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Houston Christian University Athletics

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Ryan Okerayi
Juan DeLeon Creative
1
UIW UIW (5-6-4, 3-2-2)
3
Winner Houston Christian HCU (4-6-5, 2-2-3)
UIW UIW
(5-6-4, 3-2-2)
1
Final
3
Houston Christian HCU
(4-6-5, 2-2-3)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
UIW UIW 1 0 1
Houston Christian HCU 1 2 3

Game Recap: Men's Soccer |

MSOC: Huskies cut down rival Cardinals at Sorrels Field for big OVC victory

Strong effort on both ends of Fondren Road help HCU bolster league mark



HOUSTON —- Houston Christian University played one of it's most complete games of the season to clip Incarnate Word 3-1 at Sorrels Field on Thursday night.  The Huskies jumped on the board just over four minutes in, then used two goals after intermission to break open another feisty affair between the in-state rivals and pick up a valuable three points in the home stretch of the OVC regular season.

HCU wasted very little time getting on the scoreboard. Ricardo Garcia hit Curtis Dunn who then slipped a nifty pass to Ethan Giwa-McNeil in the middle of the box where the junior from London let fly a left-footed smash to the bottom left corner to put the hosts up 1-0 just a second over the four-minute mark.  

The visitors from the Alamo City would get things level in the 25th minute, as Paco Segura and Dylan Navarijo contributed to a Sello Diphoko tally just past the outstretched arms of HCU keeper Alex Aitken. Diphoko made a run down the middle and beat Aitken to the ball just inside the box, sliding a shot bottom drawer of the right side to make it one apiece. 

Both teams would come out firing after intermission, but it would be the Huskies who would see their efforts rewarded, as in the 62nd minute D'Alessandro Herrera would put the Huskies on top for keeps.

Ryan Okerayi led a left-side counter-attack by hitting Jireh Oyebamiji further up field, and he would slide a cross to Herrera streaking down the middle. The team's leading goal-scorer would then stop on a dime and snap off a shot into the bottom right corner, giving the Huskies a 2-1 advantage.

The goal from Herrera picked up the pace for the Huskies, and just six minutes later it was Okerayi's turn to find the back of the net. This time it was Sam Zeeman hitting Curtis Dunn for a quick hitter to Okerayi, who then took it through the final third for a scintillating finish into the bottom left corner that electrified the home crowd and gave the Huskies a two-goal cushion. 

HCU and UIW would each take 15 shots, with the Huskies holding a 5-4 SOG advantage. The Huskies earned eight corners to just three for the Cards. 

Herrera took three shots, two on goal and garnered his sixth goal of the season, which pushed him to 30 career points. Okerayi pushed home his fifth goal of his rookie campaign, and added his second assist of the season, while Giwa-McNeil netted his second goal of the year. 

Garcia picked up his team-best fourth assist of the year, while Dunn added his first two. Zeeman added his third assists while Oyebamiji picked up his second. 

Alex Aitken was solid between the posts directing traffic and making three saves. 

Diphoko's goal for UIW was his sixth of the campaign. Hugo Constant made three saves and allowed the two goals for the Cardinals, who fall to 5-6-4 overall and 3-2-2 in the OVC. 

HCU improves it's overall mark to 4-6-5 and is now 2-2-3 in the league. The win by the Huskies, coupled with Lindenwood's 2-1 victory at Liberty, puts four teams within three points of each other for spots two through five in the conference standings, with three fixtures left on the schedule. 

UIW falls from second to third place, and will head to Liberty on Sunday, while the Huskies travel to the Windy City to face Chicago State, which gave league-leading SIUE all it could handle before falling 2-1 at home. 

#DawgsUp

 
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