BUFFALO, N.Y. — Diego Castillo scored for Utah Valley University as the Wolverines opened the season with a 1-1 draw at Canisius College on Thursday night at the Demske Sports Complex.
 
UVU (0-0-1) found itself down a goal less than 10 minutes in when a misplayed ball was corralled by Luke Szablewski, who scored from just outside the 18 to put the Golden Griffins (0-0-1) in front.
 
Castillo, in his first collegiate game, got the equalizer in the 35th minute, scoring on a free kick from 25 yards out on a ball that the keeper got his gloves on but still found the back of the net.
 
"I was really proud of the guys. They showed a lot of character coming back after the goal," said first-year head coach Kyle Beckerman. "I thought the boys really showed a lot of character and kept playing, kept possession and got some chances in overtime. All-in-all it was a good game and we improved today and will look to do so again on Sunday."
 
Both teams had near game-winners in the overtime frames, with the Wolverines surviving when Carter Johnson sent back a would-be winner for a team save in the 100th minute of action.
 
Utah Valley had a decided edge statistically in the first half, outshooting the Golden Griffins 8-1, including 5-1 on goal, while maintaining 63% of possession. Those final numbers had the Wolverines with 20 shots, nine on target, and Canisius with 11 shots, five on frame.

With the draw, the Wolverines remained unbeaten in season openers all-time and are now 7-0-1 since the program's inception in 2014.

Utah Valley will wrap up the trip to New York at Niagara University on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. MT in a game that can be seen live on ESPN 3. Niagara dropped its opener on Thursday to UC Riverside, 3-0.