HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The 20th-ranked Railsplitters (4-2-1, 1-2-1 SAC) failed to cash in on a number of second-half scoring opportunities and suffered a 2-1 setback to the visiting Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (3-4-1, 3-1 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference action Saturday at the LMU Soccer Complex. After starting the season 4-0, Lincoln Memorial is 0-2-1 in its past three matches.
 
The Railsplitters yielded a goal less than eight minutes into the contest as Lenoir-Rhyne's Leon Mueller-Wilson issued a right-footed blast from close to 40 yards out and snuck the ball past LMU keeper Marcel Barwanietz (Berlin, Germany). Mueller-Wilson's strike held up through the half as the Railsplitters were limited to only three shot attempts without a shot on goal in the first 45 minutes.
 
With the defense pushing forward in the 70th minute, the Railsplitters knotted the contest at 1-1 as Pedro Villa (New Braunfels, Texas) headed in a pass that emerged from a skirmish in front of the net. Freshman defender Diego Velazquez (Newman, Ga.) was credited with the assist that led to Villa's third goal of the season.
 
Prior to and after Villa's game-tying score, the Railsplitters let a few scoring chances fall by the waste side. A forward pass in the 62nd minute freed up Velazquez inside the box, but L-R keeper Jorge Hernandez turned away two quick shots on target before junior Leonardo da Silva (Itajuba, Brazil) ripped it over the net.
 
In the 78th minute, William Siu (Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil) broke free in the box but his shot was deflected by the sprawled out Hernandez directly to sophomore forward George Burne (Carlisle, England), who fired a shot just wide of the vacated net.
 
Just a minute after that near miss, the Bears collected the game-winner as Ben Meredith finished off a pass into the box from Ben Jones.
 
After being outshot 7-3 in the first half, the Railsplitters registered a 15-5 advantage in the second half with six shots on goal over that span. Yinka Lawal (Bromley, England) led the Railsplitters with four shot attempts, while Burne fired off three shots. Along with Velazquez and Villa, Lucas Coro (Ribeirao Preto, Brazil) tallied two shots.
 
The match featured 15 total corner kicks with LMU taking a narrow 8-7 edge. Physical play ruled the day as there were 28 total fouls and five yellow cards, all of which were issued to the Railsplitters.
 
Lincoln Memorial takes a brief break from South Atlantic Conference play on Wednesday, October 1, welcoming the Lees-McRae Bobcats to the LMU Soccer Complex for a 3 p.m. bout.