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MSOC: HCU heads west for final pair of non-conference matches

9/19/2023 2:59:00 PM

Huskies look to finish non-con strong before inaugural OVC slate begins

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HCU at Grand Canyon

Wednesday, September 20 - 9 pm CT
GCU Stadium - Phoenix, Arizona
➡️ LIVE STATS ➡️ ESPN+

HCU at Pacific

Saturday, September 23 - 9 pm CT
Knoles Field - Stockton, California
➡️ LIVE STATS ➡️ ESPN+

HCU hits the road for just the second time this season, heading west looking to finish strong in its tough non-conference slate. The Huskies will face Grand Canyon on Wednesday and Pacific on Saturday in the final week of action before the inaugural Ohio Valley Conference season begins on September 28.

The Huskies are coming off a ten-day break which was preceded by a pair of home tilts where the club drew with Oral Roberts 1-1 and then defeated Santa Clara 1-0 on an 89th minute winner by D'Alessandro Herrera. HCU is undefeated in its last three.

Leading the way for HCU are the aforementioned Herrera and Ryan Okerayi, each with a trio of goals on the season. Herrera paces the squad with seven total points, and the pair are tied for first in the OVC in goals.

Ricardo Garcia is the team leader in assists with three, good for third in the league. The other goals for HCU have come from Thomas Wyke and Sam Zeeman, the latter of which leads the team in minutes, having not left the pitch in six contests.

HCU's defense has held well thus far, allowing just seven goals in six matches. Goalkeeper Alex Aitken is first in the NCAA in minutes played, fifth in saves per game at 6.67 and 15th in save percentage at .857. His 40 total saves leads the NCAA.

Sitting at 2-2-2 on the season, the Huskies will be facing two formidable opponents to close out the non-conference schedule.

Wednesday's matchup sees HCU up against a former WAC foe in Grand Canyon that is currently 4-3 on the season. Four of the Lopes seven games thus far have been played against teams either ranked or receiving votes, including a 1-0 victory over #22 ranked San Diego this past Saturday night.

Like the Huskies, the Lopes have seen a lot of shots taken on their defense, but have allowed few to hit the back of the net. Teams get 18.4 shots on the GCU defense, but junior goalkeeper Leon Schmidt has allowed just seven goals in seven outings.

GCU is led offensively by Bright Nutornutsi, a sophomore forward from Accra, Ghana who has five goals and 11 points through the first seven games, while hitting at a .643% clip in shots on goal. Jorge Lopez and Clayton Duarte each have two goals.

HCU is 2-8 all-time against GCU, which has won three straight in the series, including a 5-3 WAC matchup in Phoenix last season.

On Saturday, the Huskies will face off with Pacific for the first time ever. The Tigers are 3-2-3 on the season after playing to a pair of draws last week with San Jose State and Utah Valley.

Pacific is led by Derick Rogue, a fifth-year forward from South Gate, California. He is currently 14th in the nation in goals and 20th in points, posting seven scores and an assist in eight games played. Josh Moya, a junior from Gilroy, California, minds the net, allowing 10 goals in his six games played with 18 saves in 79 shots faced.

Both matches will be available on ESPN+. Following this pair of games the Huskies will venture into the inaugural season of OVC play, beginning with a September 28 match at rival UIW.

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Huskies look to finish non-con strong before inaugural OVC slate begins

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