The Lindenwood Lions celebrate their victory over Incarnate Word, Thursday night at Hunter Stadium in St. Charles. (Photo: Ellie Parker)

NCAA Men’s Soccer12Final
Incarnate Word (4-5-5, 0-3-3)000
Lindenwood (11-1-2, 4-1-1)112

SCORING SUMMARY

TimeTeamDescription
42:30LWUEthan Blake (4)
Assisted By: Josh Francombe.
72:04LWUAlander Soares (3)
Assisted By: Luca Bartoni.

ST. CHARLES, MO — The Lindenwood University men’s soccer team got back onto the winning track and took over sole possession of first place in the Ohio Valley Conference standings, thanks to a 2-0 win over Incarnate Word, Thursday night at Hunter Stadium.

Senior Ethan Blake scored his team-leading fourth goal of the season just before halftime and sophomore Alander Soares added his third score this year, midway through the second half to lead Lindenwood to the win.

The Lions are now 11-1-2 on the season and 4-1-1 (13 points) in OVC play, which puts them two points ahead of Liberty, which is 3-1-2, following a tie on Thursday.

“I thought our guys did a really good job staying on the ball and creating chances.” Lindenwood head coach Kris Bertsch said. “It was a really nice response in the second half. We were able to get a lot of shots on goal and create a lot of chances to score a goal in each half.”

Lindenwood senior Luca Bartoni had an assist in the Lions’ win over Incarnate Word on Thursday. (Photo: Ellie Parker)

Blake’s goal came following a shot attempt by teammate Gavin Csiszar, which was blocked by an Incarnate Word defender. The ball bounced to Lindenwood’s John Francombe, who headed the ball forward to Blake, who was all alone in front of the Incarnate Word net.

Blake fired a one-timer past the IWU goalkeeper to put Lindenwood on the board.

The second goal was set up by Lindenwood’s Luca Bartoni, who tried to make a pass that was blocked. The ball came right back to him and he sent it to Soares, who was trailing the play, but also wide open.

No IWU defender could get close enough to prevent a shot attempt and Soares sent a blast to the upper left of the net that went in and made the score 2-0.

Lindenwood outshot Incarnate 18-11 and Lions goalkeeper Gavin Roberts made four saves to earn his fourth shutout of the season.

The Lions will wrap up their two-game homestand on Sunday, with an OVC league match against Houston Christian. Sunday will also be Senior Day for the Lindenwood players.

Opening kick off at Hunter Stadium is slated for 1 p.m.

2025 LINDENWOOD LIONS MEN’S SOCCER SCHEDULE

DateTimeAtOpponentLocationTVResult
August 21, 2025 (Thursday)12:00 p.m.AwayChicago StateChicago, Ill.W, 7-0
August 26, 2025 (Tuesday)5:00 p.m.HomeMilwaukeeHunter StadiumW, 2-1
August 31, 2025 (Sunday)3:00 p.m.HomeWright StateHunter StadiumW, 3-0
September 4, 2025 (Thursday)6:00 p.m.AwayEvansvilleEvansville, Ind.W, 1-0
September 7, 2025 (Sunday)1:00 p.m.HomeSt. ThomasHunter StadiumW, 5-1
September 9, 2025 (Tuesday)7:00 p.m.HomeWestminster Hunter StadiumW, 3-2
September 14, 2025 (Sunday)12:00 p.m.HomeLe MoyneHunter StadiumW, 2-0
September 19, 2025 (Friday)6:30 p.m.AwayTexas-Rio Grande ValleyEdinburg, TexasT, 0-0
September 27, 2025 (Saturday)7:00 p.m.AwaySIU-EdwardsvilleEdwardsville, Ill.W, 2-0
October 2, 2025 (Thursday)3:00 p.m.AwayEastern IllinoisCharleston, Ill.W, 3-0
October 5, 2025 (Sunday)3:00 p.m.HomeWestern IllinoisHunter StadiumW, 2-0
October 9, 2025 (Thursday)7:00 p.m.HomeSIU-EdwardsvilleHunter StadiumT, 0-0
October 12, 2025 (Sunday)12:00 p.m. AwayLiberty Lynchburg, Va.L, 1-0
October 16, 2025 (Thursday)7:00 p.m.HomeIncarnate WordHunter StadiumW, 2-0
October 19, 2025 (Sunday)1:00 p.m.HomeHouston ChristianHunter Stadium
October 25, 2025 (Saturday)1:00 p.m.AwaySouthern IndianaEvansville, Ind.
October 30, 2025 (Thursday)7:00 p.m.HomeEastern IllinoisHunter Stadium
November 2, 2025 (Sunday)1:00 p.m.AwayWestern IllinoisMacomb, Ill.
November 9, 2025 (Sunday)HomeOhio Valley Conference TournamentHunter Stadium