EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - The Lindenwood men's soccer team (7-7-6, 3-3-4 OVC) finished their 2023 season with a 2-0 loss at the Ohio Valley Conference Championships in the semifinals against #1 SIUE (15-0-3, 9-0-1 OVC).
"Every team wants the opportunity to play in a conference final and for a championship. I thought we put ourselves in a great position to do just that," said head coach
Kris Bertsch. "Unfortunately, we came up a bit short in a very tight semifinal match."
Both Lindenwood and SIUE's offense started off slow in the first 45 minutes of play with a combined seven shots with only one on goal. Gil made one save in the first half while the Cougar's Sam Gomez had zero.
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Ignacio Abeal Pou had an opportunity to score for the Cougars, but the ball hit off the right post in the 21
st minute of play to keep SIUE off the board.
Noe Bijou managed to kick the ball out of the box to prevent any damage.
SIUE kept the pressure on in the second half posting five shots to just two by the Lions. Despite their best efforts, the Lions conceded a goal in the 70th minute to Abeal Pou. Abeal Pou would then score in the 88th minute of play to put SIUE up 2-0 and help punch their ticket to the championship vs. Incarnate Word.
Lindenwood ended their first season under Bertsch posting their most Division I wins in program history (7). It also concludes the inaugural Ohio Valley Conference season. The Lions had five players selected to the All-OVC teams including
Ethan Blake who would receive first team honors.
"Nonetheless, I am extremely happy of the incredible work our young men put in all season. With 21 out of 25 players being new to the program, it should not go unrecognized how much they were willing to learn and grow in such a short period of time. I am extremely proud to be the Head Coach of Lindenwood Men's Soccer and thankful for our student-athletes, our coaching staff, managers and administration for their incredible work and support.  The future is extremely bright for Lindenwood Soccer," said Bertsch Wednesday evening.
