The Lindenwood Men's Soccer team (8-4-6, 5-2-3 OVC) came up short on Sunday at UIW in their final regular season match. The Lions scored early to take a 1-0 lead, but the Cardinals responded with three second half goals to snap Lindenwood's two-match winning streak. Despite the loss, Lindenwood clinched the no. 1 seed in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament and won their second straight OVC regular season championship for the first time in the Division I era.
The Lions came out aggressive, recording three shots on goal in the first nine minutes of the match. David Magalhaes accounted for two of those attempts, while Ryan Holmes added one, but all three were turned away by the UIW goalkeeper.
A few minutes later, Lindenwood earned its second corner kick of the match and capitalized on the opportunity. Clement Baron gathered the ball off the corner and scored his third goal of the season to give the Lions a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute. The Black and Gold backline held the Cardinals to just two shots in the opening half, coming in the 38th and 42nd minutes. Quinn Closson stopped UIW's only shot on goal to keep Lindenwood's one goal advantage heading into halftime.
Eleven minutes into the second half, UIW was awarded a penalty kick after Lindenwood committed a foul at the top of the box. Closson came up with a diving save to his right to deny the Cardinals and protected the one-goal lead.
However, less than two minutes later, UIW found the back of the net to even the score at 1-1 with 32 minutes remaining. The Cardinals took a 2-1 lead 10 minutes later, but Lindenwood was given an opportunity to even the match with less than 10 minutes to play after UIW committed a foul inside the box. Luca Bartoni stepped up to take the penalty kick, but his attempt struck the right post, keeping the Lions' deficit at one. UIW added a third goal in the 85th minute and held on for the 3-1 victory in its final home match of the season.
Lindenwood finished with 13 shots in the contest, including 10 of them on target. David Magalhaes led the Lions with three shots on goal, while Gabriel Tonks added two.
Lindenwood will return to action on Wednesday, November 11, at home for the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Semifinal round. The Lions will take on the winner of the no. 4/5 matchup.
