🆚 Eastern Illinois University
📆 Thursday, October 9, 2025
⏰ 7 pm CT
🏟️ Sorrels Field – Houston, Texas
📈 LIVE STATS  
🗒️ GAME PROGRAM   
 
Houston Christian University returns to Sorrels Field for the first time in over a month when it takes on Eastern Illinois University on Thursday evening. Kick-off is slated for 7 pm for the fourth conference match of the season and first on home turf.
 
The Huskies are coming off a spectacular Sunday evening in which they got a career-high 12 saves from Alex Aitken to gain a huge three points on the road with a 1-0 blanking of Liberty University. The victory helped the Huskies bounce back in a monumental way from a disappointing Thursday night loss and finish off a month-long trek away from home all even.
 
After a wide-open first half that produced nothing on the scoreboard, HCU came out of the intermission aggressive and earned two consecutive corner kicks. On the second, Ben Thirkill's outswing was met by Nico Kross with a shot off his left shoulder that rifled past the leaping Liberty keeper and into the top left corner, breaking the ice and giving the Huskies a 1-nil advantage just under four minutes into the second session.
 
The action ramped up even more following the goal, as the Flames looked to equalize and the Huskies sought after their second. Liberty peppered the pipes continuously and as the clock hit the 66th minute, Zach Lifferth laced a shot from the edge of the six right into the grill of Aitken, who batted it away. With 15 minutes remaining, Aitken made a spectacular one-handed parry of a left-footed blast by Elijah Joe at the top of the 18-yard box before making three more vital saves in the final minute to preserve the win.
 
Ryan Okerayi had four of HCU's 10 shots and put three of them on target. Alex Aitken was magnificent on this night, with his career-high 12 saves highlighting his fifth clean sheet of the campaign and 22nd career victory.
 
The win pushes HCU to 6-3-1 overall and evened the OVC ledger at 1-1-1 in Head Coach Ryan Pratt's ninth season at the helm and 12th season overall with the program. It was a fine way to conclude a season-long five-game stretch away from Sorrels Field that saw the Huskies go 2-2-1.
 
Leading the team with 11 points coming on a team-high five goals and one assist is Ryan Okerayi, having put 15 of his 24 total shots on goal thus far for a .625 SOG%. D'Alessandro Herrera and Joby Reid each have two goals for the Huskies, while Thirkill joined Reid for the team lead in assists with three. Nico Kross and Ron Pressler each have two helpers on the season.
 
Okerayi is tied for sixth in the OVC in points and is now tied for second in the league in goals with five. The Huskies have had eight players hit the back of the net this season and have a .473 SOG% as a team. HCU has three players in the top 10 for shots per game in Okerayi, Herrera and Reid, each at two or more. Reid and Thirkill are tied for ninth in the OVC in assists with three
 
Aitken leads the league with five clean sheets and not only moved back under a sub-one GAA for the season but into the top spots in the league with his 0.90 goals against average and .836 save percentage. The senior from Great Barford, England keeps climbing the career leaderboards at HCU, with his victory over Liberty on Sunday giving him 22 for his career which moved him past Christopher Dodd as the all-time leader since the program was restarted in 2006. He is part of a trio of keepers to amass over 200 saves and is now the all-time leader with 275. He needs one more clean sheet to match the top spot on the all-time charts.

Houston Christian University returns to Sorrels Field for the first time in over a month. The Huskies last played on home turf on September 7 against Oral Roberts and the tilt with the Panthers kicks off a stretch where the Huskies will play five of their final seven matches of the regular season on the home pitch.
 
EIU is led by head coach Ruy Vaz, now 1-6-2 overall in his initial campaign at the helm and 0-2-1 in OVC play. Senior midfielder Casey Welage leads the Panthers with two goals and an assist, while Adam Boykin, Shion Hayashi and Gui Gragnano have each added a goal. Junior keeper Franco Barba has manned the woodwork for all but one contest, making 49 saves.
 
The Huskies will be on Fondren Road again on Sunday afternoon when they face Western Illinois University at 3:30 pm as part of a doubleheader with the women, who tangle with rival University of the Incarnate Word in Southland Conference action at 1 pm.
 
 
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