Game #9
Lindenwood (4-3-1, 0-0-0 OVC)
at SIUE (2-3-2, 0-0-0 OVC)
Match Information:
Date: Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024
Location: Edwardsville, Ill.
Venue: Ralph Korte Stadium
First Kick: 7:00 p.m. CT 
All-Time Series: 0-3-1
Last Meeting: 0-2, SIUE
Live Stats: Stats
Watch: Link

Matchup
Lindenwood men's soccer will start Ohio Valley Conference play this weekend against the defending OVC Champions SIUE Cougars in Edwardsville, Ill. This marks the fifth all-time meeting between the cross-river rivals with these teams matching up three times in 2023.

The Lions enter OVC play with a 4-3-1 record ranking second behind Western Illinois (five wins). SIUE comes in right behind Lindenwood with a 2-3-2 record. The Cougars faced off against some notable teams this year including Michigan State, Ohio State and Saint Louis.

Over the last five games, Lindenwood has posted four wins including victories over Evansville and Utah Tech. Both of those wins came on goals with under two minutes left in the match. SIUE lost their last match at home against Omaha 1-0.

Last Match Recap
Men's soccer picked up their second road victory of the season with a 2-1 win over St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. last weekend. The Lions ended their non-conference schedule with four wins, tied for the most wins in the Ohio Valley Conference.

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 put 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.

Stats To Know

• Lindenwood has won four out of their last five games (only loss was at Utah Valley)
• Lindenwood averages 1.875 goals per game, the second best in the OVC
• Lindenwood's 116 shots and 61 shots on goal are both the top mark in the OVC, they average 7.63 shots on goal per match
• Ethan Blake is tied for the most points in the OVC with 10 and leads the conference in assists with six
• Three Lions rank inside the top ten in shots per game: Blake - 5th (2.25), John Gates - 7th (2.13), Matteo Boasso - 8th (2.00)
• Gates leads the conference in shots on goal per game with 1.50
• Boasso is tied for third in the conference in goals with three this season
• 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 continues OVC play on the road on Thursday, Oct. 3rd at Southern Indiana starting at 1:00 p.m. CT. The Lions will end their five match road trip there before hosting three straight at Hunter Stadium. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.