BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Houston Christian University took home two of the three Ohio Valley Conference weekly accolades for the week ending October 20, as junior
Alex Aitken was named Goalkeeper of the Week and
Theo Butterworth was selected as Co-Defensive Player of the Week. The two were honored after helping guide HCU to a 1-0-1 week that took the Huskies to the top of the league standings.
The Huskies tied Lindenwood 1-1 on Thursday, then defeated defending conference champion and then league-leading SIU-Edwardsville 1-0 in Sunday's "Senior Day" home finale. It was the first defeat ever in conference play for SIUE and propelled HCU into a tie at the top of the table with the Cougars with just three matches left to be played in the regular season.
Aitken picks up his second honor of the season and third overall in his career after a strong week against two of the top four teams in the conference. He allowed just the one goal against Lindenwood with a save on five shots faced, then earned the shutout over SIUE by making four saves while facing seven shots.
The junior from Great Barford, England now has five shutouts on the season, good for second in the conference, with four of them coming in OVC action. He ranks third in the league in total saves, fourth in save percentage and is tops in the conference in goals against average, limiting opponents to just 0.85 goals per game.
With his five saves on the week, he moves to 208 for his career, and is one of just three goalkeepers in school history to hit the 200-plus plateau. He is just 13 saves from passing former HCU keeper and head coach Benny Agosto for second place on the all-time list, and he is now tied for third all-time with nine career shutouts.
Butterworth picks up his first career honor. He was instrumental in helping HCU limit Lindenwood and SIUE to a combined six shots on goal and one goal allowed in the two matches. His play out of the back also limited the two clubs to 12 total shots, and he played all 180 minutes for the week.
The freshman from Lancaster, England has been strong in the back all season, as he has helped lead a defensive effort that has limited opponents to just 15 goals in 15 games and a paltry .117 shooting percentage. Butterworth has missed just one contest this season, and has played the full 90 in 10 of 14 outings in his rookie campaign.
HCU has now won a weekly OVC award seven times this season, with now five different players being named. Aitken becomes the second two-time recipient along with
Hans Leza, who along with
Ethan Giwa-McNeil swept the honors in week two. Leza won Defensive honors again on September 24, one week after
Ricardo Garcia had been named Offensive Player of the Week.
The 1-0 win over SIUE was the final game at Sorrels Field this season, completing the home slate at 5-3-1 overall. HCU is now 7-5-3 on the season and 5-1-1 in Ohio Valley conference play, and the Huskies have a 6-1-3 form over their last 10 since a 1-4 start to the campaign.
HCU will finish its regular season with three straight matches away from Fondren Road, beginning this Saturday in the Alamo City when it takes on arch-rival University of the Incarnate Word.
The Huskies defeated UIW to open conference play on September 28, getting
two goals in a 2:36 span late in the second half to rally for the 2-1 victory. UIW is currently 2-2-3 in conference play, but 2-0-3 over its last five, including a scoreless draw with SIUE last Thursday and going level with Lindenwood 2-2 on Saturday.
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