Game #17
Lindenwood (8-5-3, 4-2-2 OVC)
at Eastern Illinois (2-10-2, 1-6-1 OVC)
Match Information:
Date: Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024
Location: Charleston, Ill.
Venue: Lakeside Field
First Kick: 3:00 p.m. CT 
All-Time Series: 2-1-1
Last Meeting: 6-0, Lindenwood
Live Stats: Stats
Watch: Link

Matchup
Lindenwood men's soccer wraps up their away schedule with a trip to Eastern Illinois on Thursday, Oct. 31st in Charleston, Ill. Kick-off has been moved to 3:00 p.m. CT and will be streamed on ESPN+. Lindenwood previously defeated EIU in St. Charles, Mo. 6-0 earlier this season.

The Lions are coming off a 1-0 victory over Liberty last Friday to pull within one point on third place in the conference. Lindenwood sits at 14 conference points heading into the final week of play. SIUE is tops in the conference with 19 points followed by Houston Christian (17) and Liberty (15). EIU is in eighth place with four points.

The Panthers of EIU played Southern Indiana during their last match where they picked up a 2-2 tie with the Screaming Eagles. EIU is 1-0-1 in their last two matches after picking up a 2-1 win at Western Illinois.

Last Match Recap
Men's soccer earned an important three points last Friday evening as they defeated Liberty by a final score of 1-0. The Lions sit just one point behind the Flames heading into the final two matches of the season.

After Friday night's victory, Lindenwood has now set their Division I record in wins with eight and Ohio Valley Conference wins with four. It also marks their most wins as a program since the 2018 season.

Noe Bijou was the hero on Friday scoring the lone goal in the 15th minute of play. Bijou has now scored in two consecutive games and helped Lindenwood secure their fourth OVC victory. Lindenwood's eighth win is the most wins by an OVC school this season.

Lindenwood's offense posted 12 shots on Friday with just three on goal. Liberty was able to maximize their shots with five of them coming on goal, but goal keeper Enzo Gil was able to keep them off the scoreboard. Gil now has five shutouts this season which is second best in the OVC. He made five saves during the win.

The Lions struck early in the second half scoring in the 15th minute of play after Bijou's second goal of the season. Ethan Blake and Jermaine Mentoor were credited with the assists as Bijou was able to sneak it by the keeper in the bottom left of the net. Lindenwood out-shot Liberty 9-1 in the first half.

Liberty's offense would make a strong push coming out of the break as they out-shot Lindenwood 6-3 in the final 45 minutes of play. Gil made all five of his saves in the second half including a save during the 88th minute off a shot by Liberty's Skyler Stricker. LU also kept the OVC leading point scorer Michael Huss off the scoreboard.

Stats To Know

• Lindenwood averages 1.70 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 (0.44), Lindenwood's offense also has the second most corner kicks (82)
• Lindenwood's 215 shots and 107 shots on goal are both the top mark in the OVC, they average 6.69 shots on goal per match
• Blake is first in points so far this season in the OVC with 22 averaging 1.38 per game
• Gates also ranks eighth in points this season with 13 averaging 0.81 per game
• Blake also has eighth assists this season which is the top mark in the conference, Gates is second with seven and Anel Kafedzic is 10th with three
• Gates is third this season in shots on goal per game averaging 1.06
• Gil's five shutouts this season are the third most in the OVC, he has a save percentage of .722
• 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.

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 ends their 2024 regular season on Sunday in Hunter Stadium when they take on Southern Indiana for Senior Day. The festivities start at 1:00 p.m. CT and will be streamed on ESPN+. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.