The Lindenwood Men's Soccer team (3-1-1) defeated Butler (0-4-1) on the road Friday night by a score of 2-0.
Philip Viberg Rasmussen and
Luca Bartoni each scored a goal in the second half to lead the Lions to their third win of the 2026 season.
In the first half, Butler had possession for most of the first 45 minutes of play, taking four corner kicks compared to Lindenwood's zero, while outshooting the Lions 4-3.
Quinn Closson was tested early on, but made two saves in the first 40 minutes of the game to keep the score knotted at zero at the break.
Thato Lekgetho had the only shot on goal in the first half for the Lions, while
Eddy Mwanje and
Javaun Mills recorded the other two shots of the half for LU.
Early on in the second half,
Philip Viberg Rasmussen broke the scoreless tie with his second goal of the season in the 55th minute off an assist from
Ethan Walls. Viberg Rasmussen was able to gather a pass from
Luca Bartoni in the midfield after Butler had a turnover in the midfield, and Viberg Rasmussen sent a back heel pass to Walls up the right sideline with a lot of grass in front of him. Walls was able to take a few dribbles and get inside of the Bulldog defender, sending a pass back to Viberg Rasmussen, who buried a shot from just inside the box to put the Lions up 1-0 with just over 35 minutes to play. The Lions were not done yet however, thanks to
Luca Bartoni's fifth goal of the season.
In the 76th minute, Butler committed a foul from just beyond the box that gave Lindenwood a free kick opportunity. Bartoni took the free kick and buried his shot into the top right corner of the net to extend the Lion's lead to two with just over 14 minutes to play in the second half. Lindenwood hung on for the final 14 minutes and didn't allow a shot over the final 11 minutes of the game to improve to 3-1-1 on the 2026 season.
Quinn Closson finished the contest with three saves and also collected his second cleansheet of the season, while Viberg Rasmussen led the Lions with three shots and one goal offensively.
"We were able to make some plays that we weren't able to make in the first half." said Head Coach
Kris Bertsch.
"It was a terrific first goal by Philip and then a free kick from the top of the box from Bartoni was sensational. It was a really good finish to close out the game 2-0."
The Lions will now return home next Friday, September 11, where they will host Evansville. Kickoff is set for 7 PM on ESPN+.
