Columbia, Mo. – The Columbia College men's and women's soccer teams are back in action when they travel to Lindenwood (Ill.) University-Belleville tomorrow night. The games were originally scheduled to be played at the Lynx home field but due to poor field conditions both games have been moved to different locations. The women's game has been moved to 3 p.m. tomorrow afternoon at Belle Claire Soccer Complex in Belleville, Illinois. The men's game will remain at 7 p.m. but has been moved to Belleville West High School.
The men's team has been playing great soccer as of late and will be featured in this week's AMC Game of the Week when they take on the Lynx. The Cougars have not lost in their previous eight matches and look to continue that streak tomorrow night.
Columbia College started the season off slowly, but they seemed to find their stride in AMC play. The preseason AMC favorites got off to a sluggish start on October 1 in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, as they dug themselves a 4-0 hole at Williams Baptist before rallying to earn a 4-4 draw. That result, though, dealt a severe blow to their AMC playoff positioning, as it ceded control of the AMC race, and ultimately Hannibal-LaGrange University took advantage. The Cougars do still lead the AMC race, and they technically have their fate in their own hands, as they still must play HLGU – the only undefeated and untied team left in the AMC. However, they have played two more matches than have either the Trojans or Lynx thus far this season, so they have six fewer points still on the table. A win on Wednesday is critical to their AMC title hopes.
For the Lynx, Saturday was a frustrating afternoon for head coach Dan Hogan's club, as they played a nip-and-tuck match with HLGU in the AMC Game of the Week, but the Lynx fell late as the Trojans found a goal with just 5:40 to go in regulation. Now, the Lynx need three points in this match with Columbia to try and keep pace with the Trojans, though they would still need help to get by HLGU in the form of a loss to revive their AMC title hopes.
Lindenwood-Belleville holds the 5-3 advantage in the all-time series, and the Lynx have won five of the last six meetings. The two teams met three times in 2015, with Columbia taking the regular season matchup, and Lindenwood-Belleville won meetings in both the AMC Championship semifinal, and the NAIA National Championship quarterfinal.
