EDWARDSVILLE, Illinois – Houston Christian University lost a heartbreaker in the Ohio Valley Conference championship, falling 3-2 in two overtimes to top-seeded SIU-Edwardsville at Bob Guekler Field at Ralph Korte Stadium on Saturday night. The second-seeded Huskies gave the Cougars everything they could handle and then some before a golden goal from SIUE's Wes Gibson in the 104th minute handed the hosts their second straight conference title and dropped the curtain on a spectacular season for the boys from Fondren Road.
 
The two teams battled through a scoreless first 20 minutes with SIUE a bit more aggressive, putting four shots on target. The Cougars would get the breakthrough in the 22nd minute off a corner kick as a shot by Nacho Abeal was redirected by Jacobo Sanfeliu to the top right of the goal to give the hosts a one-nil advantage.
 
The Huskies would storm back moments later. Just off of the goal area, D'Alessandro Herrera put a ball into the middle of the area, where Ryan Okerayi's flick hit the post. It would bound up into the air, where Ethan Giwa-McNeil was right place, right time to put it home and level things at one apiece with just over 15 minutes to play before the half.
 
Not done there, HCU would earn a corner kick in the 39th minute. The ball was played out top where Herrera once again put a dangerous ball into the goal area where it was headed down by Theo Butterworth. The ball was then bandied off the chest of Sam Zeeman and right back to Butterworth,who picked an opportune time to open his season account by smashing it into the net, giving the Huskies a two-goal to one advantage that they would carry into the break.
 
The two teams wouldn't put forth much offense until the Cougars secured a corner kick at the hour mark. The delivery out top was then sent in towards the back post on target where Alex Aitken made a spectacular play to deny the hosts a tying score.
 
The Cougars kept coming. Nacho Abeal's shot was off target and after a free kick was awarded via booking, Pavel Dashin's shot right on the doorstep was smothered by Aitken. Two minutes later Patrick Coleman would send a ball towards the box that was headed in by Dashin, pulling the Cougars even at two with just under eight minutes to play. Aitken would then come up big in the final minute, blocking a shot by Dashin in front to send the game to extra time.
 
One extra period would go by the wayside with no score. In the second overtime, the Cougars earned a corner kick that was placed perfectly on the back post by Yasha Schaerer, where Wes Gibson played it off his chest on the goal line for the golden goal in the 104th minute. The score handed the hosts their second straight tournament championship and automatic berth into the NCAA National Tournament.
 
The top-seeded Cougars outshot the Huskies 22-12 on the night and earned 10 corners to just two for HCU. SIUE improves to 12-4-3 overall on the season, getting goals from Abeal, Coleman and Schaerer, and four saves from Rob Gjelaj.
 
Ethan Giwa-McNeil led HCU with four shots, two on goal including his team-high seventh score of the season in what becomes his final match in the blue and orange. Theo Butterworth added his first goal of the season, while Ryan Okerayi had three shots on the night.
 
Alex Aitken made six saves on the evening for the Huskies, ending the campaign with 70 for the third straight season. He also moved into first place all-time in saves passing John Harris with his final save of the night to give him 229 over his three years with the Huskies. It matched the highest scoring contest HCU played in this season and was just the fifth time all season that the Huskies had conceded more than one goal in a game.
 
The Huskies complete their second season in the OVC at 8-7-5 overall, advancing to their first tournament championship game since 2010. The eight wins overall and five in conference play were the most in a single season since 2019. In addition, Giwa-McNeil, Sam Zeeman, and Morgan Worsfold-Gregg were named to the OVC All-Tournament team.
 
The Huskies lose seven seniors off this year's club: Giwa-McNeil, Zeeman, Sander Braeur-Ersoy, Kaone Kolagano, Kidus Assefa, Tremain Simpson and Jaiden Ramsay-Kelly.
 
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