🆚 University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
📆 Thursday, October 1, 2026
⏰ 6:30 pm CT
🏟️ UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex – Edinburg, Texas
📺
WATCH
📈 LIVE STATS
🗒️GAME NOTES
Houston Christian University opens the month of October with its first Ohio Valley Conference road action of the season as it ventures to the Valley to take on longtime foe University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on Thursday night. Kick-off at UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex is slated for 6:30 pm, and the game is the first of a two-game road weekend for the Huskies.
HCU is now 3-4-2 overall on the season and 1-0-0 in OVC under Head Coach
Ryan Pratt, in his 10th season at the helm. The Huskies claimed the conference opener last Saturday at Sorrels Field, taking an impressive 2-1 decision over rival University of the Incarnate Word.
A very defensive first half then opened up as the second half progressed in the latest chapter between the two I-10 rivals with HCU's win knotting the all-time series with the Cardinals. The first 45 minutes saw just six shots total, with each team holding strong in their final third. The only shot on goal came from
Clarenns Sainrimat with 45 seconds remaining in the half, an attempt saved by Victor Salmeron.
It didn't take long for the second half to turn to a quicker pace. With just over six minutes gone,
Cezar Onut was clattered in the box, drawing a penalty after review.
Ryan Okerayi would put a laser into the bottom left corner, giving the Huskies the upper hand, 1-0.
HCU then put together five shots over the next 11 minutes, with Okerayi nearly doubling the lead in the 65th minute on a hot shot saved by Salmeron to his right. Exactly three minutes later, the lead would indeed double, as
Marcos Moore claimed a Okerayi header out of mid-air with a right-footed strike into the back of the net to put the hosts ahead by two in the 68th minute.
The Huskies outshot the Cardinals 16-6 on the evening, including 6-2 on goal while also earning seven corners to four for the visitors which included a 4-0 advantage in the second half. Okerayi put home his third goal of the year and recorded his second assist on Moore's first career tally.
Harvey Heeps made one stop on the night to earn his third win of the season.
This is the fourth year of men's soccer in the Ohio Valley Conference, and the Huskies are coming off a second straight runner-up finish. HCU went 11-5-3 overall in 2025 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. HCU is now 12-9-9 in three seasons in the OVC, including a 10-5-5 mark in league play over these past two runner-up seasons.
Through nine matches, the Huskies are still searching for some consistency on offense, as the two goals against UIW was just the second time this season with multiple scores in a game.
Ryan Okerayi lead the club with three goals, with
Callum Niven chipping in two and
Clarenns Sainrimat and
Nico Kross recording a goal each for HCU. Okerayi's goal against UIW was the 24th of his career as he ranks seventh all-time. He is now one assist away from the top 10 in that category while also ranking seventh in all-time points.
The defense, beleaguered by injuries much of the non-conference season, fought through a gauntlet of a non-conference schedule and looks to solidify itself as it gets healthy.
Nico Kross, an All-OVC first-team selection in 2025, has held down the backline and earned Defensive Player of the Week honors two weeks ago.
Hans Leza returned to the pitch against FGCU after missing four games, and he is now just 20 minutes away from the 5,000 mark for his career, ranking eighth in minutes played in program history.
Harvey Heeps has been solid in his debut season in the pipes after taking over from OVC Goalkeeper of the Year
Alex Aitken. He has 35 saves over the first nine matches, including a career-high nine against both then No. 5 SMU and Grand Canyon. He has been named Keeper of the Week twice and currently ranks second in both saves and saves per game in the league.
The match with UTRGV is the first of two straight on the weekend away from Fondren Road. Both HCU and UTRGV were foes in the WAC for eight years before the Huskies joined the OVC for its inaugural foray into men's soccer in 2023. Thursday night in Edinburg will mark the 27th all-time meeting, the most played series in HCU program history.
The Huskies lead the Vaqueros 14-9-3 in a series that dates all the way back to 1979. The two teams didn't play in 2023 with the series reconvening in 2024.
HCU has taken the last two matchups in dramatic fashion, both 1-0 wins secured by three-time All-OVC forward
Ryan Okerayi. His steal and smash in the 78th minute gave the Huskies a win in Houston in 2024, and he followed that up with an 88th minute penalty kick last season to steal one at the death in Edinburg.
Bryheem Hancock is now in his sixth season at the helm of the Vaqueros, who are 2-2-2 on the season overall and 0-0-1 in conference play after a scoreless stalemate at home against Lindenwood on Saturday night.
On offense, the Vaqueros have a trio of players with multiple goals, led by senior midfielder Mouhamed Pouye, who has seven total points on three goals and an assist. Junior forward Elias Taj and sophomore forward Sammy Jadid each have two goals apiece.
UTRGV puts sophomore Conrad Knight between the posts. He has started all six matches for the Vaqueros, making 16 total stops on 81 shots faced.
Following the tilt in the Valley, HCU will head to the Show Me State for a Sunday matinee in St. Charles with defending OVC champion Lindenwood. It will be the first of two meetings with the Lions, and first since the Lions took a double-overtime penalty shootout in the OVC title match last November.
#DawgsUp
