HOUSTON —- HCU earned a valuable point out of a hard-fought draw with second-place Liberty on Thursday night at Sorrels Field. A spectacular affair from first whistle to last in the penultimate game of the regular season saw a valiant defensive effort by the Huskies, but a late score by the Flames leveled the evening at 1-1. The draw sends the Huskies into a Sunday "Senior Day" matinee with Chicago State still looking to secure a spot in the OVC playoff picture.
The Huskies stepped on the gas pedal right out of the gates, applying pressure and missing on a couple of close chances. The ice would break however in the 24th minute when
D'Alessandro Herrera recovered a giveaway at midfield.
The sophomore quickly saw
Ryan Okerayi blazing down the left side and threaded a beautiful pass through two defenders to him. Okerayi took it from there, spinning a soft left-footed shot to the opposite side, just under the hands of Liberty goalkeeper Owen Moore for a 1-0 HCU lead.
The Huskies would take that lead to the half, and for 41 more minutes, would contain the Liberty attack from every possible angle. With five minutes to play, the Flames would earn a free kick just in front of the box, and Luke Eberle went high with his shot on goal. That strike was batted out of bounds by
Alex Aitken, a spectacular save indeed, and it looked as if the Huskies would hold on.
On the ensuing corner kick however, Gabe Findley's entry found Eberle on the near post. The league's second-leading point-getter would head a ball towards the back post, a superb pass that found an awaiting Bryce Swinehart. His header straight down into the bottom corner past Aitken gave the Flames their equalizer, knotting the night at one.
After being basically square in the first half, the Flames outshot the Huskies 8-2 in the second for a 14-9 advantage on the night, including 6-3 on goal. Liberty also earned five corners to HCU's three. The physical affair saw 29 fouls called and seven yellows doled out.
Okerayi led the Huskies with three shots, two on goal, while collecting the seventh goal of his rookie campaign, tying him for the top spot in the conference.
Herrera added his seventh assist of the season, tying him at the top of the league as well, which also kept him first in total points. Aitken made five saves on the evening, giving him 156 in his career and moving him into fifth place all-time.
Swinehart finished with three shots, all on goal, including the equalizer, his fifth goal of the season.
HCU falls to 4-7-6 overall and 2-3-4 in league play, while Liberty jumps back into second place at 9-5-2 overall and 4-3-2 in the OVC.
The Huskies will wrap up the regular season against Chicago State on Sunday looking to avenge a 3-2 loss to the Cougars last week in the Windy City. It all comes down to the final day, as the Huskies will play their "Senior Day" match needing at least a draw to secure a spot in the 2023 OVC Tournament.
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