Gameday Preview: Lindenwood Men's Soccer Opens Season At Milwaukee

NCAA Men's Soccer -- Gameday Info

Game No. 1 -- Lindenwood (0-0) at Milwaukee (0-0)
Date/Time -- August 22, 2024 -- 4 pm
Location -- Englemann Stadium -- Milwaukee, WI
Broadcast --ESPN+
Live Stats -- Sidearm Stats

MILWAUKEE -- Lindenwood University men's soccer opens up the 2024 regular season with a matchup against the University of Milwaukee, Thursday, August 22 at 4:00 p.m. This marks the second season for head coach Kris Bertsch, after leading the Lions to a 7-7-6 record last season, which included a trip to the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament semifinals.

Thursday's opener begins a stretch of eight non-conference games before Lindenwood begins OVC play. The Lions will host a total of three home non-conference games including a matchup on Sunday against UT-Rio Grande Valley.

OVC Preseason Standings
The OVC released their yearly preseason standings last Thursday which saw Lindenwood finish fourth in the rankings. Defending OVC Champions SIUE was selected to win the conference after going 16-1-3 in 2023. OVC-affiliate members Liberty and Incarnate Word rounded out the top three.

Image courtesy: Lindenwood Athletics

John Gates was tabbed as an OVC Player to Watch for the Lions in his first season in St. Charles. The Loyola Chicago transfer played three seasons for the Ramblers appearing in 48 matches with 39 starts.

He is originally from St. Louis, where he attended the John Burroughs High School. Gates has seven career goals and 12 assists. He made the Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman team in 2021.

Returning Lions
Lindenwood returns a lot of their roster from the 2023 season including four all-conference selections. Ethan Blake was the Lions leading goal scorer with six which ranked sixth in the OVC. He was the lone OVC First-Team Selection for the Lions. Blake led the team in points with 14 (six goals, two assists) and shots on goal with 13.

Noe Bijou, Matteo Boasso and Enzo Gil were also selected to the OVC Second-Team last season. Bijou was a staple for the Lions defense leading the team in minutes played with 1770 and helped the Lions posted the second lowest goals allowed in the OVC (1.20 GA). Boasso was second on the team in goals last season with four posting a total of nine points. He appeared in 17 matches making 15 starts.

Gil was the Lions primary goalie in 2023 making 18 starts in net allowing 1.138 goals per contest which was the fourth fewest. He made 50 saves while allowing just 20 goals with a 71.4 save percent. Bijou, Boasso and Blake also made the All-OVC Newcomer Team.

Up Next
Lindenwood will host its home opener, Sunday, August 25, at 1:00 p.m., when it hosts Texas-Rio Grande Valley at Hunter Stadium.

2024 LINDENWOOD LIONS MEN'S SOCCER SCHEDULE
August 22 at Milwaukee -- 4 pm
August 25 vs. Texas-Rio Grande Valley -- 1 pm
August 29 at Wright State -- 4 pm
September 6 vs. Evansville -- 7 pm
September 8 vs. Westminster -- 3 pm
September 13 at Utah Tech -- 6 pm
September 16 at Utah Valley -- 7 pm
September 22 at St. Thomas -- 1 pm
September 28 at SIUE* -- 7 pm
October 3 at Southern Indiana* -- 1 pm
October 6 vs. Eastern Illinois* -- 3 pm
October 10 vs. SIUE* -- 7 pm
October 13 vs. Western Illinois* -- 3 pm
October 17 at Houston Christian* -- 7 pm
October 20 at Incarnate Word* -- 1 pm
October 25 vs. Liberty* -- 7 pm
October 31 at Eastern Illinois* -- 4 pm
November 3 vs. Southern Indiana* -- 1 pm
November 10-16 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament in Edwardsville, IL
*-denotes Ohio Valley Conference game