• OVC Men’s Soccer Report – October 22 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Friday, October 25
*Liberty at Lindenwood, 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 26
*Southern Indiana at Eastern Illinois, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Western Illinois at SIUE, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*HCU at UIW, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
OVC Players of the Week
OFFENSIVE
Michael Huss, F • 6-2, 175, Sr. • Phoenix, Ariz. • Liberty
Huss has his second six-point game of the season on Sunday, recording two goals and two assists in a 5-0 victory over Southern Indiana. He scored what proved to be the game-winning goal 2:56 into the contest and added his second goal in the 65th minute. The senior assisted on the second and fourth goals of the game for the Flames. All four of his shots in the game were on goal. Huss, who leads the OVC with 10 goals this season, ranks ninth nationally in total goals, 14th in total points (22) and points/game (1.69), 15th in goals/game (0.77) and 16th in game-winning goals (3)
Others Nominated: Ryan Okerayi, HCU; Ethan Blake, Lindenwood; Sello Diphoko, UIW; Henry Abarca-Gonzalez, Western Illinois.
CO-DEFENSIVE
Theo Butterworth, D • 6-0, 175, Fr. • The Hague, Netherlands • HCU
Butterworth anchored the HCU defense as the team tied Lindenwood and handed SIUE its first Conference loss of the season last week. The freshman played all 180 minutes, and the team allowed only one goal. Sunday's shutout of SIUE marked the team's fourth clean sheet in seven League games. Butterworth won several crucial headers and was instrumental in helping direct the defense.
CO-DEFENSIVE
Carlos Trott, D • 6-3, 185, Sr. • Campo Bom, Brazil • Liberty
The center defender played solid defense as Liberty recorded a pair of shutouts last week to move to within one point out of first place. Trott played all 180 minutes as the Flames blanked Eastern Illinois and Southern Indiana, allowing only three shots on goal over the two matches.
Others Nominated: Wes Gibson, SIUE; Dylan Navarijo, UIW.
GOALKEEPER
Alex Aitken, GK • 6-0, 180, Jr. • Great Barford, Bedfordshire, England • HCU
Aitken earned his second Goalkeeper of the Week honor of the season after recording a 1-0-1 record, including a draw with Lindenwood and a victory over SIUE to help propel HCU into a tie for first place with three matches to play. After a tie Thursday, he recorded his fifth clean sheet of the season (fourth in league play) in Sunday's 1-0 win over SIUE (the Cougars first OVC loss in two years). Aitken made five saves while facing 12 shots; he needs just 12 more saves to move into second place in school history. The junior ranks 17th nationally in save percentage (81.7%), 22nd in shutouts (5) and 25th in G.A.A. (0.846).
Others Nominated: Rob Gjelaj, SIUE; Alejandro De La Torre, UIW.
Other Notable Performances
Below are other notable performances from the past week.
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Ethan Blake (F, Sr.), Lindenwood. Scored two goals in Lindenwood's Texas road trip last week. Entering the week he has now scored a goal in three-straight and five of his last six matches. He leads the Lions with seven goals this season.
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Ryan Okerayi (F, So.), HCU. Scored the game-winning goal against SIUE, connecting three minutes into the second half. He added an assist in Thursday's draw with Lindenwood.
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Henry Abarca-Gonzalez (MF, Fr.), Western Illinois. In a victory over Southern Indiana, the freshman assisted on the game-winning goal in the 81st minute and then seven minutes later scored a goal to ice the victory. It marked his first career points.
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Wes Gibson (D, Grad.), SIUE. Gibson played all 180 minutes in two road matches, producing a 0-0 draw on Thursday at UIW. He has played all but eight minutes in seven OVC games this season.
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Rob Gjelaj (GK, Grad.), SIUE. The graduate made nine saves over two matches including netting his league-leading seventh shutout on Thursday at UIW. Made three saves vs. HCU on Sunday.
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Alejandro De La Torre (GK, Grad.), UIW. Made nine saves as UIW had a pair of draws during the week. Helped SIUE scoreless to begin the week. Against Lindenwood made a game-saving stop on a penalty kick in the 86th minute.
Notes From Around the League
Highlights From Around the League: There are just three matches left in the regular season, with each team playing once this week and twice the final week of the regular season ... HCU handed SIUE its first loss in two years of league play on Sunday, to improve to 5-1-1 overall and put the two teams into a first-place tie ... HCU's seven wins overall and five Conference wins are its most since 2019; the Huskies are unbeaten its last four matches (3-0-1) and 6-1-3 in its last 10 matches overall ... Liberty is just one point back after two victories last week; the Flames have scored 14 goals in three home OVC contests this season ... In national rankings, Liberty ranks sixth in scoring offense (2.38 goals/game), eighth in goal differential (+17), ninth in points/game (7.0) and 18th in assists/game (2.23) ... SIUE is fourth nationally in save percentage (84.9%), fifth in shot accuracy (50.6%, 10th in saves/game (5.21) and 13th in shutout percentage (50.0%) ... Eastern Illinois is fourth nationally in saves (5.92/game) while UIW is first in shot accuracy (55.2%) and 10th on shots on goal/game (6.92) ... Individually, Liberty's Michael Huss is ninth in shot accuracy (62.5%) and total goals (10), 14th in points/game (1.69) and 15th in goals/game (0.77) ... SIUE's Rob Gjelaj is fourth in shutouts (7), seventh in save percentage (82.95), ninth in total saves (63) and 13th in saves/game (4.5).
Second Season of OVC Men's Soccer: This year marks the second season of OVC men's soccer, which was announced as the league's 19th sport in March 2023. Five OVC institutions currently field men’s soccer teams: Eastern Illinois, Lindenwood, SIUE, Southern Indiana and Western Illinois. In addition, Houston Christian (HCU), Incarnate Word (UIW) and Liberty are affiliate members, giving the OVC eight men’s soccer programs. This is the first year for WIU in the league (they competed in the Summit League last season).
All Teams Eligible for OVC Tournament: Both reclassifying teams, Lindenwood and Southern Indiana, are eligible to compete and win the OVC Tournament Championship this season. Should a transitioning school win an OVC Tournament Championship, the AQ shall be awarded to the tournament runner-up. Should the tournament runner-up also be a transitioning school, the AQ representative shall be the semifinalist that had the highest remaining seed going into the tournament.
SIUE Picked as 2024 OVC Preseason Favorite: Defending regular season and tournament champion SIUE was predicted the preseason favorite ahead of the 2024 OVC men's soccer season. The Cougars picked up 11 of 16 first-place votes and 95 points in the poll of league head coaches and communications directors. Liberty picked up three first-place votes and 79 points in being tabbed second, followed by UIW (67 points), Lindenwood (66) and HCU (59 points and the final two first-place votes). The poll was rounded out Eastern Illinois (36 points), newcomer Western Illinois (25) and Southern Indiana (21).
ESPN+: The OVC has a media rights deal with ESPN to air games on ESPN+, the multi-sport, direct-to-consumer video service from The Walt Disney Company Direct-to-Consumer & International segment. This season over 200 men’s and women’s basketball regular season Conference games and non-conference games will be streamed on ESPN+. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for $10.99 a month (or $109.99 per year) or as part of a bundle with Disney+ and ad-supported Hulu ($15.99/month). ESPN+ is an integrated part of the ESPN App (on mobile and connected devices). More information can be found at www.OVCSports.com/ESPN.