🆚 Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville
📆 Sunday, October 11, 2026
⏰ 1 pm CT
🏟️ Sorrels Field – Houston, Texas
📈 LIVE STATS
🗒️ GAME NOTES
Houston Christian University finishes up a quick two-match homestand when it hosts Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville in a Sunday matinee at Sorrels Field. Kick-off against the two-time Ohio Valley Conference champions is set for 1 pm.
HCU, is led by Head Coach
Ryan Pratt, now in his 10th season at the helm. The Huskies are now 3-4- overall and 1-0-2 in conference play after rallying for a second-half equalizer and a 1-1 draw with University of Southern Indiana on Thursday night at Sorrels Field.
The Huskies thought they had their breakthrough but a point-blank poke from
Ryan Okerayi in the 26th minute was diverted by 6'6 USI keeper Kael McGowan. Just over 10 minutes later, it was the Eagles who were screaming, as a centering pass from Tony Murphy found its way to Jimmy Murphy, who slotted it home to break the ice and hand USI a 1-0 lead with 10 to play in the first frame.
After 15 minutes of back-and-forth coming out of intermission, HCU would finally find the back of the net just past the hour mark. A beautiful build-up ended with a lead from Okerayi to the right channel finding
Andrew Dillett. Dillett took a touch and laced a clean centering pass that ended on the left foot of a sliding
Marcos Moore, knotting the score a one-apiece with half an hour still to go.
USI would get another crack 10 minutes later, but a shot from Tony Murphy was batted away by HCU keeper
Harvey Heeps. The Huskies got several looks down the stretch, but could not find the go-ahead, leaving the teams just as they had started 90 minutes prior.
HCU finished with a 16-6 edge in shots, 4-3 on goal while earning six corners to just two for the visitors from Evansville. Moore collected his second goal of the campaign. Okerayi had two shots on goal to go with his fourth assist of the season while freshman Dillett had a splendid first start for HCU, playing 83 minutes and recording his first career assist. Heeps made two saves for the Huskies.
This is the fourth year of men's soccer in the Ohio Valley Conference, and the Huskies are coming off a second straight runner-up finish. HCU went 11-5-3 overall in 2025 and advanced to the OVC title match where it fell at Lindenwood to the Lions in a penalty kick shootout. It was the most victories in a single season since the 1990 team won 14. HCU is now 12-9-9 in three seasons in the OVC, including a 10-5-5 mark in league play over these past two runner-up seasons.
Through 10 matches,
Ryan Okerayi leads the club with three goals and four assists. He is currently eight in the OVC in goals, while ranking second in assists and fifth in total points. Okerayi's goal against UIW was the 24th of his career as he ranks seventh all-time. His assist against USI moved him into a tie in eighth place all-time in that category while he also ranks seventh in all-time points.
Marcos Moore and
Callum Niven each have a pair with Aiden Lopez,
Clarenns Sainrimat and
Nico Kross chipping in a goal apiece.
Hans Leza returned to the pitch against FGCU after missing four games and he has passed the 5,000 minutes-played mark for his career. His 5,160 minutes is just 91 shy of fourth place all-time.
Harvey Heeps has been solid in his debut season in the pipes after taking over from OVC Goalkeeper of the Year
Alex Aitken. The redshirt freshman has 40 saves through 10 matches, including a career-high nine against then No. 5 and now No. 1 SMU. He has been named Keeper of the Week twice and currently ranks first in the league in both saves and saves per game, and second in save percentage.
The two-match homestand comes to a close on Sunday afternoon against the two-time OVC champion. The Cougars come into play at 4-5-2 overall and 2-1-1 in the OVC after Thursday night's 1-1 draw with UIW in San Antonio.
SIUE, under the direction of eighth-year head coach Cale Wasserman, won the first two Ohio Valley Conference titles in 2023 and 2024 before falling in the semifinals last year. The 2024 final was won on a golden goal in the second overtime as the Cougars knocked off the Huskies 3-2 in Edwardsville. The Huskies and Cougars are the only two teams in the league to have played in two conference title matches.
The two teams have met four times total, with SIUE holding a 3-1 advantage in the series. The Huskies handed SIUE their first-ever OVC defeat in 2024, snapping a 16-match unbeaten streak to start league play for the Cougars. SIUE handed HCU a 1-0 defeat last year in Edwardsville on an 86th minute winner.
Junior forward Ryley Gibbs leads the SIUE offense with four goals. Junior midfielder Dom Bartoni and senior defender Archie McDonnel each have two goals.
The Cougars have employed three keepers this season, with freshman Brady Cochrance starting the last three matches with a 1-1-1 mark and 13 saves. Junior Ioannis Koupepides has a 3-3-1 record with 21 saves in seven matches.
Following Sunday's matinee, HCU will leave the friendly confines of Fondren Road for what now will be a four-match road stretch, what with the rescheduling of the October 1 suspended match at UTRGV.
HCU will head to the Land of Lincoln to start the road swing, facing Western Illinois University and Eastern Illinois University next Thursday and Saturday.
The trip then sees the Huskies make the trip back down to the valley to face the Vaqueros, with the two teams picking up at the 23:18 mark of the first half and the hosts holding a 1-0 lead. The final road match of the regular season against arch-rival UIW, has been moved from Friday, October 23 to Sunday, October 25 to accommodate the completion of the suspended match.
#DawgsUp
