Game #11
Lindenwood (5-4-1, 1-1-0 OVC)
vs. Eastern Illinois (1-6-1, 0-2-0 OVC)
Match Information:
Date: Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024
Location: St. Charles, Mo.
Venue: Hunter Stadium
First Kick: 3:00 p.m. CT 
All-Time Series: 1-1-1
Last Meeting: 1-1, Tie
Live Stats: Stats
Watch: Link

Matchup
Lindenwood men's soccer starts a three game home stand this weekend as they host the Panthers of Eastern Illinois in Hunter Stadium. This marks the fourth all-time meeting between these two Ohio Valley Conference foes as they are tied up 1-1-1.

The Lions picked up their first OVC win of the season on Thursday as they defeated Southern Indiana in Evansville, Ind. by a score of 2-0. Lindenwood sits in a tie for fourth place in the OVC with a 1-1-0 OVC record, but they are tied for the OVC lead in wins with five.

Eastern Illinois has struggled lately including dropping a pair of OVC games to start the conference season. Their lone win came during their opening match of the season with a 3-0 victory over the University of Chicago. The Panthers have been shutout four times this season.

Last Match Recap
Men's soccer picked up their first Ohio Valley Conference win of the season after defeating Southern Indiana by a final score of 2-0. It marked the Lions' third shutout of the season.

It was an offensive day for the Lions' as they out-shot the Screaming Eagles 17-9 including seven shots on goal. Ethan Blake was the leading forward for Lindenwood posting five shots with two landing on goal and one in net.

Defensively, Lindenwood's goal keeper Enzo Gil posted his second shutout of the season, his first since the first match of the season. Gil made just two saves as the Lions' defense held USI to nine shots and just two on goal. Mekhi Wright, Luke Neely and Jermaine Mentoor all played over 65 minutes on defense for LU.

Blake got the scoring underway in the ninth minute of action after a cross by John Gates into the box which Blake controlled off his body leading to a goal in the bottom right of the net. Anel Kafedzic had the first pass to Gates for his second assist of the season. Blake is now second in the OVC in points with 12.

Lindenwood's defense was sound during the first 45 minutes of action not allowing a single shot on goal by Southern Indiana. The Screaming Eagles' goalie Andrew Klott had three saves during the first half.

The majority of the second half was neck and neck but the Lions took a 2-0 lead late during the 75th minute with Gates' third-goal of the season. He is now tied for the team lead with Matteo Boasso in goals.  Cameron Caldwell and Jozef Palushaj had the assists on the Lions' goal.

Gil was busier in the second half making two saves in net. Lindenwood had 10 shots in the second half to just six by the Screaming Eagles. The Lions' now control the all-time series with a 4-3 record.

Stats To Know

• Lindenwood has won five out of their last seven games (only losses were to Utah Valley and SIUE)
• Lindenwood averages 1.70 goals per game, the second best in the OVC
• They are just one of three teams in the OVC to have a positive scoring margin (0.10)
• Lindenwood's 144 shots and 74 shots on goal are both the top mark in the OVC, they average 7.40 shots on goal per match
• Blake is second in points so far this season in the OVC with 12 averaging 1.20 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 - 3rd (2.30), Boasso - 8th (1.89), Gates - 10th (1.8), all three have posted three goals this season
• Gates is second this season in shots on goal per game averaging 1.30
• 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 home stand with a matchup on Thursday, Oct. 10th against SIUE starting at 7:00 p.m. CT inside Hunter Stadium. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.