SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Liberty, SIUE 1
Lindenwood 4, @Southern Indiana 0
@Eastern Illinois 3, Western Illinois 1
LIBERTY 2, SIUE 1
LYNCHBURG, Va. - The Liberty Flames downed the SIUE Cougars 2-1 Saturday afternoon on Senior Day in an Ohio Valley Conference match at Osborne Stadium.
The contest was also the last home game for Liberty head coach Kelly Findley, who announced his retirement from collegiate coaching at the end of the 2025 season.
The host Flames jumped out to a 2-0 lead during the first half. Forward Leo Conneh scored Liberty's first goal, his sixth of the season, during the 19th minute. Fellow forward and senior Ben Carman later tallied during the 33rd minute, his third goal of the season, to send the Flames into the locker room at halftime with a 2-0 lead.
Liberty's defense continued to hold the SIUE attack in check until the 71st minute, as SIUE cut the Flames' lead to 2-1. However, the Flames' solid defensive play continued, allowing only one more shot on goal the rest of the contest to secure the victory.
Liberty, which entered the contest in second place in the OVC, moves to 4-1-3 in the OVC and 8-3-5 overall. SIUE, which entered the contest in third place in the OVC, drops to 3-3-2 in conference and 4-9-2 overall.
LINDENWOOD 4, SOUTHERN INDIANA 0
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Lindenwood Men's Soccer team won their third straight game on Saturday afternoon with a 4-0 shutout win over Southern Indiana. The Lions put up three goals in the first half and added a late second half goal to improve to 13-1-2 on the 2025 season and a 6-1-1 record in the OVC to maintain first place.
Matteo Landais got the scoring started for Lindenwood in the first half, scoring a goal in the 14th minute off an assist from Alander Soares. Later in the half, USI had an own goal extending the lead for the Lions making it 2-0 in the 33rd minute. Seven minutes later, Leandro Haesler scored his first of two goals in the contest to give the Lions a three goal cushion at the break. Haesler scored his second goal of the game in the 89th minute of the second half off an assist from Landais to give Lindenwood it's sixth OVC win of the season.
The Lions controlled the game from the opening kickoff, limiting the Screaming Eagles to just four shots in the game, including just one shot in the opening 45 minutes of play. Quinn Closson got the start in goal for the Lions, and recorded one save in 25 minutes of action. Gavin Roberts replaced Closson midway through the first half and recorded a save in the second half to put his season total at 30. Matteo Landais led the Lions in shots with seven, including two on goal. Landais registered his OVC leading ninth assist in the contest as well.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, WESTERN ILLINOIS 1
CHARLESTON, Ill. - The EIU Men's Soccer celebrated senior day with a 3-1 victory over Western Illinois. The Panthers improve to 4-7-3 (3-3-2 OVC), while Western Illinois drops to 3-10-4 (1-3-4 OVC).
The Panthers honored seven seniors today. A tight contest would open after Western Illinois knocked on the door early, scoring in the 6th minute of the match. As the game continued, both teams battled for possession. With the fear of trailing at halftime, EIU found the back of the net in the 41st minute. Ben Griffis found the ball at his feet off multiple shot deflections and struck it home to even the match 1-1. After the halftime break, each team struggled to find momentum.
However, late in the match, the Panthers exploded for back-to-back goals. In the 77th minute, Gui Gragnano gave the Panthers the lead off the assist from Fabricio Roberti. Roberti crossed the ball in the middle of the box, finding a wide-open Gragnano, who placed the scoring ball on the left side of the net. Just six minutes later, Gragnano put the icing on the cake, striking one into the back of the net off the assist from Roberti.
The Panthers recorded 16 shots, including 12 in the second half. The Panthers scored 3 goals and only allowed 5 shots (1 on goal).