The Dominican University men's soccer team opened their home slate on Wednesday afternoon, playing the Elmhurst College Bluejays to a 1-1 draw at West Campus Field.
 
The Bluejays took an early 1-o lead when Noah Backhaus got on the end of Keegan Thompson's service, heading home a cross from the right flank in just the sixth minute of play. The shot was one of five first half shots for the Bluejays and the lone shot on goal in the half.
 
The Stars chased the scoreboard for the next 76 minutes, turning up the offensive pressure in the second half before finally cracking through in the 83^rd minute when Denis Soldo slipped a pass through the back line for Jonathan Hernandez at the corner of the 18-yard box.  Hernandez took one touch towards the center before getting off a shot with his right foot from 17 yards out that beat Elmhurst's Donnie Kvien to the far post upper 90.
 
"We didn't bring enough quality and competitiveness in the first half today," said Erick Baumann, the Stars' head coach in his 25^th season. "We found it in the second half and were able to get back into the match. Every game will be a grind and you cannot take minutes off and expect positive results."
 
The sides possessed evenly despite Elmhurst holding an 18-11 advantage in shots, putting nine shots on goal to Dominican's four.  The Stars' Daniel Dominguez made seven saves, moving to 1-0-1 in goal on the season.
 
The Stars return to action on Saturday, hosting the Greenville University Panthers for a noon kickoff at West Campus Field.  The Stars then turn around and hit the road on Sunday, traveling to North Park University for a 5:00 p.m. kickoff on Sunday evening.