Game #6
Lindenwood (1-3-1, 0-0-0 OVC)
at Evansville (2-2-1, 0-0-0 MVC)
Match Information:
Date: Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023
Location: Evansville, Ind.
Venue: Arad McCutchan Stadium
First Kick: 7:00 p.m. CT
All-Time Series: 0-1, Evansville
Last Meeting: Oct. 1, 2022, 2-1 Evansville
Live Stats: Stats
Live Video: ESPN+

Matchup
Lindenwood men's soccer starts a two game road trip with their first match being against the Aces of Evansville in Evansville, Ind. Lindenwood went 0-1-1 last week earning a tie against Western Illinois and a loss vs. Utah Tech. Evansville went 1-1 including a 4-0 victory over Ohio Valley Conference opponent Southern Indiana.

The Ohio Valley Conference began their inaugural season of men's soccer as Lindenwood was picked to finish fourth out of eight teams. Utah Tech is currently in fourth place in the Western Athletic Conference with a 1-2-0 record.

Previous Match Recap
 Lindenwood men's soccer dropped their first home match of the season to the Trailblazers of Utah Tech by a final score of 3-0. All three goals by UT were scored in the second half of play.

The first half saw plenty of action at the net with the Lions taking four shots and Utah Tech taking five. Josh Francombe struck first for the Lions during the seventh minute of action but it was saved by UT's Short Stockton.

Mekhi Wright also had a shot on goal during the 31st minute but was again saved by Stockton. Enzo Gil had a save during the first half of play (28th minute). Lindenwood held Utah Tech scoreless for the first 45 minutes of play.

Utah Tech would come out of halftime and strike right away on a defensive miscue by Lindenwood. Austin Wallace scored his first of two goals on a breakaway that went past Gil at the bottom right of the net. Wallace struck again during the 75th minute on two assists by Bryce Backlund and Anthony Godinez. Backland scored the final goal of the match in the 79th.

Lions had eight total shots in the game including two from Andrew Harper. Jermaine Mentoor and Nathan Baker also had shots on goal for Lindenwood.

Lindenwood Leaders
Cole Hutson leads the team this season in shots on goal with three, with all three coming against Southwest Baptist. He is also one of three Lions to score this season (Matteo Boasso and Bryce Warhaft).

Hutson also leads the team in shots with six while Francombe is right behind him with five. On defense, Noe Bijou leads the team in minutes played with 443 and is one of four Lions to start all five matches.

Gil in goalie has produced two shutouts this season against Southwest Baptist and Western Illinois. He currently leads the conference in shutouts this season with two and is the only one with multiple.

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 continue their road trip to the east coast when they go to New York to take on a new Division I opponent Le Moyne in Syracuse, N.Y. The Lions are set to play on Sunday, Sept. 17 at 12:00 p.m. CT. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.