ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The Lindenwood women's soccer team (8-8-2, 4-3-0 OVC) saw their 2026 season come to an end with a 3-2 loss to SIUE (7-6-2, 3-3-1 OVC) in the OVC Championship Quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon.
The Cougars took a 2-0 lead in the first half behind a pair of goals off set pieces, first with Claire Nieroda scoring directly from the corner in the contest's fourth minute before some indecisive defense in the Lindenwood six-yard box on a free kick allowed McKenna Wigfield to poke the ball inside the near post for another score.
SIUE expanded their lead to three just over 10 minutes into the second half, with Olvia Watt scoring on a screamer to the top right corner that gave newly inserted Lions goalkeeper
Caroline Ritter no chance at a save.
Facing a seemingly insurmountable deficit, Lindenwood stuck to their game and was rewarded with their first goal in the 70
th minute, as a quality strike from
Mattie Ohlsen ricocheted off the cross bar and found the feet of
Mackenzie Compton, who got the Lions on the board with a composed finish from inside the box.
Lindenwood came one step closer to doing the unthinkable in the 81
st minute, with
Mackenzie Compton putting a shot on goal that was saved but not controlled by the SIUE defense, allowing
Sam Steele to fight through traffic to connect for a goal that made the score 3-2.
However, the comeback bid fell short, as Lindenwood was unable to find an equalizer through the remaining nine minutes, bringing their season to an end.
Lindenwood recorded 23 shots in the contest – their second highest total in a single match this season – while limiting SIUE to 11 shots. However, shots on goal were even with the two sides recording nine apiece.
Mackenzie Compton's one goal, one assist performance was her fourth multi-point outing of the season as she concluded the season and the Lions' leader in total points (18), goals (7), assists (4), and shots (50).
Lindenwood finishes the season with an overall record of 8-8-2, going 4-3-0 in the OVC play to secure their third consecutive top four finish in the league standings.
