MSOC: Herrera, Okerayi garner top honors in OVC

11/7/2023 7:33:00 PM

Both named to All-OVC 1st team; Herrera Midfielder of the Year, Okerayi Freshman of the Year

Follow @hcu_menssoccer

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. -- HCU's D'Alessandro Herrera and Ryan Okerayi each took home top individual hardware on Tuesday night as the Ohio Valley Conference announced the postseason awards for its inaugural 2023 season.

Herrera was named as the OVC Midfielder of the Year and was also a First Team All-OVC selection. Okerayi was also chosen for the First Team as well as being tabbed the Freshman of the Year. The top rookie in the conference also landed a spot on the All-Newcomer team.

A sophomore from Houston, Herrera improved on the season that earned him All-Freshman honors in the WAC last year. He had six goals and tied for the league lead in assists with seven, which tied for 10^th most in a single-season for the Huskies. He ended the campaign with an OVC best 19 points.

He took 31 total shots, 16 coming on goal for a .516 SOG%. He was 2-3 on penalty kicks and had three game-winning goals, including an 89th-minute winner against Santa Clara.

Okerayi had a strong first season on Fondren Road, hitting the back of the net a team-best seven times to go along with two assists for 16 points. The forward from Houston supplied pressure on goal all season, taking 28 shots with 13 coming on goal for a .464 SOG% in 17 games. He was tabbed earlier in the season by Top Drawer as one of it's Top 100 Freshmen.

"We are extremely proud of D'Lo and Ryan as they are both so deserving of these honors. To be recognized by the rest of the league for their efforts is a testament to just how hard they worked and how much they mean to our program.

For D'Lo, to carry over from what he accomplished as a freshman and build on it coming into his second year was something we really stressed in our offseason training. Ryan doing the things he did as a freshman this year just goes to show how special a player he can be as well.

We look forward to great things moving forward from them both."

- Head Coach Ryan Pratt

Herrera becomes the just the third HCU player to earn a player of the year honor, and is the first since Lorne Cameron was named the ASC Player of the Year in 2010. Carlos Gil was Trans America Conference Player of the Year four years straight from 1982-85.

Okerayi becomes the first Huskies player to earn rookie accolades since Kristopher Tyrpak was named ASC Rookie of the Year in 2010.

HCU is coming off its first campaign in the OVC, posting a 4-8-6 record overall. The team loses just six seniors off this year's team.

The OVC will head into its second campaign next year with nine teams, as Western Illinois joins the conference as a full member.

FULL OVC RELEASE

#DawgsUp

Print Friendly Version

Both named to All-OVC 1st team; Herrera Midfielder of the Year, Okerayi Freshman of the Year

Related Videos

Related Stories