ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Lindenwood Men's Soccer team (7-3-6, 4-1-3 OVC) closed out their final home match of the regular season with a 2-1 victory over Eastern Illinois on Senior Night. Several Seniors made key plays throughout the contest, helping the Lions reclaim the top spot in the Ohio Valley Conference standings with 15 conference points and two regular season matches left to be played.

The Panthers came out on the attack in the first half, recording the match's first three shots within the opening 18:30. However, in the 21st minute, Thato Lekgetho recorded Lindenwood's first shot of the match and gave the Lions a 1-0 lead. Lekgetho found the back of the net from just inside the six yard box, sending the ball past the EIU goalkeeper and into the back right corner of the goal off an assist from Milton Kapaya.

However, Eastern Illinois responded in the 27th minute after a Lindenwood foul in the box resulted in a penalty kick. Miguel D'Amico converted the opportunity to even the score at 1-1 with just over 18 minutes remaining in the first half. The Panthers would finish the opening half with nine shots compared to Lindenwood's two, but goalkeeper Quinn Closson recorded four saves to keep the EIU offense in check with just the one goal.

In the second half, Eastern Illinois stayed on the attack early, but the Lion backline blocked three Panther shots in a two minute span to keep the match tied at 1-1. In the 53rd minute, Ryan Holmes broke free for a scoring opportunity, but the senior's attempt was denied by a diving save to the Panther goalkeeper's right. Both sides continued to battle until Lindenwood regained the lead in the 71st minute on a goal scored by Luca Bartoni, his first since September 4 at Butler.

Leland Gray delivered a cross into the box, where Bartoni headed it into the bottom right corner of the goal to give the Lions a 2-1 advantage with just under 19 minutes remaining. The Lindenwood defense settled in after the go-ahead goal, allowing just one shot over the final stretch, which sailed high and left in the closing minute, as the Lions secured the 2-1 victory on their home field.

Although Eastern Illinois outshot Lindenwood 16-12 overall, the Lions held the edge in every offensive category during the second half, including shots (10-7) and corner kicks (5-1). Clement Baron led Lindenwood with three total shots overall.