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Follow @hcu_menssoccer<\/a> <\/p>\n \ud83c\udd9a University of Southern Indiana
\n\ud83d\udcc6 Thursday, October 8, 2026
\n\u23f0 7:30 pm CT
\n\ud83c\udfdf\ufe0f Sorrels Field \u2013 Houston, Texas
\n\ud83d\udcfa WATCH<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n\ud83d\udcc8\u00a0LIVE STATS<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n\ud83d\uddd2\ufe0f\u00a0GAME NOTES<\/a>
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\nHouston Christian University opens up a two-match homestand on Thursday night as it welcomes University of Southern Indiana to Sorrels Field. The match is slated for a 7:30 pm start as the back-end of a doubleheader on Fondren Road with the HCU women, who host Southeastern Louisiana University at 5 pm.
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\nHCU, is led by Head Coach Ryan Pratt<\/a>, now in his 10th season at the helm. The Huskies are now 3-4-3 overall and 1-0-1 in OVC play as they earned a valuable road point with a hard-fought 1-1 draw at defending OVC champion Lindenwood on Sunday afternoon.
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\nThe Lions outshot the Huskies 5-1 in the first half as the two went to the intermission scoreless. With a solid tempo established, the two battled evenly again in the second frame, with LU holding a 4-3 lead in shots and earned five corners to just one for HCU. Just into the 71st minute, the Huskies broke the ice.
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\nAiden Lopez put together a splendid run to the center of the final third, and Ryan Okerayi<\/a> fed a beautiful lead pass through two defenders. Lopez claimed the give and snuck a left-footed poke to the bottom corner just to the right of LU keeper Quinn Clossen.
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\nThe defending champs came right back with an equalizer just over four minutes later. A corner entry from Eddy Mwanje was headed with a swift glance by Clement Baron, drawing the hosts level with just 15 to play. Mwanje would put a shot on in the 78th minute but it was batted away by HCU keeper Harvey Heeps<\/a>. The Huskies got one more look late for a winner, but Santiago Maynez’s<\/a> shot went awry.
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\nIt was just another chapter in what has become a solid rivalry between the two schools. The sixth overall meeting was the fourth to end in a 1-1 draw with each team having one just once. Heeps made three saves for the Huskies while Lopez opened his HCU account with the first score of his career.
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\nThis 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.
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\nThrough 10 matches, Ryan Okerayi<\/a> lead the club with three goals and three assists. Callum Niven<\/a> has chipped in two with Aiden Lopez joining Clarenns Sainrimat<\/a> and Nico Kross<\/a> with a goal each for HCU.
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\nOkerayi’s goal against UIW was the 24th of his career as he ranks seventh all-time. His assist moved him into the top 10 all-time in that category while he also ranking seventh in all-time points.
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\nNico Kross<\/a>, an All-OVC first-team selection in 2025, has held down the backline through an injury-plagued first half of the campaign. Hans Leza<\/a> returned to the pitch against FGCU after missing four games, and he is passed the 5,000 minutes-played mark for his career, moving 64 minutes shy of fifth place all-time.
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\nHarvey Heeps<\/a> has been solid in his debut season in the pipes after taking over from OVC Goalkeeper of the Year Alex Aitken<\/a>. He has 38 saves over the first nine matches, including a career-high nine against then No. 5 and now No. 1 SMU and also 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.
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\nHCU starts its homestand with University of Southern Indiana. The Huskies and Eagles have met four times, with HCU holding a 2-1-1 lead in the series, all coming in Ohio Valley Conference action.
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\nThe two teams split a pair of matchups last year, with the Eagles winning 4-1 in Evansville before the Huskies got their revenge in the season finale, a 5-1 “Senior Day” victory highlighted by the first two career goals for Jireh Oyebamiji<\/a>.
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\nUSI is led by first-year head coach Mads Kaiser. The Eagles returned a solid class but got off to a slow start, finally winning their first game of the season this past Sunday, a 3-1 win at Western Illinois. The Eagles are paced by a bevy of sophomore returnees. Midfielder Nolan Stevens leads the team with three goals, all coming in the last week, while forwards Edin Cvorovic and Brian Novillo each have a pair of goals.
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\nMidfielder Tony Murphy, last year’s leader in assists with five, has three this season to lead the club. Jacob English returns in the pipes after a solid freshman campaign. He has started eight games and has 42 saves. Senior Kael McGowan stepped in for his second start of the campaign on Sunday against Western Illinois, leading the Eagles to the win with 11 saves.
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\nHCU completes the quick two-match stay on Fondren Road when they host SIUE for a Sunday matinee. The Cougars won the first two OVC titles and hit Sorrels Field for a 1 pm kick-off.
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\n#DawgsUp
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