HARROGATE, Tenn. -- Junior striker Leonardo da Silva (Itajuba, Brazil) lined in a pair of goals, including the game-winner in the 99th minute, to lead the Railsplitters (3-0, 1-0 SAC) to a 2-1 overtime victory in the South Atlantic Conference men's soccer opener versus the Coker Cobras (0-2-2, 0-1-0 SAC) on Saturday at the LMU Soccer Complex. With the win, Lincoln Memorial is off to a 3-0 start for the third time since 2007.
 
After trading blows in the first half, the Railsplitters and Cobras needed extra time to decide Saturday's result. With the clock winding down in the first overtime, sophomore Keegan Sanders (Kennesaw, Ga.) connected with da Silva up the right side, and the Itajuba, Brazil promptly steamrolled past the only remaining defender and beat Coker keeper Kyndle Cobb to send the LMU faithful home with a 2-1 triumph. Da Silva's strike - his third-consecutive game-winning score to open the 2014 campaign - came in the 99th minute with just over a minute remaining in the first OT.
 
The goal was da Silva's second of the day and fourth of the season, as the junior forward propped LMU to a 1-0 advantage by scoring just 57 seconds into the second half. In similar fashion to his game-winning netter, da Silva received a pass up the left side compliments of senior Yuri Passos (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and drove the ball into the left corner of the net.
 
Da Silva's performance offset a brilliant goal by Coker's Jordan Snell, as he tied the contest at 1-1 in the 77th minute with a goal completely of his own making. Snell gained possession nearly 40 yards from the goal before evading a slew of LMU defenders, finding a brief opening and burying the equalizer, notching the first and only goal against the Railsplitters in the early portion of the 2014 season.
 
The Railsplitters fired off 15 shots in the contest with three shots on frame, while the Cobras finished with 18 attempts and five shots on goal. Da Silva accumulated a third of the team's shots and two-thirds of the shots on goal, sending off five shots and two shots on frame. Harry Solomons (Leicester, England) pitched in three shots, while freshman Nick Spielman (Melbourne, Fla.) tallied the only other shot on goal for the Railsplitters.
 
Goalkeeper Marcel Barwanietz (Berlin, Germany) improved to 3-0 on the season, recording four saves in 98:54 minutes in net. It took Snell's breathtaking run in the 77th minute to saddle Barwanietz with his first goal allowed of the new season.
 
It was a physical contest from the start as 31 total fouls were whistled and three yellow cards were handed out.
 
Taking a brief break from South Atlantic Conference play, the Railsplitters return to action on Wednesday, September 17 at the LMU Soccer Complex for a nonconference match-up against the North Georgia Nighthawks. First kick in that draw is scheduled for 4 p.m.