Game #13
Lindenwood (5-4-3, 2-1-1 OVC)
vs. Houston Christian (3-5-4, 1-1-2 OVC)
Match Information:
Date: Thursday, Oct. 11, 2023
Location: St. Charles, Mo.
Venue: Hunter Stadium
First Kick: 7:00 p.m. CT
All-Time Series: First meeting
Last Meeting: First meeting
Live Stats: Stats
Live Video: ESPN+

Matchup
Lindenwood men's soccer returns home for the week as they host OVC-affiliate member Houston Christian on Thursday starting at 7:00 p.m. at Hunter Stadium. The Lions are coming off two tris across the Mississippi River to the state of Illinois.

Last week, the Lions battled in the state of Illinois taking on fellow OVC members SIUE and Chicago State. They finished with a 2-2 draw at one of the top schools in the conference at SIUE on Thursday. They then won their second OVC match of the season 1-0 at Chicago State.

Houston Christian also went 1-0-1 last week picking up a tie against Southern Indiana at home while also defeating the Panthers of Illinois 4-1 in Houston Christian. HCU has five points this season in the standings, good for fifth place.

The Ohio Valley Conference began their inaugural season of men's soccer as Lindenwood was picked to finish fourth out of eight teams. Houston Christian ranked one spot ahead of the Lions at third place while also picking up four first place votes.

Previous Match Recap
The Lindenwood men's soccer team only needed one goal on Sunday to pick up their second Ohio Valley Conference win of the season after defeating Chicago State 1-0. LU's defense allowed just two shots on goal.

Ethan Blake was the hero on Sunday picking up his third goal of the season in the 61st minute of play. Off of a free kick, Blake caught the bounce off of his initial shot and drilled in into the top right of the net to give Lindenwood the 1-0 lead.

Defense was key in Sunday's win for coach Bertsch's squad as the Lions only allowed nine total shots, two of them being on goal. Goal keeper Enzo Gil picked up two more saves on Sunday deflecting both shots in the second half.

Blake led the way on offense with the lone goal, but also had three total shots with two off them hitting the mark on goal. Parker Smith also had two shots and a shot on goal in the win. 

Defenders Cameron Caldwell, Noe Bijou and Luke Neely played all 90 minutes for the Lions on Sunday in what was a gritty performance on defense. This marked Lindenwood's fifth shutout this season and second time in OVC play. Gil also picks up his fifth shutout of the season.

OVC Top Ten Rankings
Cole Huston returns to the top ten in goals this season, ranking fourth in the conference with four total goals this season. He also is still the only player this season with a hat trick (picked up three goals against UHSP). His two game winning goals also rank tied for second.

Jens Haukeland also stays in the top ten this week in assists ranking tied for third with four this season. Hutson's eight points this season puts in at the four position in the overall rankings.

Goalie Enzo Gil has allowed the second least goals this season (11) which ranks second. His 1.089 goal average also ranks second in the OVC. Gil also has four solo shutouts this season, good for second in the conference. He has averaged 1.91 saves per game this year.

Head Coach: Kris Bertsch
Bertsch enters his first season as the head coach of Lindenwood men's soccer during the 2023 fall season. He comes to Lindenwood after spending five seasons at Saint Louis University as the top assistant coach where he helped guide the Billikens to an impressive 53-22-14 record.  Individually, Bertsch has been recognized as one of the Top Assistant Coaches in the country four different times. 

Saint Louis captured back-to-back Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season and tournament titles in 2021 and 2022, resulting in two-straight NCAA Men's Soccer Championship appearances.  In 2022, Bertsch and the SLU staff earned the honor as the NCAA Division I Southeast Region Staff of the Year by the United Soccer Coaches.

Up Next
The Lions remain at Hunter Stadium all week long with a match on Sunday, Oct. 15 at 1:00 p.m. against Incarnate Word. Lindenwood will be taking on the current leader in the OVC as they sit with a 3-0-1 record. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.