HOUSTON – Houston Christian University got a 75th minute tally from
Morgan Worsfold-Gregg to rally for a 1-1 draw with visiting Lindenwood University on Thursday night at Sorrels Field. The Huskies equalized out of a corner kick to level the Lions and remain second in the Ohio Valley Conference standings.
Both teams got into a rhythm quickly as the game settled into a defensive struggle for the better part of the first half hour. It was then that the Lions would pounce using a counter attack up the right side after a claiming a loose ball. A push and then cross to the middle of the field found the OVC's leading point-getter Ethan Blake, who calmly stroked a one-time to the top shelf to give the visitors an early one-nil lead.
The two squads would then go back to a defensive stance, with the only offense over the remaining portion of the half coming on a couple of shots by the Huskies. Seven total shots were taken in the half, with the only shot on goal being the score by Blake, as Lindenwood carried the 1-0 lead to the intermission.
In the second frame, the Huskies began to turn up the tempo. HCU would earn three corner kicks in a three-minute span, with a header by
Sam Zeeman at the 49:53 mark clanging off the top crossbar presenting the Huskies first real threat.
Moment laters, two more corners from the Huskies produced a shot by
Ethan Giwa-McNeil that was saved by LU's Enzo Gil. HCU continued to push the envelope offensively, and earned yet another corner at the 74:19 mark.
Ron Pressler's entry into the box was struck by Giwa-McNeil and blocked by Gil right to
Ryan Okerayi, whose tap was blocked as well. The ball trickled right to Morgan-Worsfold Gregg and he nestled in the equalizer past Gil to level things at one.
The Huskies got a few more cracks late looking for the game-winner, the closest being a shot by
Jireh Oyebamiji that was snared by Gil in the 85th minute and a Okerayi kick that went wide of goal a moment later.
After the defensive slugfest of a first half, the Huskies outshot the Lions 11-2 in the second half, finishing the contest with a 15-5 advantage on shots and 4-2 on target. HCU had a season-high 10 corners in the match.
Morgan Worsfold-Gregg scored his second goal of the season, the second straight outing the defender has hit the back of the net for the Huskies.
Ryan Okerayi collected his team-high fifth assist, while
Ethan Giwa-McNeil recorded his fourth of the campaign.
Alex Aitken allowed the one goal and recorded one save.
Ethan Blake scored his sixth goal of the season to give him a league-best 19 points on the campaign for the Lions. John Gates and Josh Francombe were each credited with an assist while Enzo Gil finished with three saves while allowing the one goal. Lindenwood moves to 7-5-2 overall and 3-2-1 in the OVC, falling two points behind Liberty into fourth place in the standings.
The Huskies are now 6-5-3 overall and 4-1-1 in the OVC, remaining second in the table. HCU is now just three points behind league-leader Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, which played to a scoreless draw with Incarnate Word in San Antonio on Thursday evening. In other action around the league, Liberty moved into third place with a 2-0 defeat of Eastern Illinois, while Western Illinois bested Southern Indiana 2-0 on Wednesday afternoon.
HCU will entertain SIUE on Sunday afternoon in a "Senior Day" matinee at Sorrels Field. Kickoff against the defending OVC champs is set for 1 pm and is the first half of a doubleheader with the women, who take on Southeastern Louisiana at 3:30 pm in a Southland Conference tilt.
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