Box Score PORTALES, N.M. (Sept. 14, 2017) – Oklahoma Christian had all the momentum on Thursday night, rallying from an early 2-0 deficit to tie the game with less than 15 minutes to play.

But Eastern New Mexico's Nicolai Alstrom scored on a 29-yard free kick in the 84th minute and the Greyhounds made that stand up for a 3-2 win over OC at Greyhound Stadium in the Heartland Conference opener for both teams.

"We have to start games better and quit having to dig out of holes," OC coach David Scott said. "We put ourselves in a bad spot tonight and had to fight our way back into the game. It is tough to get the result we want in that situation.

"Credit to the guys for responding in the second half, but we have to be better from the start and make the game easier for ourselves."

ENMU (2-2-1, 1-0 Heartland) went ahead in the 12th minute, when Ignacio Dicun took a centering pass from Robert Leonard and sent it past OC goalkeeper Gianluca Marchetti. The Greyhounds' second shot of the game also resulted in a goal, with a pass from Dicun setting up a breakaway by Christopher Mesquita in the 24th minute.

OC (2-2, 0-1), which outshot the Greyhounds 17-12, finally broke through in the 59th minute. A free kick by Sebastian Capkovic centered the ball for Landon Pope, who beat ENMU goalkeeper Yuri Nascimiento from about seven yards out.

ENMU's Robert Leonard hit the crossbar with a shot in the 60th minute before the Eagles tied the game in the 76th minute, with Garrett Blume heading home a long pass from Jaiden van der Heijden. It was Blume's second goal of the season.

But OC managed only one more shot after that and the Greyhounds regained the lead with Alstrom's free kick.

Marchetti made four saves for the Eagles, while OC forced Nascimiento to make eight saves to keep his team in the game.

OC will continue its opening conference road trip with a visit to West Texas A&M for a noon game on Saturday.