The Lindenwood men's soccer team defeated the Ouachita Baptist Tigers 2-1 in double overtime from Hunter Stadium in St. Charles, Mo. on Saturday afternoon.
After scoring four goals on Thursday evening,
Xhovani Dokaj continued his torrid pace, scoring the first goal of the game in the second minute. Dokaj capitalized on a rebound opportunity, which came off of a
Gabriel Jaimes shot. Jaimes was credited with the assist, his first helper of the year. For Dokaj, the goal was his team-leading seventh of the season, and fifth in the last two contests.
The Lions would limit the Tigers to just three shots on goal during the opening half, while Lindenwood registered seven shots on goal. The Lions carried the one goal lead into halftime.
Ouachita Baptist evened the score in the 61st minute on the strength of a Tinashe Chigede score, his fourth goal of the season. The Tigers score in the second half would be the lone score of the period, and the game headed for overtime with the score knotted at 1-1.
After a scoreless first overtime, the two teams remained even into the final minute of play in the second overtime. With 109:20 showing on the clock,
Jose Sanchez took a feed from
Nijaz Muratovic and headed into a vacant goal, boosting Lindenwood to a 2-1 victory. For Sanchez, the score was his first of the season. The assist was the second of the year for Muratovic.
In goal for the Lions,
Aleksa Nenadic turned in a five save performance, allowing just one goal. Offensively for Lindenwood, Dokaj tallied a team-high 10 shots, including four shots on goal.
In the end, the Lions held the edge in shots (37-11), shots on goal (15-6), and corner kicks (17-3). Ouachita Baptist had the advantage in saves (13-5).
Following the victory, Lindenwood improves its season record to 3-2-2. With the loss, Ouachita Baptist moves its record to 4-2-0 on the season. The Lions will return to action on Friday evening for their first MIAA match of the season. Lindenwood will play host to the Northeastern State RiverHawks at 7:00 p.m. from Hunter Stadium.
