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Saturday, September 28, 2024
⏰ 7 pm
🏟️ Sorrels Field – Houston, Texas
📈 LIVE STATS
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GAME PROGRAM
HOUSTON ---- Houston Christian University returns to action for the first time in 10 days as it hosts rival University of the Incarnate Word on Saturday evening. The 20th all-time meeting between the two in-state rivals comes on the opening night of league play for the Ohio Valley Conference.
HCU finished a hearty non-conference slate with a 2-4-2 mark, and is unbeaten in its last three overall. The Huskies last played on September 18 when they kicked off a four-game homestand with a well-deserved 1-0 victory over UTRGV. HCU got the game-winning goal off the foot of
Ryan Okerayi, who stole a ball in the Vaqueros defensive end and smashed home the lone tally of the night.
For his efforts in that win,
Hans Leza was named the OVC Defensive Player of the Week. It was the second time this season that he has been named, and the fifth time in the 2024 campaign that a Husky has claimed a weekly honor from the league.
The sophomore defender from Houston, Leza posted a full 90-minute outing against the Vaqueros, his sixth such performance in eight features this season. He led a defensive effort that staved off 10 shots by the visitors including five on goal, helping
Alex Aitken to his first clean sheet on the season.
Leza has played all but 27 minutes in the 2024 campaign and since arriving on Fondren Road has missed just 72 minutes in 26 matches. He went the distance 17 times in 18 outings last year. He has two assists on the season, the most recent a beautiful cross into the box for an awaiting
Ricardo Garcia that provided the equalizer at ORU on September 14.
The Huskies will host the Cardinals in the 20th meeting between the two. The series dates back to 1986 in the first iteration of HCU soccer, as the clubs played five times in four years, including three in 1990. HCU and UIW would rekindle the rivalry when they began playing each other in the WAC, and then when each joined the OVC for its inaugural campaign last season.
A 2-0-2 stretch over the last four has pulled the series to 7-10-2 all-time for HCU. It is the first of two meetings between the Huskies and Cardinals this season, with the rematch coming on October 26 in the Alamo City. It is also the second straight season that the two begin their home and home on September 28, as the two played to 3-3 draw in San Antonio last year before HCU took the return match on Fondren Road. The Cardinals rallied from a two-nil deficit in San Antonio to score three times before
Hans Leza's 80
th minute goal equalized in San Antonio. The Huskies then claimed a 3-1 verdict at Sorrels behind goals from
Ethan Giwa-McNeil,
D'Alessandro Herrera and
Ryan Okerayi.
HCU thus far features a balanced offensive attack that has seen seven different players hit the back of the net.
Ethan Giwa-McNeil leads the team with three goals and is tied for third in the league. He is also second in the OVC in shots per game at 2.57 on the season.
Freddy Ferguson ranks fourth in the OVC in assists with three to go with his one goal.
Garcia, Herrera and Okerayi have each scored twice, while Okerayi and
Hans Leza have each contributed two helpers.
After missing the first two matches,
Alex Aitken is now second in the league in save percentage by a percentage point, and his 4.33 saves per game rank him second in the league. He is currently three saves away from moving past Christopher Dodd and into sole possession of third place on the all-time HCU leaderboard.
UIW comes to Houston with a 2-3-1 record overall but are also coming off a lengthy break. The Cardinals last saw action on September 16 in a 2-0 defeat away to SMU. The Cardinals and Huskies have faced four like opponents this season with similar results. Each lost at home to IU-Indy and at Gonzaga while both clubs also claimed a one-goal win over UTRGV. The one difference is Gardner-Webb, as the Huskies fell at home 3-2 while UIW managed a 1-1 home draw.
The Cardinals have had six different goal scorers, with Sello Diphoko the lone player with a pair. Erick Rios, Emmanuel Martinez and Timothy Ospina each have an assist and keeper Alejandro De La Torre has been solid in the net, allowing just eight goals in six matches while recording 16 saves and posting one shutout.
In other action around the league, Southern Indiana hosts Eastern Illinois in a 1 pm matinee to get the day started. Liberty welcomes league newcomer Western Illinois at 6 pm while defending champion and preseason top pick SIU-Edwardsville hosts Lindenwood alongside HCU and UIW's 7 pm start.
After the conference opener, the Huskies will return to action next week when they conclude the homestand with a pair of OVC matches. HCU will host league newcomer Western Illinois on Thursday, followed by a Saturday evening tilt with Liberty. Both matches are scheduled for 7 pm kick-offs.
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