Game #16
Lindenwood (6-4-5, 3-1-3 OVC)
vs. Eastern Illinois (3-8-3, 2-4-1 OVC)
Match Information:
Date: Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023
Location: St. Charles, Mo.
Venue: Hunter Stadium
First Kick: 1:00 p.m. CT
All-Time Series: Tied, 1-1
Last Meeting: EIU, 2-1 (9/28/23)
Live Stats: Stats
Live Video: ESPN+

Matchup
Lindenwood men's soccer comes back home to Hunter Stadium for a rematch against the Panthers of Eastern Illinois in an Ohio Valley Conference showdown at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 22. The Lions are coming off an impressive 2-1 win at Liberty on Thursday.

Eastern Illinois was on the winning side of things Thursday evening at they took down Southern Indiana 3-0 in Evansville, Ind. EIU is currently the sixth seed heading into the final week of OVC play with a 2-4-1 OVC record (seven points).

The Ohio Valley Conference began their inaugural season of men's soccer as Lindenwood was picked to finish fourth out of eight teams. Eastern Illinois was picked to finish in seventh this season after coming over from the Summit League in men's soccer.

Previous Match Recap
 Lindenwood men's soccer captured an impressive 2-1 victory over Liberty  in Lynchburg, Va. Thursday evening. The Lions rallied around Matteo Boasso's two goals in the win.

Lindenwood's offense struck first in the opening half as Boasso picked up his first goal in the 44th minute of play, narrowly beating out the close of the first half. Boasso was assisted by Parker Smith who had a nice touch cross pass across the box to Boasso.

The Lions blanked the Flames during the first 45 minutes of play with goalie Enzo Gil posting four saves. Both teams had shot six times in the first half with Liberty having four shots on goal. Boasso was one of five Lions to post a shot in the half.

Coming out of halftime, the Lions were eager to score again. Boasso struck past the Flames' defense with his second goal of the night during the 63rd minute of action. This one was assisted by Ethan Blake who has been an offensive factor as of late.

Liberty's intensity would not go unnoticed as they had 10 shots in the second half including a goal by Carlos Trott in the 78th minute. Lindenwood's defense kept the ball out of the box for the majority of the second, but Gil stepped up with four minutes remaining securing a diving save on the right side of the box to keep the equalizer off the board.

The Lions defense, led by Noe Bijou and Cameron Caldwell, helped the Lions move the ball towards the end of the match to secure their sixth win of the season. With that victory, they also moved into second place with 12 points in OVC play.

OVC Top Ten Rankings
With Blake's recent goal last week, the Lions have two top ten goal scorers in the OVC. Cole Hutson and Blake rank 10th in the conference with four goals each this season. Hutson has played 10 games this season, the least amount of games played of someone in the top ten.

Jens Haukeland continues his strong play ranking fourth in the OVC in assists with five. Hutson is also tied for second with two game winning goals this season.

Enzo Gil is still making strides as Lindenwood's primary goalie ranking second in goals against with an average of 1.069. His four shutouts and .714 save percentage are also second in the OVC . As a team, the Lions rank second in goals allowed with 16 on the 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 will host their senior day celebration next Thursday as they host SIUE at Hunter Stadium at 7:00 p.m. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.