SAN ANTONIO – Houston Christian University battled to a scoreless draw with University of the Incarnate Word on Saturday night at Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium. The tie drops the Huskies into second place in the Ohio Valley Conference standings with two matches to go in the regular season after the two rivals forged strong defensive postures from the kick-off.
The game was physical from the start, with neither team willing to give ground. Only 12 shots were taken in the entire match, two on goal by both sides. There were 21 fouls called on the evening as well as eight yellow cards distributed evenly between the longtime I-10 rivals.
HCU got one final opportunity in the match late, as
Jireh Oyebamiji's shot on goal with 80 seconds remaining was snagged by UIW keeper Alejandro DeLaTorre. It was just the second shot on goal in the second half, as Peleg Armendariz attempt in the 53rd minute was corralled by HCU's
Alex Aitken.
The Huskies didn't score in a match for just the fourth time this season and for the first time since their only conference loss, a 1-0 home defeat to Liberty on October 6. The clean sheet was the sixth of the season for HCU and keeper
Alex Aitken, and the fifth in eight conference outings for both. The nil-nil draw was the 10
th shutout of Aitken's career as he joins Christopher Dodd and Benny Agosto as the only three keepers in school history with double-figure blankings.
UIW falls to 4-5-5 on the season and remain in fifth place in the OVC standings at 2-2-4. The draw was the fourth straight for the Cardinals, with three of those being scoreless.
HCU is now 7-5-4 overall on the season and 5-1-2 in league play. The Huskies fall two points behind SIUE in the race for the top spot in the league, as the Cougars defeated Western Illinois 3-0 on Saturday afternoon. HCU remains two points ahead of third place Liberty, which lost 1-0 to Lindenwood on Friday evening in St. Charles, Missouri. Eastern Illinois and Southern Indiana played to a 2-2 tie in Charleston, Illnois on Saturday.
The Huskies will continue their three-game road swing to end the regular season next Thursday when they head to Lynchburg, Virginia for a rematch with Liberty. Kick-off with the Flames is set for 6 pm. HCU and Liberty, along with SIUE and Lindenwood, all head to the final week of play looking to secure one of the two first-round byes in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.
HCU will close the regular season at Western Illinois on Sunday, November 3.
#DawgsUp
