HOUSTON --- Houston Christian University secured its spot in the Ohio Valley Conference postseason tournament with a convincing 4-0 "Senior Day" win over UTRGV on Sunday at Sorrels Field. The win finishes off the regular season slate for the Huskies, who will now be the fourth seed in the tournament which begins next Sunday.
The two clubs battled to a scoreless deadlock with just UTRGV getting a couple of shots on goal, both saved by
Harvey Heeps. After a wave of substitutions just before the half hour on a warm and humid afternoon, the Huskies found their opening.
A recycling of play led to a ball on the wing to
Nana Obeng who found
Aidan Lopez in the middle of the pitch just past midfield. Lopez then threaded a pass through traffic to a breaking
Ryan Okerayi, whose soft touched slipped just past Conrad Knight for the games opening tally.
HCU didn't waste much time in the second frame at the opening of the second stanza. A long pass out of the back by
Harvey Heeps found Okerayi just past midfield, and his header made its way to
Aidan Lopez in the left channel. Lopez played himself through, and fed a strong pass over the top to Okerayi sprinting towards the box on the backside. Okerayi caught the pass in the air with a soft touch across the face of a sprawling Knight, doubling the HCU advantage just over seven minutes into the second 45.
The Vaqueros would make a few runs to try and get back into things and a shot by Eduardo De Oliveira was saved by Heeps nearing the 83rd minute. A few moments later, it was
Clarenns Sainrimat leading a 4v2 break from just before the halfway line and hitting
Marcos Moore in the middle of the field. Moore then took the ball inside the goal area and laced a shot to the bottom left corner for a insurmountable 3-0 HCU led with 4:57 remaining.
Moore would then assist on a fourth goal as another counter attack led to a lead for Jess Degeanaers, who blasted a shot off the post to cap off a sterling afternoon for the Huskies.
Ryan Okerayi had two goals for the Huskies in his swan-song at Sorrels Field, giving him six on the campaign.
Marcos Moore had his fifth goal of the season and added his second assist, while Degenaers scored his second goal of the campaign.
Aidan Lopez had two assists, while Sainrimat and
Nana Obeng each added a helper. It was the second straight season for Obeng to collect an assist on "Senior Day" as he recorded two last year.
Harvey Heeps registered his fourth clean sheet of the season, making three stops for HCU (6-7-5 overall | 4-3-3 OVC).
De Oliveira had two shots on goal for UTRGV, who complete their first season in the Ohio Valley Conference at 4-6-5 overall and 2-4-4 in league play.
HCU advances to its third consecutive OVC Tournament, being played for second straight year at Hunter Stadium at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri. The Huskies will take on Western Illinois in the first match of the tournament at 4 pm on Sunday, November 8. The winner will move on to face defending champion Lindenwood, the top-seed who along with SIUE earned first round byes.
OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE - TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
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