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MSOC: Huskies begin home stretch of regular season

Three of final four on Fondren Road, starting with rival UIW on Thursday



HCU vs. UIW HCU at Chicago State
  • Sunday - 5 pm (Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep)
  • LIVE STATS 

HCU begins the home stretch of the regular season on Thursday evening by hosting UIW for the first of three matches in the last four to be played at Sorrels Field. The Huskies will travel to Chicago State on Sunday for their last road match before hosting two on Fondren Road for the final week of play.

The Huskies went 0-1-1 last week on the road, earning a draw at Lindenwood 1-1 on Thursday, then suffered a hard-fought 3-1 defeat to league-leading and unbeaten SIUE in Edwardsville on Saturday. 

Now 3-6-45 overall, the Huskies sit at fifth in the OVC standings with six points and a 1-2-3 mark. On Thursday, the Huskies face longtime rival UIW (5-5-4 overall / 3-1-2 OVC), who are currently second in the table on 11 points, five back of SIUE. 

The Huskies and Cardinals series is the second-most played in HCU history, with UIW holding a 10-6-2 lead after a 3-3 draw between the two on September 28 at Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium in San Antonio.

The match Sunday in the Windy City will be a big one, as Chicago State sits one place and one point behind HCU in the standings (3-8-3 overall / 1-3-2 OVC). The Cougars face OVC juggernaut Edwardsville on Thursday in Chicago.

The Huskies continue to be paced by sophomore D'Alessandro Herrera, who leads the squad in goals (5), assists (6) and points (16). He is currently second in the league in goals and assists, and still leads the OVC in points. He has taken 27 shots on the year, with 14 coming on goal and ranks second in the conference in points per game at 1.14. 

Freshman Ryan Okerayi is seventh in the league in goals with four and has nine points while carrying a .529 shots on goal percentage on the season. Freshman Ricardo Garcia is second on the club with three assists and third in points with seven. Ethan Giwa-McNeil and Sam Zeeman both check in with a goal, two assists and four points, with Zeeman as the stalwart of the Huskies defensive effort, having missed just one minute of action in 14 matches thus far. 

Alex Aitken is first in the OVC in saves with 56 and also ranks first in the league in saves per game (4.67) and second in save percentage (.709).

UIW is led by Sello Diphoko and Peleg Armendaiz, both of whom had five goals on the season to stand tied with HCU's Herrera for second in the league. Paco Segura has started all 14 contests for the Cards, and has three goals, two assists and eight points while carrying a stout .706 shot on goal percentage. Hugo Constant mans the nets for UIW, with one clean sheet and 40 saves while facing 125 shots and giving up 1.62 goals per game.

The Sunday battle with Chicago State will be just the second all-time meeting between the two schools. HCU won the only other match, defeating the Cougars 1-0 on a Nathan Karmbor "golden goal" in the 110th minute of the season finale in 2021.

CSU is led by Iann Topete, who also has five goals on the season, second in the OVC. Danail Sergiev and Jaiye Sheppard each had three goals and seven points, while Donat Juhasz is second in the league with six assists.

Lucas Fontana is the lead goalie for Chicago State, having made 13 starts in the team's 15 games. He has made 46 saves on 163 shots faces with a 2.41 GAA on the year.

Both matches will be available via LIVE STATS.

Following this pair of games, the Huskies will return to Sorrels Field for the final two matches of the regular season, both on Fondren Road. HCU will host Liberty on Thursday, October 26 before welcoming Chicago State for "Senior Day" on Sunday, October 29.

#DawgsUp 
 
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