SAN ANTONIO, Texas --- Houston Christian University exploded for four unanswered goals over a 14-minute span in the second half, racing to a 5-2 victory over rival University of the Incarnate Word on Sunday evening at Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium.
Incarnate Word put the first tally on the board 20 minutes into the evening. A corner entry by Evan Kraenzel found Reagan Gyedu in the box and his header to the top of the goal whisked past
Harvey Heeps for the breakthrough, giving the hosts a one-nil advantage.
HCU would knot things up in the 38th minute off a corner of their own. The entry got bounced around several times in the area before Marcus Moore centered a pass from near the left endline.
Ricardo Garcia reached out to poke the ball home and level the score at 1-1.
The tie lasted a little under five minutes as again it was UIW making use of a corner piece. The ball got bounded out to the opposite wing where it was immediately sent back into the area by Angel Mercado. Jaylen Williams rose up for a quick header to push the Cardinals back up by one heading into the break.
HCU stepped up the pressure after the intermission, and it paid off just past the hour mark.
Marcos Moore went on a run down the left hash and was clipped from behind in the box.
Jess Degenaers calmly converted the penalty kick to level the match at the 63:28 mark.
The aggressiveness continued as HCU looked for the go-ahead. Degenaers led a charge down the right flank, and his entry across the pitch found
Clarenns Sainrimat on the wing. Sainrimat then laced home a screamer from long range past Victor Salmeron to push the Huskies to their first advantage of the night, 3-2.
The Huskies continued to press the issue looking for insurance against their red-hot rivals. A run up the right side led to another strong entry by Degenaers, whose pass was redirected by
Ryan Okerayi to Sainrimat, who smashed home the finish from close range and a 4-2 lead.
Marcos Moore would get in on the act moments later. Degenaers lofted a smooth lead pass to the box that Moore stuck home leaning on the run, giving the Huskies a 5-2 cushion.
HCU put up 14 shots with eight coming on target, seven in the second half. The Huskies turned around 1-0 and 2-1 deficits with the offensive outburst in the second half, scoring four times within 14 minutes to take control and snap a five-match unbeaten run for the Cardinals.
The five goals was a season-high for the Huskies, who secured their first win in San Antonio since 2018. It was the first time in the last four meetings at UIW that the match has not ended in a draw.
Clarenns Sainrimat secured his second career brace, his first with the Huskies.
Ricardo Garcia opened the scoring for the Huskies with his second goal in as many games.
Jess Degenaers turned in a career night as he opened his account with his first career goal and added three assists, which tied him with Thilo Borgmann (2014 at Oral Roberts) and Darrell Johnson (2016 at UTRGV) for the single-game program record.
Marcos Moore had a goal and an assist,
Ryan Okerayi added his team-best sixth helper of the season and
Harvey Heeps made three saves for the Huskies in the pipes.
UIW (5-7-2 / 4-3-1 OVC) was led by goals from Reagan Gyedu and Jaylen Williams. Victor Salmeron made three saves for the Cardinals, who put up nine total shots, five coming on goal.
HCU moves to 5-6-5 overall and to 3-2-3 in OVC play. The victory moves the Huskies into fourth place in the OVC standings, once point behind UIW in third, with two matches left in the regular season. HCU returns home to Fondren Road for both of those contests, beginning with a Thursday night tilt against defending champion Lindenwood University, who sit in second place in the table. Kick-off at Sorrels Field is set for 7 pm.
#DawgsUp
