KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Lindenwood Men's Soccer's historic season came to end on Thursday night, dropping their first round NCAA Tournament game at Kansas City by a final score of 1-0. Four different Lions recorded a shot in the contest, with the only shot on goal coming off the head of Leandro Haesler in the second half. 

The Lions were on the defensive side of the ball for most of the first half, registering one shot in the half compared to UMKC's 10. Despite allowing 10 shots in the first 45 minutes of play, the Lions defense kept the Roos off the scoreboard and didn't allow any of Kansas City's 10 shots to be on target. The biggest defensive stand for Lindenwood came in the 33rd minute, as the Roos got three shots off in a span of 30 seconds. The first shot of the sequence hit off the top right corner of the goal post and created a rebound opportunity. On the rebound, UMKC gathered the ball and fired back-to-back shots that were blocked by the Lions to keep the game tied at zero. The Lion's lone shot in the first half happened on a header from Quinn Connolly off a corner that was blocked by the Kansas City defense. 

In the second half, UMKC took the lead in the 54th minute to grab the 1-0 lead. Later in the half, Lindenwood had a chance with less than 10 seconds remaining in the game to even the score at one. After UMKC committed a foul near the Lions bench, Ethan Blake would take a free kick from nearly 40 yards out. Blake sent the ball towards the middle of the box where Gavin Csiszar was able to get a head on it. Csiszar sent the ball in the direction of Luke Neely who had room to get one final shot off. Neely let the ball bounce towards him and sent a shot that went over the crossbar as time expired as the Roos hung on to take the 1-0 victory. 

Despite the loss, the 2025 Lindenwood Men's Soccer team had a fantastic season. The Lions set several records throughout the regular season, and became the first team in school history to qualify for the NCAA Division I National Tournament. Their 14 wins in 2025 was the most wins in a single season since 2013, and they won their first regular season and postseason conference championships at the Division I level since reclassifying in 2022. 

"I'm very very proud of what we were able to accomplish this season and I'm very thankful for the support from everyone,." said head coach Kris Bertsch. "I can't fault the guys as their effort was phenomenal. There hasn't been a game all year in which they haven't shown up and at the same time I'm proud of these guys. They are warriors and winners."

Lindenwood ends the 2025 season with an overall record of 14-3-4.