In their penultimate home game of the season, the Lindenwood Lions men’s soccer team defeated Liberty University in a tight 1-0 game.
The lone goal of the game was scored in the 14th minute of play, as Noe Bijou drained his second goal of the season past Flames’ goalkeeper Owen Moore. Bijou had help from teammates Jermaine Mentoor and Ethan Blake on the goal, as both were given an assist on the score. For Bijou, it was his second goal of the season.
The match did see a good bit of hard play, which was not only evident by the score, but also by the amount of yellow cards handed down. Both Lindenwood and Liberty each saw three yellow cards awarded to them, including three consecutive given to Lions. Liberty saw two consecutive thrown their way in the first half, awarded to Skyler Strickler in the 26th minute and Bryce Swinehart in the 40th. Then, in the second half, Anis Smojlovic had his card pulled in the 52nd minute, Josh Francombe in the 67th minute, and Ethan Blake in the 74h minute. Liberty’s Grayson Gardner saw one last yellow card in the game eight minutes later in the 82nd, the final of the game.
Lindenwood currently stands at 8-5-3 on the season with two games left to play. They sit fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference, with a record of 4-2-2. The team will now travel to Eastern Illinois University for a game on Halloween at 7 p.m. Then, a few days later on Nov. 3, the team wraps up their 2024 schedule at home with a game against the University of Southern Indiana at Hunter Stadium at 3 p.m. that afternoon.
