CALEB RIORDAN | Reporter

The Lions were unable to get past three second half goals in the shutout against Fort Hays State at Hunter Stadium Sunday afternoon.  

Opportunities to score were hard to come by in the first half. The Lions were able to get off three shots with all three being on goal. Their best chance to score came by way of a blast from 25 yards out from junior Sammi Gregory, but it was saved by the Tigers’ redshirt freshman goalie Deonna Wellbrock.

Fort Hays was able to get possession inside Lindenwood’s box but was unable to score. The starting goalkeeper for the Lions was sophomore Megan Swanson who faced two shots on goal and saved both.

Fort Hays came out for the second half in attack mode. Forcing shots early and often, the Tigers were ready to score. Swanson was up for the challenge as she made a pair of saves off huge chances for the Tigers. The first was a breakaway opportunity from Fort Hays running down the right side. Swanson made a leaping stop to keep the game tied. The second came off a penalty kick that was caused by a foul from Swanson in the box. She then made an athletic kick save to once again preserve the tie.

However, scoring opportunities for the Lions still did not present themselves, and the game remained tied until the 68th minute.  

The first goal of the game was scored by the Tigers’ freshman Cailey Perkins, assisted by freshman Emily Naysmith. 

But Fort Hays did not stop there. Another Tigers goal came in the 73rd minute and was also scored by Perkins for her fifth of the season.  

To cap it off, the Tigers again scored in the 87th minute. Once again, Perkins was involved as she crossed the ball to her teammate, freshman Jenna Prince. Prince scored to capitalize on the two on one opportunity.

The Lions were unable to answer and the game ended 3-0.

“Second half we didn’t show up,” Head Coach Dave Musso said. “They were the better team.”

The Lions were outshot overall 15-4, and 11-1 in the second half. Swanson made five saves for the Lions; Wellbrock made three for the Tigers.

The loss brings the Lions’ record to 6-6-2 overall and 4-3-0 in MIAA conference play.  With four regular season games left on the schedule, the Lions are hoping to string together a few wins on the road and gain momentum through the end of the season.  

“We have to learn from this weekend and move on,” Musso said. “We’re gonna be on the road, so we gotta play better.”

Next for the Lions, they travel to Emporia State University to take on the Hornets Friday, Oct. 19 at 3 p.m.