Game #8
Lindenwood (3-3-1, 0-0-0 OVC)
at St. Thomas (3-1-2, 0-0-0 SL)
Match Information:
Date: Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024
Location: St. Paul, Minn.
Venue: South Field
First Kick: 1:00 p.m. CT 
All-Time Series: 0-1-0
Last Meeting: 2-0, St. Thomas
Live Stats: Stats
Watch: Link

Matchup
Lindenwood men's soccer continues their five-match road trip with a meeting in St. Paul, Minn. against St. Thomas. The Lions went 1-1 over their first two away games in Utah against Utah Tech and Utah Valley.

Over the last two wins by the Lions, they have scored a game winning goal in the final two minutes including a win over Utah Tech. In the Ohio Valley Conference, Lindenwood ranks third with a 3-3-1 record.

Last Match Recap
Men's soccer dropped their final game in Utah as the Lions fell to Utah Valley by a score of 3-1. The Lions offense allowed three goals after breaking open the scoring early in the first half.

Lindenwood's offense was held to just seven shots with four of them being on goal. Utah Valley's goalkeeper Ben Williams allowed just one goal while making three saves. Enzo Gil made five saves on Monday allowing three goals. The Wolverines scored two second half goals to secure the win over LU.

Four different Lions had a shot on net in the loss including goal scorer Matteo Boasso. Lindenwood had four corner kicks in Wolverine territory on Tuesday, but were also called for three offside penalties.

Boasso scored his third goal in his last three games during the 27th minute of play. Ethan Blake had the assist for Lindenwood on that play. Both Lions are currently in the top ten in points this season with Blake leading the OVC with eight.

Utah Valley didn't waste time scoring just five minute later against Gil in the bottom left of the net. Both schools would go scoreless for the remainder of the first half.

Coming out of halftime, Utah Valley put the pressure on the Lions with a second goal during the 52nd minute with Omar Yehya's first of two goals. The Lions were limited to just three shots after this point. Yehya would score Utah Valley's final goal with just four minutes left to secure the win. The loss snapped a three-game win streak for Lindenwood.

Stats To Know

• Lindenwood averages the second most goal in the conference with an average of 1.857 per game
• The Lions' 106 shots so far this season are the most in the OVC
• Ethan Blake ranks fourth in shots per game (2.57), third in shots on goal per game (1.14), seventh in goals (2) and first in assists (4)
• 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 starts OVC play when they return from Minnesota against reigning OVC-Champions SIUE in Edwardsville, Ill. on Saturday, Sept. 28th at 7:00 p.m. CT. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.