🆚 UC San Diego
📆 Thursday, August 27, 2026
⏰ 7:30 pm
🏟️ Sorrels Field – Houston, Texas
📺
WATCH ESPN+
📈 LIVE STATS
🗒️ GAME PROGRAM
HOUSTON – Houston Christian University completes a season-opening three match homestand on Thursday night when it hosts UC San Diego at Sorrels Field. The clash with the Tritons is scheduled for a 7:30 pm kick-off and is the second half of a doubleheader with the HCU women, who host Louisiana Tech at 5 pm.
HCU put its first victory on the ledger for the 2026 campaign on Sunday night, earning a 1-0 victory over UMass Lowell with an outstanding defensive effort and a late penalty score by
Ryan Okerayi.
Okerayi was dragged down in the box in the 75th minute and calmly slotted home the game-winner from the spot and HCU would see out the win. It was the eighth game-winner in the career of Okerayi, four of which have come in the 75th minute or later.
Harvey Heeps was the beneficiary of an HCU defense that allowed just one shot on target on the evening, giving the redshirt freshman his first career clean sheet.
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 Tritons, with the only other encounter coming last year in San Diego. HCU came out of that match with a 2-0 victory, highlighted by a penalty score from Okerayi.
UCSD is 1-0 on the season, opening the slate with a 7-0 victory over Navy at home. The Tritons are led by Jon Pascale, now in his 19th year as the head coach.
The Tritons are paced by junior forward Ryan Namdar and grad midfielder Oren Stuppel, each of whom scored a pair of goals in the opener. Sophomore Nic Thiele returns in the pipes for UCSD after going 2-3-3 with two shutouts last year, earning the clean sheet against Navy last Thursday.
HCU will head to the highway for its first road match of the season next Monday, August 31 when it travels to Dallas to take on No. 5 ranked SMU. The Mustangs, who are 2-0 on the season after victories over Stetson and then No. 4 ranked Saint Louis, face Loyola Marymount on Friday evening prior to hosting the Huskies.
#DawgsUp
