EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Lindenwood Men's Soccer opened up Conference play with a win on Saturday evening at SIUE by a score of 2-0. The victory over the Cougars marks the program's first time doing so in the Division I era. The Lions were previously 0-5-1 against SIUE prior to tonight's matchup.

In the first half, the Lions were on the defensive side of the ball for most of the opening 45 minutes. SIUE earned five corner kicks, but Lindenwood's defense held firm, allowing just one blocked shot off those set pieces. The Cougars tallied seven total shots in the half, including three on target, all of which were saved by goalkeeper Quinn Closson.

Offensively, the Lions managed eight shots of their own, with two on goal. Matteo Landais had the best chance for Lindenwood as he slipped between two SIUE defenders and narrowly missed a shot that went wide right in the 11th minute. The Lions also earned a pair of corner kicks in the first half, but couldn't capitalize as the score would stay 0-0 at the break.

In the second half, SIUE played with 10 men for the final 34 minutes of the game as Archie McDonnell picked up his second yellow card of the contest. The Lions eventually came through late in the half as they scored two second half goals in the 77^th and 89^th minute to take control of the game. In the 77^th minute, George Chandler delivered a great pass from just inside of midfield that landed right at the feet of Alander Soares. Soares gathered the ball and shot it low right past the Cougar goalkeeper to give the Lions the 1-0 lead.

Lindenwood added on to their lead in the final minute after a deflection off a free kick from SIUE created an odd man rush for the Lions. Ethan Blake received the ball downfield and sent a pass right to Gavin Csiszar, who was was one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Csiszar controlled the pass from Blake, set his feet and delivered a strike to the back of the net for the 2-0 victory.

Lindenwood finished the game with 13 shots, five of which were on goal. Landais led the team in shots on goal with two, while Luca Bartoni had one shot on target. Defensively, the Lions limited SIUE to 13 shots as well, but only three were on goal.

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"It's always great to start 1-0 in conference. I'm very proud that we were able to get the victory and start the OVC season with three points. " -Head coach Kris Bertsch.

The Lions will stay on the road next week as they will head to Charleston, Illinois for a matchup against the Eastern Illinois Panthers on Thursday. Kick off is set for 3 p.m.