HOUSTON – Houston Christian University secured a spot in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament with a hard-fought scoreless draw against visiting Liberty University on Thursday night at Sorrels Field.
 
The two teams engaged in a defensive slugfest from the outset, with neither team willing to budge. Ryan Okerayi got a good look early that was saved by LU's Tyler Beck. The Flames then put a couple of  good runs together that led to a pair of solid shots by Leo Conneh with both saved handily by Alex Aitken.
 
Santiago Maynez had a go in the 44th minute again saved by Beck. The Huskies then got one last attempt before the halftime horn, as Jireh Oyebamiji's point blank blast was guided away by Beck.
 
In the second frame, Zach Lifferth got on one just over four minutes in but again Aitken was up to the task. Aitken would turn away Conneh in the 70th minute, and parried away a shot from Sam Farner in the 81st. HCU got one last good look in the 88th minute, as Cezar Onut's shot went just wide left.
 
Liberty doubled up HCU in shot 12-6, but only five were on target, compared to three from the Huskies.
 
Alex Aitken picked up his league-leading eighth clean sheet of the season, tying his personal single-season best from a year ago. The senior's 20th career shutout came with five more saves, pulling him within three of becoming the first keeper in school history with 300.
 
Tyler Beck made three saves for Liberty (8-3-6, 4-1-4 OVC) while Conneh had five shots, three on target.
 
HCU goes to 9-5-2 on the season and 4-3-2 in the OVC. The draw with Liberty secures a spot for the Huskies in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament beginning November 9 in St. Charles, Missouri, which after two straight years at SIUE will be hosted by Lindenwood. The Lions captured the OVC regular season title after a 1-1 home draw with Eastern Illinois on Thursday evening.
 
The Huskies can still earn one of the top two seeds and a first-round bye in the tournament with a win on Sunday combined with a Liberty loss or draw to Incarnate Word on Sunday in San Antonio.
 
Sunday will mark the finale of the 2025 regular season, as the Huskies play a "Senior Day" matinee against Southern Indiana University. The HCU will recognize its five outgoing student athletes (Alex Aitken, D'Alessandro Herrera, Jireh Oyebamiji, Sebastian Rodriguez and Jordan Santa Cruz) with a short ceremony prior to the 1 pm kick-off.
 
 
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