EDWARDSVILLE, Illinois – Houston Christian University was undone by a late goal and saw its three-match winning streak snapped in a 1-0 defeat to SIUE at Ralph Korte Stadium on Thursday evening.
 
The two teams played square in the first half, with each team getting several good looks with nothing to show. In the 21st minute, the Cougars came close to breaking the ice when Carlos Zomeno's left footed shot from straightaway just outside the 18-yard box was parried off the top post by Alex Aitken and then cleared away quickly by Sebastian Rodriguez.
 
On the edge of the 33rd minute, Ricardo Garcia had a go from around 21 yards out, but his looping shot was grabbed just under the crossbar by Noah Scheidweiler and the two teams would go to the intermission scoreless.
 
The second half saw the Huskies get three solid chances on goal, with Ryan Okerayi having two ten minutes apart and Nico Kross another in the 78th minute, all stopped by Scheidweiler. The Cougars had narry a shot on goal in the second half until the 82nd minute when Evan Howard's attempt was stopped by Aitken.
 
As the game clock hit the 85th minute, the hosts earned a free kick. After a short touch, a long ball was played in by Carles Zomeno towards the left post, where Aitken and Hugo Cornish met simultaneously. The ball shot to the opposite post, where Zach Renz smashed it home for the game-winner.
 
HCU outshot the Cougars 12-9 and allowed just three shots on goal by the hosts, none bigger than the late winner. The Huskies earned seven corners to just two by SIUE, but couldn't convert in a hotly contested rematch of last year's double-overtime OVC Championship match.
 
Okerayi had three shots with two on goal and D'Alessandro Herrera had two and one. Alex Aitken made two saves and had his three-match scoreless stretch snapped.
 
Renz came off the bench to score the game-winner on his only shot of the night. Zomeno, Cornish and Evan Howard each had two shots for the Cougars. Noah Scheidweiler had five saves for SIUE, now 3-8-2 overall and 2-2-2 in conference play.
 
HCU sees its three-match winning streak snapped, falling to 8-4-1 overall and 3-2-1 in the league. The Huskies will now head to St. Charles, Missouri for a Sunday matinee with first-place Lindenwood. It will be the final road match for HCU, which then concludes the regular season with three straight fixtures at Sorrels Field. That stretch begins on Friday, October 24, with a rematch against arch-rival University of the Incarnate Word.
 
 
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