MSOC: Huskies open 2023 campaign with pair of home tilts

8/23/2023 2:22:00 PM

HCU hosts St. Bonaventure on Thursday followed by Omaha on Sunday

Follow @hcu_menssoccer

HCU (0-0-0) vs St. Bonaventure (0-0-0) / Omaha (0-0-0)

Sorrels Field
Thursday vs. St. Bonaventure - 7 pm
Sunday vs. Omaha - 7 pm
LIVE STATS

Houston Christian University opens its 2023 slate with a pair of matches on the home pitch, taking on St. Bonaventure on Thursday night and then Omaha on Sunday evening, with both outings slated to kick off at 7 pm from Sorrels Field.

The Huskies, under the guidance of seventh-year head coach Ryan Pratt, were picked third in the inaugural Ohio Valley Conference preseason rankings and will commence an eight-match non-conference run before hitting OVC play at the close of September.

D'Alessandro Herrera was selected as one of eight players to watch in the Ohio Valley Conference. The sophomore midfielder from Houston was chosen at the forefront of a strong cast of 12 returners for the Huskies, who went 5-8-6 in their final season of action in the WAC last year.

His rookie campaign saw him make 17 starts, and he was one of three players who played in all 19 matches. He tied for second on the club with 12 points, was third in goals with three, and paced the Huskies in helpers with six while playing 1,225 minutes.

Herrera's efforts earned him WAC All-Freshman honors, where he was joined by goalkeeper Alex Aitken, who returns for his second season manning the woodwork for the Huskies.

A sophomore from Great Barford, England, Aitken had 88 saves on the season, which not only ranked as the second highest total in school history, but was also fourth highest in the NCAA in 2022. He was one of three players to play in all 19 matches, and ended the year with a 1.70 GAA.

The offensive attack also returns Ethan Giwa-McNeil, a sophomore forward from London who was second on the team in goals, and Bangelee Sesay, a midfielder from Liberia who scored seven points on the season while playing 18 games for the second straight season.

In the back, the Huskies return top defenders Sander Brauer-Ersoy and Sam Zeeman, as well as D/M Aldo Tarantini, who saw action in all 19 matches and was fourth on the club in minutes.

A group of 16 fresh faces will be looking to make their mark early on in season, and provide depth to the roster. Highlighting the newcomers are two transfers, Victor Velasco from Incarnate Word and Presten Manthey from Wright State.

Velasco, a grad student from Houston, started 42 times in 55 appearances over four seasons with the Cardinals, and led the team with three goals and seven points in his final season in San Antonio. Manthey spent three years at Wright State after a freshman campaign at Santa Clara.

The Huskies will face St. Bonaventure and Omaha within a four-day span to kick things off, with both those clubs also playing UIW on their trips to Texas. While the Huskies and Bonnies clash on Thursday, UIW will host Omaha, and vice versa on Sunday.

St. Bonaventure is led by Kwame Oduru, in his 9th season with the Bonnies. SBU went 3-10-3 and 0-6-2 in the Atlantic 10 last season, and return just two goal scorers from last year's squad. Umechi Akuazaoku headlines the returning Bonnies, having led the team in shots on goal while tallying two scores in 16 matches.

Omaha will come to Houston picked to finish third in the Summit after going 8-6-2 overall and 5-2-1 in league play. Donovan Dowling enters his season season with the Mavericks and returns 18 players from last year.

Lute Lillo Portero and Nathanael Sallah return to man the nets, with Gonzalo Cuevas, Kyle Reese and Zander Glynn manning the back. The Mavericks will return two strong options up front in 2022 leading goal scorer Mathis Pilon St. Louis and leading shots/shots on goal man Theo Klein.

HCU has faced both St. Bonaventure and Omaha once each, both matches coming in early September of 2017 at the UTRGV Invitational.

The Huskies lost 1-0 to Omaha, then ranked #21 in the nation, but followed that up with a 109th minute penalty kick winner by Dominic Faletto to snatch a 2-1 victory over the Bonnies two days later.

The Huskies played two preseason matches, tying SMU 1-1 in Dallas on August 12, then battling to a scoreless draw with St. Thomas last Saturday at Sorrels Field.

#DawgsUp

Print Friendly Version

HCU hosts St. Bonaventure on Thursday followed by Omaha on Sunday

Related Videos

Related Stories