With back-to-back wins over McKendree and Washington University on Saturday, the Lions won the Missouri Valley Division Championship at Millstone Pool in the Sumers Rec Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

In the opening game, Lindenwood defeated the Bearcats 19-8 with a balanced and consistent attack.  The Lions built an 8-1 lead in the first quarter and extended it to 13-3 by halftime before outscoring McKendree 6-5 in the second half. 

Marino Chorro led the Lindenwood offense with seven goals, followed by Darnell Martin with three.  Andres Miranda, Nikola Vukic, and Jamie Gambin each netted two markers.  Gambin was the assist leader with four, followed by Marc Tahull and Miranda with three.  On the defensive side, Gambin paced the Lions with five steals, followed by Mateo Lema with four.  Anthony Coppin made three saves and Marcel Farres made four in goaltending duties.

In the second game, Lindenwood topped the Bears 29-8.  After a close first quarter that ended with the score tied at three, the Lions erupted for 10 goals in the second quarter while only giving up one.  Lindenwood went on to outscore Washington University 16-4 in the second half.

Vukic was the scoring leader for the Lions with six, followed by Lema and Chorro with four each.  Miranda led Lindenwood with six assists and Tahull was a force on defense with seven steals while Martin had three.  Farres made five saves and Coppin one in shared goalie duties.

With the wins, the Lions finished the regular season with a record of 17-6.  They will be the number one seed for the 2019 Collegiate Water Polo Association Men's Club Championship November 15-17 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

In other action from the Missouri Valley Division Championship, the Lindenwood B squad also won two games to finish second in the conference.  In the first game, Saturday morning, the Lions beat Washington University 20-8.  Lindenwood doubled up the Bears 10-5 by halftime and continued to pull away in the second half.

Vuk Budrak led the offense with four goals, followed by Jorge Oliveros and Ratimir Babic with three.  Eight other players each had single markers.  Koal Robson was the defensive leader with three steals and Colt Correa stopped nine shots in goal.

It was another convincing win in the second game of the day for the Lions as they stopped McKendree 19-2.  Babic hit the back of the cage six times, followed by Mitch Griffin with five.  Griffin also led the defense with three steals while Correa made seven saves in goal.