Game #18
Lindenwood (11-5-3, 6-2-2 OVC)
vs. Houston Christian (7-6-5, 5-2-3 OVC)
Match Information:
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024
Location: Edwardsville, Ill.
Venue: Ralph Korte Stadium
First Kick: 3:00 p.m. CT 
All-Time Series: 0-0-2
Last Meeting: T, 1-1
Live Stats: Stats
Watch: ESPN+
OVC Championship Page: Link

Matchup
Lindenwood men's soccer continues on their quest for an Ohio Valley Conference Championship as they take on #2 Houston Christian University in the OVC Semifinals in Edwardsville, Ill. LU finished the season as the number two team, but finished as the third seed due to scheduling pods in the conference. The Lions will play at 3:00 p.m. CT at Ralph Korte Stadium on the campus of SIUE.

Coming into Wednesday's match, Lindenwood won 2-1 in the OVC Quarterfinals against Western Illinois to move onto the semifinals. Lindenwood is currently on a four match win streak heading into the second round of the tournament. LU finished with a 6-2-2 OVC record while HCU finished with a 5-2-3 record.

During the season, Lindenwood and Houston Christian tied 1-1 in Houston, Texas on Thursday, Oct. 17th. This marked the second straight season these teams have ended in a tie. During the OVC Tournament, there is the golden goal in effect during overtime play.

The Huskies of HCU wrapped up their second season in the OVC with seven total wins including five in-conference. They ended the 2024 regular season with a 0-1-2 record including a loss at Western Illinois to finish the season.

OVC Quarterfinals Recap
Men's Soccer advanced to the Ohio Valley Conference semifinals after defeating #6 Western Illinois by a final score of 2-1 last Sunday. This marks the second straight season for the Lions that they will play in the semifinals in Edwardsville, Ill. With 11 wins this season, it marks the most by an LU men's soccer program since 2016 (13).

Lindenwood's offense had multiple chances on Sunday and landed two goals in the win. Overall, Lindenwood had 13 total shots with four landing on net. The Lions held the Leathernecks to just eight shots with six of them coming in the second half.

Enzo Gil made two crucial saves down the stretch of the second half after the Leathernecks tied the match early in period. Quinn Connolly's first Lindenwood goal was one of the biggest of the season as it gave Lindenwood the lead and secured their trip to the semifinals.

The Lions struck first in the opening half after an own goal by Western Illinois. During the 11^th minute of action Cameron Caldwell tried for a pass into the box to Ethan Blake which was deflected into the net by a WIU defender.
 
Lindenwood took seven shots during the first half with three landing on goal including the own-goal by the Leathernecks. Gil made one of his three saves in net during the first half as the Lions' defense allowed just two shots in the first 45 minutes of play. The Leathernecks were charged with eight fouls in the first half.

Western Illinois broke into the scoring column on Sunday just over 12 minutes into the second. After Western Illinois took the free kick off a Lindenwood foul by Josh Francombe, the Leathernecks' Liam Gainey scored the equalizer in Edwardsville, Ill. during the 58^th minute of play. It marked the first goal the Lions had allowed in the last four matches.

During the 70th minute of play, Connolly took a cross from Jozef Palushaj and struck it in the bottom left of the net to give Lindenwood control at 2-1. Palushaj navigated through two WIU defenders to earn his fifth assist of the season.

Lindenwood's defense was key in the final 10 minutes of the match. Western Illinois has two scoring chances in the final six minutes in Edwardsville, but the Lions blocked two shots to secure the lead.

Stats To Know

• Lindenwood averages 2.053 goals per game, the best in the OVC
• They are just one of five teams in the OVC to have a positive scoring margin (0.89), Lindenwood's offense also has the most corner kicks (99)
• Lindenwood's 263 shots and 128 shots on goal are both the top mark in the OVC, they average 6.74 shots on goal per match
• Blake is first in points so far this season in the OVC with 25 averaging 1.32 per game (second best)
• Gates also ranks sixth in points this season with 15 averaging 0.79 per game
• Blake also has nine assists this season which is the top mark in the conference, Gates is second with seven and Jozef Palushaj is fifth with five
• Blake is third in shots on goal with 19 followed by Gates with 18
• Gil's seven shutouts this season are the second most in the OVC, he has a save percentage of .738
• 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
The winner of the #2 vs. #3 matchup will advance to the OVC Championship match against either #1 SIUE or #5 Incarnate Word on Saturday, Nov. 16th at 6:00 p.m. CT. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.