The Lindenwood men's soccer team recorded a dramatic 3-2 victory over Missouri-St. Louis on Sunday afternoon from Hunter Stadium in St. Charles, Mo. Lindenwood's Luke McBeth connected on his third goal of the match in the 89th minute to propel the Lions to their second consecutive victory.

MATCH OVERVIEW
The match held in a scoreless tie past the midway point of the first half as each team looked for the opportunity to strike. The Lions found that opportunity first, as Leon Silva fed McBeth with a beautiful lead pass, which McBeth slid past the Triton keeper on the lower right side. McBeth's goal in the 27th minute gave the Lions an early 1-0 edge.

In the 31st minute, McBeth struck again, scoring his second goal of the day off of a penalty kick opportunity. McBeth's strike into the left side of the net extended the Lindenwood lead to a two-goal margin, which the Lions would hold into the second half.

In the second half, Missouri-St. Louis began its comeback attempt. The Tritons scored their first goal of the match in the 51st minute, and scored again in the 68th minute, pulling even with the Lions at 2-2.

The match seemed destined to head to extra time as neither team was able to capitalize on its chances down the stretch. However, with time winding down, Kyle Weinrich sent a cross pass from the right side of the field into the box, finding the head of a streaking McBeth. McBeth deposited the ball into the right side of the net, scoring what would prove to be the game-winning goal in the 89th minute of the match.

Lindenwood played out the final 87 seconds, managing to hold off Missouri-St. Louis for the 3-2 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- McBeth's hat trick was the first of his career and gives him a team-leading four goals on the season.
- McBeth leads the Lions with nine points through three games in 2019.
- McBeth's hat trick is the third in Lindenwood's NCAA era, and the first since Thomas Hutcheson scored three goals versus Oakland City on Oct. 5, 2016.
- Silva's assist on the first goal of the game was his team-leading second assist of the season.
- Weinrich registered his first point of the season with his assist on the game-winning goal.
- Tim Licht started in goal for the Lions, making three saves as he earned his second win of the season.
- Lindenwood outshot Missouri-St. Louis by an 18-11 margin, and held a 10-5 edge in shots on goal.

UP NEXT
Lindenwood will travel to Springfield, Ill. on Sep. 20 for a 7:30 p.m. GLVC match against the Illinois Springfield Prairie Stars.