ST. PAUL, Minn. - Lindenwood men's soccer (4-3-1, 0-0- OVC) picks up their second road victory of the season with a 2-1 win over St. Thomas (3-2-2, 0-0-0 SL) in St. Paul, Minn. The Lions end their non-conference schedule with four wins, tied for the most wins in the Ohio Valley Conference.
"I felt that our guys were resilient and they came in and competed," said head coach
Kris Bertsch. "It was a long travel day yesterday but the guys' mindset was straight about the game. It was a really good performance overall. It was an awesome first half and they got a terrific goal, but I thought our guys responded very well to start the second half."
Jermaine Mentoor scored his first goal of the season on Sunday during the 53rd minute of action to give Lindenwood the victory. Lindenwood's offense had 13 shots compared to just six by the Tommies.
Enzo Gil picked up his third win in net allowing just one goal. Lindenwood's defense held St. Thomas to six shots including just two in the second half. Gil made two saves on Sunday allowing just one goal in the first half.
Mekhi Wright and
Luke Neely held tough on the backend playing all 90 minutes.
John Gates for the Lions on the board first during the 22nd minute of action. Gates was assisted by
Ethan Blake for his first of two assists. In Gates' last three games he has scored twice, both goals were during a Lindenwood victory.
St. Thomas answered quickly in the first half with a goal of their own from Charlie Hoelscher during the 34th minute. Lindenwood's defense would hold the remainder of the half to keep it tied at 1-1.
Mentoor's game-winner came early in the second half at the 53rd minute mark. Blake and Gates assisted on Mentoor's first goal of the year. Blake leads the OVC in assists with six, three more than the next nearest player.
The Lions defense was tough in the second half allowing just two shots with none coming on goal. Lindenwood's four non-conference wins our the most in the Division I era.
Starting next week, Lindenwood will start OVC play against the defending OVC Champions SIUE. The Lions will travel to Edwardsville, Ill. on Saturday, Sept 28th at 7:00 p.m. CT. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.
