Game #12
Lindenwood (6-4-1, 2-1-0 OVC)
vs. SIUE (5-3-2, 3-0-0 OVC)
Match Information:
Date: Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024
Location: St. Charles, Mo.
Venue: Hunter Stadium
First Kick: 7:00 p.m. CT 
All-Time Series: 0-4-1
Last Meeting: 2-0, SIUE (Edwardsville, Ill.)
Live Stats: Stats
Watch: Link

Matchup
Lindenwood men's soccer continues their three game homestand this Thursday as they host the defending Ohio Valley Conference champions the SIUE Cougars. Lindenwood is looking for their first ever win against the Cougars after losing to them earlier this season.

The Lions have been perfect during their last two OVC games with two shutouts against Southern Indiana and Eastern Illinois. Lindenwood defeated the Screaming Eagles last week in Evansville, Ind. by a score of 2-0. They followed that with a 6-0 victory over Eastern Illinois during their OVC home opener.

SIUE has started conference play with an undefeated record after going 3-0-0 during their first three games. The Cougars have also beaten Southern Indiana and EIU along with their victory over Lindenwood to start OVC by a final score of 2-0.

Last Match Recap
Lindenwood men's soccer posted their second shutout in Ohio Valley Conference play after a 6-0 victory over the Panthers of Eastern Illinois. The Lions had six different goal scorers during their home opener in OVC play.

It was an offensive showcase for the Lindenwood Lions after scoring six goals on 23 shots. Of the Lions 23 shots on Sunday, 11 of them were on goal. It marked the most shots on goal this season against a Division I opponent (LU had 14 vs. Westminster).

Lindenwood's defense blanketed Eastern Illinois' forwards as the Panthers had just eight shots at Hunter Stadium with one of them landing on goal. Enzo Gil had only one save in what was a perfect performance by Lindenwood. EIU's goal keeper Chad Smith made five saves in net.

Ethan Blake only needed three minutes to score on Sunday as the Lions' leading goal scorer put Lindenwood on the board. Blake now leads the team in goals with four. John Gates assisted Blake putting LU up 1-0.

Jozef Palushaj kept the momentum going in the first half with his first goal in a Lindenwood uniform. Gates had a shot which ricocheted off of the crossbar giving Palushaj the shot right in front of the net.

Lindenwood scored quickly to open up the second half a Jermaine Mentoor scored his second goal of the season. Jordan Matthews had the assists off of the long cross from the opposite corner. Matthews then scored his own goal during the 63rd minute and was assisted by Salomon Oniangue and Blake. Blake leads the OVC in assists this season with seven.

Oniangue, who was tied for the team lead with four shots, scored his first goal of his career during the 71st minute. Matthews had the assists after guiding Oniangue down the sideline where he scored off his left foot.

Lindenwood capped off the afternoon with their sixth goal off the foot of Jens Haukeland. He was one of three Lions to score their first goal of the season. Anel Kafedzic assisted him at the 87:55 minute mark.

Stats To Know

• Lindenwood has won six out of their last eight games (only losses were to Utah Valley and SIUE)
• Lindenwood averages 2.09 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 (0.64), Lindenwood's offense also has the most corner kicks (62)
• Lindenwood's 167 shots and 85 shots on goal are both the top mark in the OVC, they average 7.73 shots on goal per match
• Blake is second in points so far this season in the OVC with 15 averaging 1.36 per game
• Gates also ranks third in points this season with 11 averaging 1.00 per game
• Blake also has seven assists this season which is the top mark in the conference
• Two Lions rank inside the top ten in shots per game: Blake - 3rd (2.27), Boasso - 10th (1.89)
• Gates is second this season in shots on goal per game averaging 1.18
• 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 closes out their three-match home stretch with a meeting against OVC opponent Western Illinois on Sunday, Oct. 13th at 3:00 p.m. CT. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.