CREVE COEUR, Mo. | Creve Coeur Park Soccer Complex - Third-seeded McKendree University men's soccer (10-5-5, 8-2-4 GLVC) fell in the Great Lakes Valley Conference championship bout on Saturday afternoon, 2-1, against the fifth-seeded Saints of Maryville University. The Bearcats came back to tie the game in the mid-way point of the second half but were unable to capitalize to take the contest against the Saints. The GLVC Championship game appearance marked the Bearcats' second appearance in the title match with the first coming back in 2019. McKendree looks ahead to the NCAA Division II Selection Show for its postseason fate as the squad ranked #6 in Super Region III last week. The NCAA DII Selection Show is live on NCAA.com at 6:00PM CT on Monday, November 17.

McKendree and Maryville continued their famous back-and-forth battle with the first half building a nil-nil knot at the intermission stretch with defense holding the narrative. The first 45 minutes saw just five shots between the teams and just one on-frame which came from the Bearcats. McKendree also held the corner kick advantage at the half with two versus the Saints' zero.

In the second half, Maryville grabbed a goal in the 56th minute to take the lead over the Bearcats at 1-0. McKendree shifted focused from a conservative game to pushing hard through the half with 10 total shots over the latter period. In the 73rd minute, freshman forward Fredrik Thulin connected to level the contest at one goal both ways. The score was unassisted and marked Thulin's seventh of the campaign. 

In the 80th minute, McKendree dropped into another one-goal deficit, as the Saints narrowly managed to sneak one through the defense. McKendree fought back with a number of opportunities but could not connect to make it an even game.

The Bearcats fell 2-1 at the final horn.