Men’s Soccer Begins 4-Game Road Swing with 2 Texas Matches

LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Liberty Flames will travel to Texas for the first two games of four consecutive Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) road matches this weekend. The pair of conference contests begin a span of four OVC road games in 12 days for Liberty.

The Flames (3-3-1, 1-0 OVC) will face the UIW Cardinals (2-4-1, 0-1 OVC) at Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium in San Antonio, Texas on Thursday evening. Match time is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST/7 p.m. CST.

Last season, Liberty and UIW split a pair of OVC matches. The Flames won in Lynchburg 2-1 on Oct. 22, while the Cardinals prevailed in San Antonio, 2-0, a week later.

Sunday, Liberty will square off with the Houston Christian Huskies (3-4-2, 1-0 OVC) at Sorrels Field in Houston, Texas. Match time is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST/7 p.m. CST. HCU will host Western Illinois in conference action on Thursday evening before hosting Liberty on Sunday.

The Flames went 1-0-1 against the Huskies in the first-ever meetings between the two teams last season. Liberty secured a 3-1 victory over HCU at Osborne on Oct. 1 and tied the Huskies 1-1 in Houston on Oct. 26.

Liberty enters Thursday's match against UIW off a 7-1 victory over Western Illinois to open OVC play this past Saturday at Osborne Stadium. Senior forward Michael Huss, the OVC Offensive Player of the Week, scored three goals to highlight the Flames' victory.

Liberty News & Notes

The Flames have outscored their opponents, 20-10, in 2024. Liberty has scored five or more goals in a game three times this season. The last time the Flames have netted five or more goals in three or more games in a season was in 2002.
Liberty leads the OVC and is second in the country in scoring offense by averaging 2.86 goals per game. The Flames are 17^th in the nation in total goals with 20.
Huss leads the OVC in goals with seven and points with 14. The forward ranks third nationally in goals per game (1.00/game) and fifth in points per game (2.00/game). In addition, he is ninth in total goals and 24^th in total points. His goal and point totals are career highs for the forward.
Huss' hat trick on Saturday night was the first by a Liberty player since Tresor Mbuyu scored three goals in a 5-0 victory at VMI on Aug. 28, 2018. Previously this season, Huss scored two goals in a 5-0 win over Mount Olive to open 2024. He has scored two or more goals in a game four times during his career.
12 different Flames have scored a goal this season. Freshman Spencer Moler netted his first collegiate goal on Saturday night. Bryce Swinehart and Matthew Torrell also scored their first goal of the year in the victory.
Midfielder Gabe Findley is tied for the OVC lead with seven assists and leads the conference in assists per game (0.85 per game). He is second nationally in assists per game and seventh in total assists.
Forward Leo Conneh is second on Liberty and tied for third in the conference with three assists.
Goalkeeper Owen Moore has posted a 1.47 goals-against average and a .730 save percentage. He has one shutout. Over the last three games, the junior has a .810 save percentage.

Schedule

Men’s Soccer Begins 4-Game Road Swing with 2 Texas Matches

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Players Mentioned

Leo Conneh

Gabe Findley

Michael Huss

Spencer Moler

Owen Moore

Bryce Swinehart

Matthew Torrell