HOUSTON – Houston Christian University captured its first result of the campaign, ending a three-match homestand with a convincing 4-1 victory over visiting North American University on Thursday evening at Sorrels Field.
The two teams would feel each other out for the first 10 minutes of gametime before the Huskies cracked the scoreboard in the 12
th minute.
Ethan Giwa-McNeil opened his season account by turning a pretty give from
Freddy Ferguson into an easy chippy to the bottom left corner just inside the woodwork to put the Huskies out in front one to nil. That would be all the scoring despite HCU peppering the pipes to an 11-2 count over the first 45 minutes.
In the opening stages after intermission the Huskies would double their advantage. Coming on as a second half sub for his 2024 debut,
D'Alessandro Herrera would get fed a nice ball by
Ryan Okerayi just inside the 18-yard box. A nifty first touch was followed with a solid slot just past the keeper for his first goal of the campaign and a 2-0 margin.
NAU would make things interesting near the end of the 72
nd minute, as a strong cross to the back post was headed in by Andres Santos past the diving
Alex Aitken, giving the Stallions their first tally to draw within one.
That momentum was short-lived indeed, as just 29 seconds later Ferguson found Okerayi on the quick break in the middle of the offensive end. Okerayi wasted no time with a quick touch and blast between the pipes to push HCU's lead back to a pair at the 72:13 mark.
The game would be put on ice moments later, as again it was Giwa-McNeil getting the score with Okerayi providing yet another helper. Okerayi would find Giwa-McNeil in stride with a nice through ball up the left side in front of the HCU bench, and that pass was turned into a nice poke to the bottom left corner for the capper on the 4-1 victory.
HCU would outshoot the Stallions 20-11 on the night, including 12-9 in SOG, while earning a 7-3 advantage in corners as well.
Ethan Giwa-McNeil had two goals on the evening to match his total from last year, coming on three shots on goal. His brace was the second of his career and first since September 5 of 2022, when that brace broke a two-all tie at Cal-Poly and gave HCU a 4-2 win.
Ryan Okerayi put up four points on the night, scoring a goal to go with two assists which equaled the total of his rookie campaign.
D'Alessandro Herrera's 51st minute goal was the 10
th tally of his career.
Freddy Ferguson had his first two helpers on the season, and
Alex Aitken picked up his first win of the year, stopping eight shots on the night.
NAU got the goal from Santos and an assist from Joseph Figueroa. Gino Burioni made eight saves in taking the loss for the Stallions, now 1-2 on the season.
HCU ends a three-game run on Fondren Road with a 1-2 mark to open the campaign, and now take to the road for their next four outings. That stretch begins with a quick travel to Spokane, Washington for 9 pm CT kick at Gonzaga University on Sunday evening.
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