Game #3
Lindenwood (0-1-1, 0-0-0 OVC)
at Wright State (0-1-0, 0-0-0 HL)
Match Information:
Date: Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024
Location: Dayton, Ohio
Venue: Alumni Field at Rinzler Student Sports Complex
First Kick: 4:00 p.m. CT (5:00 p.m. ET)
All-Time Series: First Meeting
Live Stats: Stats

Matchup
Lindenwood men's soccer hits the road for the second time this season as they travel to Dayton, Ohio to take on Wright State at Alumni Field. This marks the first meeting all-time between the two squads and the third straight match for the Lions against a new opponent.

The match is set for a 4:00 p.m. CT kickoff on Thursday, Aug. 29th. Lindenwood is currently 0-1-1 after two matches this season including a 0-0 tie at Milwaukee to open up the season. LU is led by second-year head coach Kris Bertsch.

Last Match Recap
Lindenwood dropped their home opener last Sunday by a score of 3-1 against non-conference opponent the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. The Vaqueros were out-shot by the Lions including nine shots on goal by LU.

Josh Francombe had the lone goal for Lindenwood during the 82nd minute off a penalty kick. UTRGV's Cesar Baltazar committed a foul in the box off a throw in by the Lions to set up Lindenwood's first goal of the season.

After two red cards were called on Lindenwood, UTRGV busted into the scoring column with a header by Jason Robles in the 61st minute. Short-handed, Lindenwood surrendered a second goal in the 68th minute to Jaime Carrillo.

Francombe scored his first goal of the season later in the match to cut the deficit to one, but the Vaqueros' Pablo Torre scored the third and final goal to secure the victory. UTRGV scored three goals on only 10 shots.

Lindenwood had 16 shots in the match including nine on goal compared to just four by UTRGV. LU had chances in the oppositions zone with six corners but failed to convert.

Stats To Know

• Lindenwood is one of three schools in the Ohio Valley Conference to post a shutout so far this season, and the only team to do so against a Division I opponent (0-0 draw at Milwaukee)
• John Gates ranks fourth in the OVC with six shots and has averaged 3.00 per game
• Ethan Blake and Gates are tied for third in the conference in shots on goal per game with an average of 1.50
• Josh Francombe leads the team with one goal this season
• Enzo Gil has made five saves so far and ranks second in the OVC in save percentage with a 71.4%

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 will get some rest before returning home on Friday, Sept. 6th when they host the Aces of Evansville at Hunter Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. CT and will be streamed on ESPN+. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.