HOUSTON, Texas – Ryan Okerayi hit the back of the net at the stroke of the first minute and Houston Christian University never looked back in blanking visiting Western Illinois University 3-0 at Sorrels Field on Thursday night. The electric start opened the floodgates as the Huskies put three on the board in the first 12 minutes and coasted to their second straight victory to open Ohio Valley Conference play.
After the opening kickoff and push by the Leathernecks,
Theo Butterworth got possession nearly 45 seconds in and launched a long pass down the right sideline where
Thomas Wyke was waiting. Wyke would then take a couple of dribbles before directing a beautiful through ball into the box that found Okerayi on a mad dash for the smash that gave HCU a scintillating opening to the match.
Seven minutes later, the Huskies were at it again. A corner kick found
D'Alessandro Herrera for a shot out top that was blocked.
Theo Butterworth and
Morgan Worsfold-Gregg would combine to track down the loose ball and get a pass chipped into the box where
Sam Zeeman headed it in to give HCU a startling two-nil advantage just 8:16 into the match.
The flurry wasn't finished however, as just over three minutes later the Huskies were on the attack again.
Ethan Giwa-McNeil carried his dribble down the right endline where he poked a pass back right near the penalty spot where
Ron Pressler slotted it home through traffic to give HCU its third tally in the opening 11:34.
The Huskies would cruise from there, using a stingy defense that allowed just five shots total and two on goal during the entire evening. HCU would hold the Leathernecks to no shot attempts in the second half and carried a 13-5 advantage on the night in shots, 5-2 on goal.
Ryan Okerayi's goal was his fourth of the season, tying him for the team lead with Giwa-McNeil.
Sam Zeeman and
Ron Pressler became the eighth and ninth different players to put home a goal for HCU this season.
Theo Butterworth had his first two career assists while Giwa-McNeil added one and
Thomas Wyke and
Morgan Worsfold-Gregg chipped in their first career assist as well.
Alex Aitken had two saves on the night allowing him to pass Christopher Dodd for third place all-time on the HCU leaderboards. He improves to 4-2-2 on the season, posting his second clean sheet in his last three outings.
Liam Gainey had three shots, two on goal for the Leathernecks who drop their second straight game to open conference play. Western Illinois falls to 5-5-1 overall and 0-2-0 in the OVC, and will head to San Antonio for a Sunday matinee with Incarnate Word. UIW fell to Liberty University 2-0 on Thursday.
HCU has now won three in a row and is unbeaten in its last five to push their season ledger to 4-4-2 overall and 2-0-0 in the league The Huskies return to Fondren Road on Sunday night when they complete the homestand against Liberty. Kick-off is slated for 7 pm.
In other action around the league, SIU-Edwardsville joined HCU and Liberty at 2-0-0 in conference play with a 3-0 home victory over Eastern Illinois while Lindenwood pitched a shutout at Southern Indiana 2-0.
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