Game #14
Lindenwood (7-5-1, 3-2-0 OVC)
at Houston Christian (6-5-2, 4-1-0 OVC)
Match Information:
Date: Thursday, Oct. 16, 2024
Location: Houston, Texas
Venue: Sorrels Field
First Kick: 7:00 p.m. CT 
All-Time Series: 0-0-1
Last Meeting: 1-1, Tie
Live Stats: Stats
Watch: Link

Matchup
Lindenwood men's soccer travels to Houston, Texas this Thursday to take on the Houston Christian University Huskies starting at 7:00 p.m. CT at Sorrels Field. Both teams are looking to pick up their first ever win against the other school as the all-time series sits at 0-0-1.

The Lions secured their third Ohio Valley Conference win of the season on Sunday after taking down Western Illinois to end a three-game home stand. Lindenwood went 2-1 over their last three games at home with two wins being shutouts over Eastern Illinois and WIU.

Houston Christian sits one game above the Lions after posting a 4-1-0 OVC record through the first five matches of conference play. The Huskies only loss in conference play this season came at the hands of Liberty 10 days ago.

Last Match Recap
Men's Soccer clinched their third Ohio Valley Conference win of the season after defeating Western Illinois by a final score of 1-0. The Lions tie the school Division I record in wins (7) and OVC wins (3).

Ethan Blake continued his dominance in OVC play to start his senior season scoring his team-high fifth goal. After his penalty goal on Sunday, he now leads the OVC in total points with 17. Blake also has seven assists on the season.

All three OVC wins for Lindenwood this season have been a shutout. Enzo Gil has been in net for the Lions for all three of those wins including Sunday's match. Gil made three saves in net for the Lions during his 90 minutes of action.

Lindenwood's defense kept the Lions in this match after allowing just four total shots against the Leathernecks of Western Illinois. Noe Bijou and Mekhi Wright on defense played all 90 minutes in the shutout.

The first half had little offense with just three total shots taken, two of them by Lindenwood. Neither team made a save during the period as Western Illinois had three offsides to just two by the Lions.

Both teams' offenses started to pick up in the second half as Lindenwood had seven shots during the final 45 minutes including five on goal. The Lions' first opportunity to score came during the 57th minute after Isaac Johnson had an angel on the right side of the box, but Joel McIntyre of WIU kicked the ball out right in front of the net.

Lindenwood's offense started to move the ball inside of the Leathernecks' zone when Blake was fouled during the 81st minute by Leevi Searengen to set up the PK kick. Blake scored in the top left of the net to give LU the game winning goal. He has now scored two penalty goals this season and has four game-winning goals for Lindenwood.

Stats To Know

• Lindenwood averages 1.87 goals per game, the second best in the OVC
• They are just one of four teams in the OVC to have a positive scoring margin (0.47), Lindenwood's offense also has the most corner kicks (69)
• Lindenwood's 188 shots and 95 shots on goal are both the top mark in the OVC, they average 7.31 shots on goal per match
• Blake is first in points so far this season in the OVC with 17 averaging 1.31 per game
• John Gates also ranks eighth in points this season with 11 averaging 0.85 per game
• Blake also has seven assists this season which is the top mark in the conference
• Gates is third this season in shots on goal per game averaging 1.08
• Gil's four shutouts this season is the second most in the OVC, he has a save percentage of .691
• Lindenwood has scored two game winning goals in the final two minutes of the season: Ethan Blake vs. Evansville and Jordan Matthews vs. Utah Tech

OVC Preseason Standings
The OVC released their yearly preseason standings earlier this offseason which saw Lindenwood finish fourth in the rankings. Defending OVC Champions SIUE was selected to win the conference after going 16-1-3 in 2023. OVC-affiliate members Liberty and Incarnate Word rounded out the top three.

Gates was tabbed as an OVC Player to Watch for the Lions in his first season in St. Charles. The Loyola Chicago transfer played three seasons for the Ramblers appearing in 48 matches with 39 starts.

He is originally from St. Louis, Mo. where he attended the John Burroughs School. Gates has seven career goals and 12 assists. He made the Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman team in 2021.

Returning Lions
Lindenwood returns a lot of their roster from the 2023 season including four all-conference selections. Blake was the Lions leading goal scorer with six which ranked sixth in the OVC. He was the lone OVC First-Team Selection for the Lions. Blake led the team in points with 14 (six goals, two assists) and shots on goal with 13.

Noe Bijou, Matteo Boasso and Gil were also selected to the OVC Second-Team last season. Bijou was a staple for the Lions defense leading the team in minutes played with 1770 and helped the Lions posted the second lowest goals allowed in the OVC (1.20 GA). Boasso was second on the team in goals last season with four posting a total of nine points. He appeared in 17 matches making 15 starts.

Gil was the Lions primary goalie in 2023 making 18 starts in net allowing 1.138 goals per contest which was the fourth fewest. He made 50 saves while allowing just 20 goals with a save percentage of 71.4%. Bijou, Boasso and Blake also made the All-OVC Newcomer Team.

Head Coach: Kris Bertsch
Bertsch enters his second season at the helm of Lindenwood men's soccer during the fall of 2024. He helped the Lions immediately improve from their first Division I season as he led them to a 7-7-6 record, a four match win improvement from the previous season.

Bertsch posted a 3-3-4 record in Ohio Valley Conference matches, good for fourth in the OVC. This marked the inaugural season for OVC men's soccer in 2023. Heading into the OVC quarterfinals match, Bertsch's squad defeated Chicago State 2-0 to advance to the semifinals before losing to eventual OVC champions SIUE.

During the season, Lindenwood was ranked four times in the United Soccer Coaches Top 10 Poll for the North Region. Through weeks 7-11, the Lions were ranked has high has nine. This also marked the first ever ranking for the program in the USC North Region Poll.

Up Next
Lindenwood continues their trip in Texas on Sunday, Oct. 20th when they face Incarnate Word. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.