Patrick Clark

MSOC: Huskies take on Eastern Illinois in OVC title match Saturday

11/13/2026 1:26:00 PM

HCU in third straight championship match looking for first conference title since 1985

🆚 Eastern Illinois University
📆 Saturday – November 14, 2026
⏰ 4 pm CT
🏟️ Hunter Stadium – St. Charles, Missouri
📺 ESPN+
📈 LIVE STATS
🗒️ GAME NOTES

Houston Christian University takes aim at the Ohio Valley Conference Championship when it plays Eastern Illinois University on Saturday afternoon at Hunter Stadium on the campus of Lindenwood University. The fourth-seeded Huskies and sixth-seed Panthers meet in the title match to provide the first non #1 vs. #2 matchup in the championship in league history.

Head Coach Ryan Pratt, now in his 10th season at the helm, has the Huskies at 7-7-6 overall following an exhilarating 2-1 win over host, top-seed and defending league champion Lindenwood on Wednesday. The victory puts the Huskies in the championship match for the third consecutive season and avenged a season-ending double-overtime, penalty shootout loss in the title match last year to the Lions.

HCU would get out on the front foot in the 14th minute when they earned a free kick just inside midfield. Henrik Sakshaug laid a beautiful 45-yard delivery to a leaping Marcos Moore who headed the ball over the top of LU goalkeeper Quinn Closson to hand the Huskies the early one-nil advantage.

Despite an onslaught of shots, the Huskies continued to hold the line until the 78th minute when LU's David Magalhaes put home a penalty kick that leveled the score to set up a wild and frantic last dozen minutes.

Lindenwood put two more towards the pipes, with Heeps saving a shot by Santiago Row in the 81st minute to preserve the tie. Likewise, a huge stop was made on the Huskies just into the 88th minute when Moore drove the goal line and laced a shot at the near post that Closson parried away.

That save led to a corner kick for the Huskies and on the entry into the box, Nico Kross was grabbed, falling to the floor. A VAR check resulted in a penalty kick for HCU, which Jess Degeanaers calmly deposited into the net to give the Huskies the go-ahead tally. HCU would see out the final two minutes to place themselves in the title match for the third straight season.

Moore's goal was his sixth of the campaign while Degenaers netted his third. Heeps had three saves to post his seventh win of the season.

The Huskies had five players named to the Ohio Valley Conference All-Conference teams, including Ricardo Garcia who was selected as the Midfielder of the Year. He was joined on the first team by Ryan Okerayi, who becomes the first player in league history to be named first-team four times. Nico Kross, Harvey Heeps and Marcos Moore earned second-team recognition, with Heeps and Moore being selected to the All-Newcomer team.

Okerayi continues to pace the club on offense, now with seven goals and six assists. He is second in the OVC in assists, tied for fifth in goals and third in points (20). He is one of just seven players in school history with 20 or more goals, as the goal on Sunday afternoon gave him 28 for his career.

Marcos Moore is now second on the club in goals, just ahead of the four from Clarenns Sainrimat. Degenaers has three goals and five assists, second on the club, while Lopez chips in a pair of scores and helpers as well. Callum Niven and Ricardo Garcia also have two goals.

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 68 saves through 20 matches, including a career-high nine against then No. 5 and now No. 1 SMU. He was named Keeper of the Week twice and has four clean sheets on the season. He ranks second in the OVC in saves, saves per game (3.40), shutouts and goals against (1.54) and third in save percentage (.684).

EASTERN ILLINOIS:

When the Huskies face Eastern Illinois on Saturday, both teams will be looking for their first-ever OVC title.

The Huskies advanced to the title match after upending defending champion Lindenwood 2-1. The Panthers moved on after dispatching of two-time OVC champion SIUE 2-1 in the other semifinal. The wins set up the first non 1 vs. 2 matchup in the final, as the Huskies are seeded fourth and the Panthers come in as the sixth-seed, also assuring a new champion in 2026.

A win for HCU would give them their fourth-ever conference title and first since 1985, when they won their third Trans America Conference title in four seasons. The Huskies are looking for a first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament, while Eastern Illinois is hunting their fourth, and first since 1983.

HCU and EIU have met seven times in total, with the Huskies holding a slim 4-3 lead in the all-time series after falling to the Panthers 3-1 in Charleston on October 18. After two EIU wins in the 1980's, HCU had won the previous four meetings with EIU since 2022, including three straight in OVC play before Eastern won the earlier meeting this year.

The Panthers come into Sunday's action at 6-9-4 overall and went 3-5-2 in conference play. EIU lost two in a row right after the win over HCU before pulling out a draw with SIEU on the final day to earn the last spot in the tournament.

EIU blasted No. 3 seed Incarnate Word 5-2 in the first round, then erased a 1-0 deficit four minutes in against SIUE in the semifinal's for a 2-1 win on Keidin Green's 70th minute winner.

Ruy Vaz, now in his second season with EIU, leads a club that ranks first in the league in scoring, averaging 2.05 goals per game.

Eastern Illinois has had 10 different players dent the scoring column, led by senior forward Sergei Misic and junior forward Green who are second and third in the league in goals with nine and eight, respectively. Misic, Green, junior midfielder Bernardo Hanel and junior forward Shuto Ishikawa all have a team-high four assists.

Junior keeper Kai Odagiri has made 14 starts and is 6-6-2 overall in the pipes. He has made 45 saves with a 1.79 goals against average.

OTHER NOTES:

HCU was the first lower-seeded team (then joined by Eastern Illinois) to ever make the OVC Tournament final. They were the first-ever lower-seeded team (again joined by EIU) to score a goal in the semifinals in the history of the tournament.
HCU has now made three straight OVC championship appearances, more than any other team in the league. The Huskies missed the inaugural OVC Tournament of 2023
This is the fourth straight season for a Texas school to make the championship final, as UIW made it in 2023, losing to SIUE 1-0.
HCU is searching for its first conference title since winning the Trans America Conference in 1985. That title was the third in four years for the Huskies which was part of a five-year run from 1981-85 under former head coach David Swonke in which HCU posted a 64-15-6 record.
Ryan Okerayi is the first player in league history to be named first team All-OVC four consecutive years. He is the first HCU player named with first-team honors in the same conference since Carlos Gil was a four-time first-team All-Trans America selection from 1982-85.
Hans Leza now sits in 2nd all-time at HCU in minutes played with 5,954 and with 46 more would become just the second player in school history to log 6,000+ minutes. He has now played in 71 career matches for the Huskies (6th all-time) with 69 starts (5th all-time), including going the distance 52 times. He started 38 straight matches to begin his career.
When he stepped on the pitch for the Huskies against Lindenwood in the semifinals, it marked the 76th appearance of Ricardo Garcia's career, breaking the tie for 1st and making him alone the all-time leader in games played at HCU.
Garcia has moved up to 7th place all-time in minutes with 5,459, right behind Ryan Okerayi, who now sits in 5th place at 5,572.
A first-team All-OVC selection in 2025 and second-team choice in 2026, Nico Kross has gone the distance 26 times in 34 total appearances with HCU.
Saturday's match is the 21st of the season, breaking the school record of 20 set just once, in 2024. That means the next start for Ricardo Garcia, Harvey Heeps and Ryan Okerayi would put them at 21 for the campaign and set the program record for a single season in starts and appearance. Jess Degenaers and Aidan Lopez are also sitting on 20 total appearances for the campaign.