Men’s soccer ties with Houston Christian and Incarnate Word to end year

The 2024 regular season concluded for the Liberty University Men’s Soccer team Sunday, Nov. 3 following two draws against the Houston Christian Huskies and the Incarnate Word Cardinals. 

After a long season that kicked off in August, the Flames hoped to improve their 7-6-1 record and 4-1 home record in their final two outings. Earlier this season, the Flames picked up road victories against Houston Christian and Incarnate Word, defeating the Huskies 1-0 and the Cardinals 2-0.

However, defending their home turf was not easy. With the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Men’s Soccer Championship days away, both of the visiting teams were looking to improve their rank in the upcoming tournament. Heading into the week, two Liberty victories could have given the Flames a crucial first-round bye. 

The first of the two games kicked off at 7 p.m. on Halloween. The visiting Huskies opened the matchup with some early offense. HCU sophomore midfielder Curtis Dunn started early, attempting two shots in the first nine minutes of the match. 

Midway through the first half, Liberty seemed to be struggling offensively. By the 24th minute, the Flames had only attempted one shot compared to the Huskies’ five. 

Despite this, Liberty held strong. To finish out the half, the Flames made three more shot attempts and prevented the Huskies from attempting one. With momentum now on Liberty’s side going into the break, the game remained 0-0. 

The second half played out in a similar fashion to the first.

Senior midfielder Gabe Findley nearly scored twice in the early moments of the second half but was denied by Houston Christian junior goalkeeper Alex Aitken. Later on, Aitken made another crucial save in the 63rd minute, this time blocking a shot from senior forward Michael Huss. 

With 10 minutes remaining in the match, Liberty almost took the lead on a late corner kick from Findley. Senior defender Carlos Trott’s header was the best scoring opportunity all game for the Flames, but Houston Christian denied the attempt once again. 

Similarly, the Huskies nearly took the lead in the final minutes of the game. Junior midfielder D’Alessandro Herrera broke free with only Liberty junior goalkeeper Owen Moore in his way. With the game on the line, Moore made a game-saving deflection for the Flames, securing the 0-0 tie. 

Despite the end result, Thursday was another great showing for Liberty. The tie gave the Flames the tiebreaker over Houston Christian in the final OVC standings and marked their sixth shutout of the 2024 season. 

Looking ahead to Sunday’s contest against the visiting Incarnate Word, Liberty hoped to find its offensive footing and replicate its 2-0 victory against the Cardinals earlier in the year.   

Early on, it looked like the Flames would do just that, as it only took three minutes for Liberty to get things going offensively. Huss nearly opened the scoring after finding himself one-on-one with Incarnate Word graduate goalkeeper Alejandro De La Torre. Minutes later, a save from Moore turned into another opportunity for Huss, who connected for the game’s first goal. 

The Flames’ strong offensive start continued in the ensuing minutes. In the 30th minute of play, senior midfielder Luke Eberle gave Liberty a 2-0 lead after rebounding a blocked shot from freshman midfielder Spencer Moler. 

Seemingly outmatched, Incarnate Word struggled to get anything going offensively for the first 40 minutes of the game. However, a defensive breakdown resulted in an open look for sophomore midfielder Peleg Armendariz, who scored for the Huskies and made it a 1-point game in the 42nd minute. 

After both teams failed to connect in the final minutes of the half, Liberty went into the break leading 2-1. 

Incarnate Word looked like a completely different team to start the second half. At the 50-minute mark, freshman defender William Fagerberg drilled the game-tying goal from 35 yards out. In a span of 10 minutes, Liberty’s two-goal lead was erased.

Following the IWU goal, both teams failed to capitalize on scoring opportunities throughout the next 40 minutes of play. Liberty almost took the lead on several occasions in the final minutes of the match, but the Flames ultimately could not get the job done. After 90 minutes of action, the game ended in a 2-2 tie. 

Despite tying both of the Flames’ final two matches, Head Coach Kelly Findley remained positive about his team’s potential. 

“I think we’ve gotten better as the years have gone on, and I think we’re playing our best soccer now, and that’s really important,” Kelly Findley said.

With the regular season in the books, the Flames look to continue playing their best soccer. After Sunday’s result, Liberty is set to take on Incarnate Word again in the first round of the OVC Men’s Soccer Championship Nov. 10. 

Garrett is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion.