HOUSTON – Houston Christian University got a score from Ryan Okerayi with just over 10 minutes to play to defeat visiting Gonzaga University 1-0 on Sunday evening at Houston Sports Park. The Huskies bounced back from a tough loss on Thursday to finish off a chaotic home stretch that saw the season opener canceled and the finale moved off campus due to weather.
 
After feeling their way around the first 10 minutes or so, the Huskies and Bulldogs each began to make some runs. The Zags managed three shots on goal in a seven-minute span, two from Alex Bazia, but all three were stopped by HCU's Alex Aitken.
 
The Huskies got a corner in the 34th minute, but a header by Nico Kross went just wide of the pipes. Ricardo Garcia then had two long range shots in the final nine minutes, the second from straightaway that just sailed over the crossbar as the teams headed to the break in a scoreless deadlock.
 
Gonzaga came out of the chute quickly to begin the second frame, as again it was Bazia putting one onto the mitts of Aitken diving to his left. The Huskies countered with several chances of their own. Jireh Oyebamiji had a fine chance saved by GU's Chema Preciado before Ryan Okerayi had two chances stopped, one by Preciado and one by the right woodwork representing the Huskies best opportunity to that point.
 
HCU kept up the pressure on the offensive end all the while clamping down the final third. Every run by the Zags was met by strong defensive play by the Huskies back line.
 
In the 80th minute, the Huskies earned a free kick just in front of their own bench. Ben Thirkill curled in a long entry that found Joby Reid just outside the goal box for a header that trickled down into traffic. The ball found the left foot of Ryan Okerayi who blasted it past Preciado for the breakthrough, putting HCU out front one-nil.
 
Ron Pressler would nearly double the score just two minutes later, but Preciado kept the Zags in it with a strong save. The Huskies continued their hard-nosed defensive effort for the remainder of the way to see out the result.
 
HCU posted its third straight match with double-figure shots, cranking out 13 with five on goal. Okerayi had three shots, two on target as well as his second tally of the season. Joby Reid picked up his third assist of the season while Thirkill notched his first career helper.

Alex Aitken, the school's leader in career saves, registered four on the back end of a staunch team defensive showing for his second clean sheet in three outings.
 
Bazia had three shots for the Zags, who split their Texas two-step after defeating UIW 1-0 on Thursday in San Antonio. Drew Pederson also had three shots and Preciado had four stops for Gonzaga (1-2-1).
 
HCU is now 2-1-0 on the season. The Huskies will be away for the first time this season when they head to California on Thursday to face UC-San Diego. The clash with the Tritons will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
 
 
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