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20 - Thomas Wyke
Juan DeLeon Creative
1
Omaha UNO (0-2-0, 0-0-1)
4
Winner Houston Christian HCU (1-1-0, 0-0-0)
Omaha UNO
(0-2-0, 0-0-1)
1
Final
4
Houston Christian HCU
(1-1-0, 0-0-0)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Omaha UNO 1 0 1
Houston Christian HCU 2 2 4

Game Recap: Men's Soccer |

MSOC: Huskies race past Mavericks for first win of season

HCU rallies from early goal down, scores four unanswered to even mark at 1-1



HOUSTON — On a night when the Houston area got its first significant rain in weeks, Houston Christian University picked up its first victory of the campaign, pouring it on late for a 4-1 victory over Omaha at Sorrels Field on Sunday night. The Huskies rebounded from Thursday's opening night loss and an early 1-0 deficit by scoring four unanswered to race past the Mavericks and into the win column.

UNO got on the scoresheet early, taking advantage of a giveaway in the back as Sokol Ymeraj picked off a pass and put the chip shot high right to give UNO a 1-0 lead just 4:16 into the contest.

Nearly 12 moments later, the Huskies would go a man up, as UNO goalkeeper Nathanael Sallah was red-carded for impeding a scoring opportunity. 

The Huskies would put on the pressure, and in the 24th minute got their first goal of the season, an equalizer off the right foot of Ryan Okerayi in the front of the box off a pass from Ethan Giwa-McNeil. 

The tie was short-lived however, as HCU put itself in front for good at the 26:34 mark. Ricardo Garcia hit Sander Brauer-Ersoy, who crossed from the right side to the front of the box, where D'Alessandro Herrera put a header through the pipes for a 2-1 Huskies lead.

The one-man advantage for HCU lasted until the 38th minute, when Victor Velasco was sent off, evening the playing field at 10 men for both sides. The two teams would play that way for the remaining 52 minutes of the night.

The skies opened with about 25 minutes to play, but it didn't deter the HCU defensive effort, as the Huskies weathered several scoring charges by the Mavericks. The Huskies would then put the game away with two late ones.

With around four minutes to go, Sam Zeeman broke away from the pack downfield, and after a stop and start, fed Ryan Okerayi who was brought down in the penalty area. Herrera would then calmly score from the spot to give HCU a 3-1 advantage.

Moments later, the Huskies got the icing on the cake, as a free kick in the Omaha end led to a soft touch from Herrera to a sprinting Thomas Wyke, who put the ball into the lower right corner for the final margin.

"I thought the boys did a great job of bouncing back from Thursday's match, and came with a lot of energy and fire tonight," said Head Coach Ryan Pratt. "Even after giving up the early goal, we stuck together, kept pressing and being aggressive and it paid off. We have work to do and things to clean up (more composed), but getting that first win of the season, especially over a quality opponent, is always special."

Despite being outshot 15-11 by Omaha (0-2), the Huskies were efficient in their shot taking, with seven of them on goal and four hitting the back of the net. 

Herrera had two goals and an assist to lead the way for HCU, with Okerayi and Wyke each garnering their first career goals. Ricardo Garcia picked up his first career assists with helpers on the Okerayi and Herrera goals. Alex Aitken had six saves to pick up his first win of the season in the pipes. 

The Huskies, now 1-1 on the season, will return to action this upcoming Friday and Sunday, as they travel to Birmingham to take part in the UAB Classic. HCU will face Belmont on Friday at 4:30 pm, followed by a 2 pm Sunday matinee with the host Blazers. 

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