Game #12
Lindenwood (4-4-3, 1-1-1 OVC)
at Chicago State (3-7-1, 1-2-0 OVC)
Match Information:
Date: Sunday, Oct. 6, 2023
Location: Chicago, Ill.
Venue: Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep
First Kick: 3:00 p.m. CT
All-Time Series: First meeting
Last Meeting: First meeting
Live Stats: Stats
Live Video: YouTube

Matchup
Lindenwood men's soccer continues their week of road trips with their first ever match against OVC-affiliate member Chicago State on Sunday starting at 3:00 p.m. The Lions are making their second trip in a row to the Land of Lincoln in Illinois.

Earlier this week, the Lions fought hard for a 2-2 draw against the only undefeated team left in the OVC, SIUE in Edwardsville, Ill. Lindenwood currently sits in fourth place with a 1-1-1 record in conference play.

Chicago State picked up their firs conference win on Thursday as they took on affiliate-OVC member Liberty in Chicago, Ill. The Cougars have a 1-2-0 OVC record with loses at Liberty and Incarnate Word.

The Ohio Valley Conference began their inaugural season of men's soccer as Lindenwood was picked to finish fourth out of eight teams. Chicago State was picked to finish in eighth.

Previous Match Recap
Lindenwood men's soccer (4-4-3, 1-1-1 OVC) earned a hard fought draw against the Ohio Valley Conference's only undefeated team left SIUE (7-0-3, 2-0-1 OVC) by a final score of 2-2. The Lions hand the Cougars their first tie of OVC play.

Lindenwood's defense limited damage in the first half against the second highest scoring offense in the Ohio Valley Conference with just one goal allowed. Goal keeper Enzo Gil collected five saves during the first 45 minutes of action as the Cougars posted nine total shots, six of them on goal.
 
SIUE pushed the pace in the first with multiple chances to score on the Lions. Gil made a diving save early in the match to keep the Cougars off the board. SIUE had another chance to score in the 26^th minute of play with a Lindenwood player down but missed wide right of the net.
 
The Cougars finally found a hole in the defense as LU allowed a goal in the 32^nd minute of play after a Jake Karolczak goal in the top right corner of the net. The Lions would go into halftime down 1-0 at Ralph Korte Stadium.
 
Coming out of the locker room, Lindenwood struck early to tie the match at 1-1. In the 48^th minute, Cooper Wilson headed in a goal in the right side of the net for his second goal of the season. Josh Francombe with the cross from the left side of the field helped Wilson score over Sam Gomez.
 
The match did not stay tied for long after a SIUE goal by Mitchell Murphy in the top right of the net during the 55^th minute of action. Karolczak picked up the assist for the Cougars to go along with his earlier goal.
 
Lindenwood kept the pressure on the Cougars throughout the second half and finally managed to tie the match at 2-2 with a Matty Wackerfuss goal in the 70^th minute. Wackerfuss, assisted by Bryce Warhaft, scored his first collegiate goal.

Both teams received red cards in the 83rd minute as the teams clashed at midfield. After the referees passed out cards, SIUE tried to strike one last time on the Lions defense, but they held resulting in a 2-2 draw.

OVC Top Ten Rankings
Hutson makes two appearances in the top ten on the OVC leaderboard. With two game winning goals he currently ranks second in the conference. His four goals also ranks fourth in the OVC. He is the only OVC player to have a hat trick this season.

The Lions leading passer Jens Haukeland also cracks the top ten in assists with four. He currently is number three in the OVC in assists with an average of .400 per game. Haukeland and Hutson are tied for seventh in points with eight.

Goalie Enzo Gil has given up the fourth fewest goals on the season in the OVC with 11. He also ranks fifth in saves with 19. His three shutouts also ranks second in the conference.

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 head home to Hunter Stadium as Lindenwood will take on another affiliate member Houston Christian on Thursday, Oct. 12 at 7:00 p.m. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.