BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Ethan Giwa-McNeil,
Hans Leza and
Alex Aitken were each named with Ohio Valley Conference weekly honors as Houston Christian University swept the conference accolades for the second week of the 2024 season. It is the second time to be honored for Aitken, and the initial laudings for Giwa-McNeil and Leza.
HCU went 1-1 on the week, picking up its first victory on Thursday with a 4-1 win over North American University before falling to a red-hot Gonzaga University 2-1 in Spokane, Washington on Sunday evening.
Ethan Giwa-McNeil was named OVC Offensive Player of the Week after recording a brace against NAU on Thursday. It was the second two-goal effort of his career at HCU and first since September 5, 2022 when he broke a 2-all tie against Cal-Poly to help the Huskies secure a 4-2 road win.
The senior from London, England leads the Huskies with 10 shots on the season, including four on goal. He scored his first goal on Thursday after a pretty give from
Freddy Ferguson that led to an easy chippy to the bottom left corner just inside the woodwork for a one-nil lead. He then put the game on ice in the 78
th minute when he took a through ball up the left channel from
Ryan Okerayi and finished with a nice poke to the bottom left corner for the capper on the 4-1 win.
Hans Leza picked up OVC Defensive Player of the Week honors after helping guide an HCU effort that allowed just three goals in two games. The sophomore from Houston recorded his first assist of the season on Sunday, lofting a beautiful distribution from near midfield to an on-the-run
Sebastian Rodriguez in the box to pull the Huskies to within one in the 80
th minute against the Zags.
Leza has played the full 90 in all four matches this season and dating back to last year, has gone the distance 14 consecutive times he has stepped foot upon the pitch.
Aitken earned OVC Goalkeeper of the Week acclaim with a strong effort in the pipes for the Huskies while making his 2024 debut. He registered 13 saves in two outings while allowing just three goals. He had eight stops against NAU, then picked up five more in the one-goal defeat away to a Gonzaga club off to their best start in 27 seasons.
The junior from Great Barford, Bedfordshire, England led the OVC in total saves and saves per game in 2023. His 13 saves this season moves him into fourth place, just 15 behind Christopher Dodd on the HCU all-time career leaderboard.
It is the second time for HCU to claim all three awards in the same week. The Huskies earned the sweep last September 12, when Aitken,
D'Alessandro Herrera and
Bangelee Sesay took home all three honors.
HCU is 1-3 on the season, with all three losses by one score. The Huskies continue their four-game trek away from Sorrels later this week when they travel to the Midwest for a pair of contests. HCU will take on Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa at 1 pm on Friday afternoon before heading to the University of Nebraska-Omaha for a Monday evening tilt.
#DawgsUp
