HARROGATE, Tenn.—Senior Nicole McKinney (Ooltewah, Tenn.) pitched in a pair of second-half goals as the Lady Railsplitters (9-2-1, 7-1-1 SAC) powered past the Tusculum Pioneers (8-6-1, 4-4 SAC) 2-1 in South Atlantic Conference action Wednesday at the LMU Soccer Complex. The win extended LMU's streak of consecutive matches without a loss to nine, as the Lady Railsplitters have not felt defeat since a 1-0 loss to Coker on September 13.

Tusculum opened the scoring in the 33rd minute as Taylor Lewis notched her seventh goal of the season, collecting a pass in the box from Jordan Newby and chipping a shot over the hands of LMU keeper Kayla Stephens (Keller, Texas). The Pioneers carried that 1-0 advantage into the halftime break.

The Lady Railsplitters got the equalizer in the 65th minute as McKinney corralled a long pass from senior Fernanda Miaci (Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil) and flicked a bending shot into the corner of the net. McKinney would strike again with just over three minutes remaining in regulation as she broke past the Tusculum back line thanks to a another direct pass from Miaci. McKinney fired a shot that ricocheted off the cross bar directly back to her feet. The Ooltewah, Tenn. native finished off the second attempt, punching in the game-winning touch.

Wednesday's effort marked the 15th and 16th goals of McKinney's career and the third and fourth of her senior campaign. It was McKinney's second career, two-goal performance and her first since she scored two goals against Bryan on October 24, 2012.  

Five different Lady Railsplitters accumulated shots in the match as McKinney paced the home unit with eight shots, while Miaci added four shots and two shots on goal. In addition to McKinney and Miaci, juniors Maddy Nagy (Rockledge, Fla.) and Kadie Soall (Tecumseh, Ontario), along with sophomore Michelle Hunter (Tecumseh, Ontario), accounted for shots as Nagy and Soall each contributed two shots apiece while Hunter tallied a single shot attempt.

With the win, Lincoln Memorial narrowed its head-to-head record against Tusculum to 10-14-2, snapping a three-game losing streak to the Pioneers. Prior to Wednesday, the Lady Railsplitters had not beaten their in-state rival since a 2-1 double overtime win on October 20, 2011.

The Lady Railsplitters' streak of nine consecutive matches without a loss is the longest such flourish since the 2010 squad won its first nine matches of the season.

The Lady Railsplitters return to action on Saturday, October 25, beginning a three-match road stand with a SAC bout at Catawba with kickoff scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in Salisbury, N.C.