Houston Christian University Head Coach
Ryan Pratt announced on Thursday afternoon the complete
2026 season schedule, in conjunction with the Ohio Valley Conference releasing its schedule. The Huskies will open with a pair of home exhibition matches prior to the season opener against Jacksonville University on August 20.
The Huskies are coming off an 11-5-3 mark overall and a 5-3-2 ledger in the league, its third in the Ohio Valley Conference. HCU advanced for the second straight year to the OVC championship match, both of which have gone double-overtime.
Half of HCU's 18-match slate will be played at home on Sorrels Field. That includes a season-opening three-match homestand against Jacksonville, UMass-Lowell and UC San Diego. HCU will then embark on a three-match road swing, first heading north up 45 to Dallas to take on SMU before the annual trip west for matches against Cal State Northridge and Grand Canyon.
Florida Gulf Coast hits Fondren Road for the final non-conference home match on September 16, and the Huskies will face longtime foe Oral Roberts in Tulsa in the final non-conference road match three days later. Conference action begins on September 26 with a match against longtime rival Incarnate Word on Fondren Road.
The
2026 campaign marks the fourth season of men's soccer in the OVC. Eight teams will once again compete for the league title with one swap of members, as UTRGV replaces Liberty University.
The league will once again feature a 10-game league schedule for all teams. Separated into two four-team pods, all teams play home and away against the other three teams in their pod with a single contest against each of the teams in the opposite pod. The winners of the two pods will receive the top two seeds and automatic first-round byes in the postseason tournament. HCU has earned a spot in the top two the past two seasons.
Both pods undergo change for the upcoming season. Last year's champion Lindenwood and SIUE, which won the first two OVC titles, will switch pods, with LU joining the three Texas schools, HCU, UIW and UTRGV. SIUE will now join Southern Indiana, Eastern Illinois and Western Illinois.
The OVC Men's Soccer Championship will take place November 8, 11 & 14 in St. Charles, Missouri on the campus of Lindenwood University. It marks the second straight season to be hosted by the Lions, who defeated
HCU on penalty kicks in the championship final, the first time in the league's history for the game to be decided in a shootout.
The Huskies recorded the most victories in a single season since the 1990 team won 14 and are now 10-5-5 in league play over the past two seasons.
Ryan Pratt enters his 10th season as the head coach of the Huskies, his 13th overall with the program. The Huskies return 19 players including All-OVC selections
Ryan Okerayi,
Nico Kross and
Ricardo Garcia.
HCU will have 14 newcomers, eight transfers and six rookies, joining the fray come Fall.
The
Huskies claimed half of the OVC's six major awards in 2025 and for the second straight season had seven players earn honors.
D'Alessandro Herrera was named Midfielder of the Year for the second time,
Alex Aitken collected Goalkeeper of the Year honors and
Joby Reid was named Freshman of the Year, the third straight season for HCU to claim that honor.
Ryan Okerayi and
Nico Kross joined Herrera and Aitken on the All-OVC first team, with
Ricardo Garcia being named to the scond team. Reid and
Ben Thirkill were selected to the All-Freshman squad.
Herrera
signed to play for the Houston Dynamo 2 in January. The Dynamo currently reside atop the Western Conference in the MLS Next Pro table.
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