Game #10
Lindenwood (4-4-1, 0-1-0 OVC)
at Southern Indiana (2-7-0, 1-0-0 OVC)
Match Information:
Date: Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024
Location: Evansville, Ind.
Venue: Strassweg Field
First Kick: 1:00 p.m. CT 
All-Time Series: 3-3-1
Last Meeting: 2-4, USI
Live Stats: Stats
Watch: Link

Matchup
Lindenwood men's soccer closes out a five match road stretch this Thursday, Oct. 3rd as they take on the Screaming Eagles of Southern Indiana in Evansville, Ind. These two programs have an extended history together as they battled in the Great Lakes Valley Conference before joining the Ohio Valley Conference.

Coming into the week, Lindenwood is 4-4-1 after suffering a loss during the conference opener at the defending OVC Champions SIUE by a final score of 2-0. Southern Indiana is on a two match win streak after defeating Rose-Hulman and Eastern Illinois at home. The Screaming Eagles are 2-7 on the season.

Lindenwood is looking to pick up their first conference win of the season. Over these last four road games, the Lions are 2-2-0 picking up wins over Utah Tech and St. Thomas. They have won four out of their last six matches heading into Thursday's competition.

Last Match Recap
Men's soccer dropped their first OVC game of the season to the defending OVC Champions SIUE by a final score of 2-0. Lindenwood has a career record of 0-3-1 against the Cougars so far during their time in Division I.

Both offenses were evenly matched on the box score with the Lions posting eight shots, six of them on goal. SIUE landed two shots in net but had 11 total shots, seven on goal. Goal keeper Enzo Gil had four saves in the loss to the Cougars.

It didn't take long for the Cougars to get the scoring underway in Edwardsville as Yasha Schaerer scored during the first minute of action after nailing the bottom left of the goal on a breakaway. It was the fastest goal allowed by the Lions this season.

Lindenwood's defense limited SIUE's chances going into halftime as defender Luke Neely played all 45 minutes in the first half. Henrique Perestrelo and Isaac Johnson both had shots on goal during the first half of action.

SIUE managed to score their second goal of the evening during the 54th minute of play with a goal by Jacobo Sanfeliu. Anel Kafedzic also had two shots on goal for the Lions during the second half. Four of Lindenwood's six shots on goal came during the second half.

Stats To Know

• Lindenwood has won four out of their last six games (only losses were to Utah Valley and SIUE)
• Lindenwood averages 1.780 goals per game, the third best in the OVC
• Lindenwood's 127 shots and 67 shots on goal are both the top mark in the OVC, they average 7.44 shots on goal per match
• Ethan Blake is third in points so far this season in the OVC with 10 averaging 1.11 per game
• Blake also has six assists this season which is the top mark in the conference
• Three Lions rank inside the top ten in shots per game: Blake - 7th (2.00), John Gates - T-9th (1.89), Matteo Boasso - T-9th (1.89)
• Gates is second this season in shots on goal per game averaging 1.33
• Boasso is tied for fourth in the conference in goals with three this season
• 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 comes back to Hunter Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 6th when they take on Eastern Illinois at 3:00 p.m. CT. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.