Game #19
Lindenwood (6-6-6, 3-3-4 OVC)
vs. Chicago State (5-9-4, 3-4-3 OVC)
Match Information:
Date: Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023
Location: Edwardsville, Ill.
Venue: Ralph Korte Stadium
First Kick: 4:00 p.m. CT
All-Time Series: LU leads, 1-0-0
Last Meeting: Win, 1-0 (10/08/23)
Live Stats: Stats
Live Video: ESPN+

Matchup
Lindenwood men's soccer ended their regular season last week and will now compete at the Ohio Valley Conference Championships held in Edwardsville, Ill. The Lions were the number four seed and will take on the number five seeded Cougars of Chicago State.

To end the regular season, the Lions lost two straight dropping them from the third seed into the fourth. Lindenwood loss a tough offensive battle to SIUE on Thursday and lost 4-2 on Sunday against Southern Indiana.

Chicago State earned their way into the OVC Championships in the final game of the season after beating Houston Christian on the road by a final score of 2-0. Both teams enter the quarterfinals with three wins in conference play.

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 last heading into their first OVC season.

Previous Match Recap
The Lindenwood men's soccer team dropped their final regular season match of the season 4-2 at the hands of Southern Indiana in Evansville, Ind. on Sunday. LU allowed their most goals of the season against USI.

Lindenwood had no shortage of shots on Sunday as the Lions took 20 landing two in the net against the Screaming Eagles. In the first half, both teams took eight shots while both teams made three saves each.

Southern Indiana struck first in this OVC battle in the 19th minute of play as Elmer Garcia scored his second goal of the season. After a yellow card and a penalty was called in the 26th minute on USI, Ethan Blake scored his team-high fifth goal of the season on the penalty kick.

Late in the first half, Southern Indiana would strike again for their second goal after Pablo Won scored in the 44th minute. Lindenwood's goalie Enzo Gil made two of his three saves during that possession before he was taken out and replaced by Gavin Roberts.

Coming out of the second half, the Screaming Eagles went on the attack early scoring just five minutes in. Diego Rodriguez punched in his first goal of the season for USI on Roberts. Southern Indiana had five shots on goal in the second half.

Lindenwood cut the lead to one shortly after in the 51st minute with Jens Haukeland's third goal of the season. Both goals by the Lions on Sunday went unassisted. USI secured the win with a late goal in the 77th minute to hand the Lions their third OVC loss of the season.

The Lions posted a total of 20 shots with six of them landing on goal. Gil and Roberts combined for six saves on the afternoon, with Roberts suffering the loss for Lindenwood.

OVC Top Ten Rankings
Ethan Blake makes his first appearance in the top ten this week after posting his fifth goal of the season against Southern Indiana on Sunday. He now ranks tied for seventh in the conference with five goals, he also leads the team.

Jens Haukeland has been one of the best passers this season with a total of six assists. He ranks tied for fourth in the conference heading into the OVC tournament. He also ranks 10th in points with 12 (three goals, six assists). Cole Hutson also remains in the top ten in game winning goals with two (tied for 5th).

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.