.
 
"We just need to be able to create more quality in critical moments of games more consistently," Anderson added. "That's a process and that's not easy to do."
 
Columbia will look for that elusive first victory on Monday, when it returns to Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium to host No. 19 St. John's. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
 
For the latest on the Columbia men's soccer program, follow @ColumbiaMSoccer on Twitter and Instagram, on Facebook at Facebook.com/ColumbiaMensSoccer and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.