🆚 UMass Lowell
📆 Sunday, August 23, 2026
⏰ 7:00 pm
🏟️ Sorrels Field – Houston, Texas
📈 LIVE STATS
🗒️ GAME PROGRAM
HOUSTON – Houston Christian University returns to action for the second leg of a season-opening three-match homestand when it hosts UMass Lowell on Sunday night at Sorrels Field. Kick-off is slated for 7 pm.
HCU opened its 2026 campaign with a tough 2-0 defeat to Jacksonville University on Thursday night at Sorrels Field. A scoreless tie at the half was broken by a penalty kick early in the second session of a feisty and physical matchup on Fondren Road.
Each team got of three shots during a very well-paced opening 45 minutes. Things changed early in the second half, as the Dolphins pushed the tempo from the start, looking for the breakthrough. That tally would come just into the 53rd minute when a tussle near the top of the box was ruled a penalty on HCU, sending Matias Tobon to the spot. He calmly put his kick to the back of the net to give the visitors their opening goal of the season.
The Huskies nearly equalized in the 70th minute when
Noah Fernandes strike from just left of the box to the far post was snagged by JU's Simen Havig. Six minutes later,
Ryan Okerayi put a blast onto the left corner that was just knocked away by Havig to preserve the one-goal advantage.
As the clock hit 81 minutes, the Dolphins got out on a break. Dante Wright took a ball up from the left channel and slithered a pass through the defense to an awaiting Mathias Mjaavatn near the top of the box. His shot screamed past a diving Heeps to give Jacksonville a two-goal margin.
Okerayi led the Huskies with three shots, one on goal, while Fernandes had two shots on goal. HCU had 10 shots total with four on goal, but the Dolphins were just a tad more efficient, placing four of their six total shots on target.
Harvey Heeps had two saves in his HCU debut in the pipes.
The Huskies are coming off a second straight runner-up finish in the Ohio Valley Conference. HCU went 11-5-3 overall 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 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 was tabbed to finish second in the Ohio Valley Conference preseason poll. The Huskies received three first place votes and tied with SIUE for the second spot, right behind defending league champ Lindenwood, who received 11 first place votes.
In addition,
Ryan Okerayi was named as one of eight "Players to Watch" in the league. The 2026 campaign marks the fourth season of men's soccer for the OVC. Eight teams will once again compete for the league title with one swap of members, as UTRGV replaces Liberty University.
This is just the second all-time meeting between the Huskies and River Hawks, with the only other meeting coming last year. UML snuck out of Sorrels with a 1-0 win despite an extremely offensive display from HCU, who pounded out 22 total shots, including nine on target with nothing to show.
UML is currently 0-0-1 on the season after earning a draw in San Antonio on Thursday night in their season opener at Incarnate Word. A score just moments before the half by Santiago Somorostro gave the River Hawks the lead, but UIW equalized in the second half and held on for the tie.
UMass Lowell is led by Kyle Zenoni, now in his fifth season. Last year the the River Hawks finished 7-7-4 overall and they return four players who scored two goals each last season in Linus Musielak, Justin Pham, Ethan Young and Alex Champagne. Transfer keeper Moritz Ae made five saves in his debut for UML, allowing the one goal on seven total shots.
The stay on Fondren Road will conclude when the Huskies welcome UC San Diego on Thursday. The third and final match of the homestand will be another twin-bill with the HCU women.
HCU plays its first road match of the season at No. 15 ranked SMU on August 31.
#DawgsUp
