🆚 Western Illinois University
📆 Thursday, October 15, 2026
⏰ 12 pm CT
🏟️ Sorrels Field – Houston, Texas
📺
WATCH
📈 LIVE STATS
🗒 ️GAME NOTES
Houston Christian University kicks off its longest road stretch of the season with a noon showdown on Thursday against Western Illinois. The match at John Mackenzie Alumni Stadium in Macomb, Illinois begins four straight away from home for the Huskies over the next two weeks.
HCU, is led by Head Coach
Ryan Pratt, now in his 10th season at the helm. The Huskies are now 3-5-4 overall and 1-1-2 in conference play after a late rally on Sunday afternoon fell short in a 2-1 defeat to Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville.
The game saw just five shots on goal, despite HCU holding a 16-6 advantage in total shots. SIUE made the most of their six attempts with three on goal and two hitting the back of the net.
SIUE broke the ice two seconds shy of the 25th minute as a quick pass from Elliott Forestier found Ryley Gibbs for a one-timer and a 1-0 lead. That edge would hold through intermission and on past the hour mark until Gibbs corner kick found Mathias Clausen for a header in the box that doubled the visitors lead.
HCU pulled one back in the 73rd minute when a corner entry from
Jess Degenaers was poked home by
Leo Makatta to make the count 2-1. The Huskies had several solid chances to knot things up in the final 15 minutes, but couldn't get one to go as the Cougars fled Fondren Road with the full result.
Makatta opened his HCU account on three shots total and Degenaers recorded his first career helper for the Huskies.
Ryan Okerayi led the Huskies with four shots while
Harvey Heeps made one save.
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 entered the campaign with a 12-9-9 over the first three seasons in the OVC, including a 10-5-5 mark in league play over these past two runner-up seasons.
Through 11 matches,
Ryan Okerayi leads the club with three goals and four assists. He is currently eighth in the OVC in goals, while ranking second in assists and seventh in total points. Okerayi's goal against UIW on September 26 was the 24th of his career and he ranks seventh all-time. His assist against USI moved him into a tie for eighth place all-time in that category and he also ranks seventh in all-time points.
Marcos Moore and
Callum Niven each have a pair of goals this season with Aiden Lopez,
Clarenns Sainrimat,
Leo Makatta and
Nico Kross chipping in a goal apiece.
Senior defender
Hans Leza, a mainstay on the backline for HCU for four seasons, has passed the 5,000 minutes-played mark for his career. He now sits at 5,250 minutes for his career with the next minute he plays putting him in fourth place all-time. He has appeared in 63 matches with 61 starts for the Huskies, and is closing in on the Top 10 in both of those categories as well.
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 41 saves through 11 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, second in save percentage and shutouts and third in goals against average.
The Huskies will now embark on a four-match road stretch that begins in the Land of Lincoln with a pair of matches on Thursday and Saturday against Western Illinois University and Eastern Illinois University.
HCU and WIU have played just four times in their history with the Huskies leading the series 2-1-1. The first meeting was in Macomb in 1985, a 2-2 draw. Since, there have been just a trio of matches between the two schools, all coming in OVC play. The Huskies won 3-0 in 2024 in Houston, and the Huskies and Leathernecks split a pair last year, both winning on their own turf by a one-nil scoreline.
Kooten Johnson is in his second season at the helm of his alma mater. The former All-Conference standout took over for his father, longtime head coach Dr. Eric Johnson. The Leathernecks are currently 4-6-3 overall and 2-2-1 in the OVC, one of three teams tied for third with seven points, just ahead of HCU.
The Leathernecks are paced on offense by senior standout forward Xavier Gagnon. His six goals leads a team that has seen 11 different players hit the back of the net. George Frost, a junior midfielder, sits right behind with five goals while graduate forward Jack Schwering is the club leader in helpers with five.
Junior keeper Harvey Bolland has started 12 of WIU's 13 matches. He is 3-5-2 overall with 29 saves and a 1.66 GAA and was named OVC Goalkeeper of the Week for his efforts last week as Western tied Lindenwood 1-1 on Sunday following a 4-1 win over rival Eastern Illinois last Thursday.
HCU will cross the state over to Charleston for another matinee on Sunday as it faces Eastern Illinois University. Kick-off at Lakeside Stadium is set for 2 pm.
#DawgsUp
