COLUMBUS, Ga. -- The Lady Railsplitters (0-1) clung within striking distance of No.2 nationally ranked West Florida (1-0) for 60 minutes, but two late Argonaut goals ultimately undid Lincoln Memorial's upset bid via a 4-1 loss in the opener of the 2014 women's soccer season at the CSU Collegiate Invitational in Columbus, Ga. Friday evening.
 
Lincoln Memorial dropped its first season opener since 2003, a 3-1 loss at the hands of Tennessee Wesleyan, snapping a streak of 10-consecutive wins in lid lifters. Additionally, the Lady Railsplitters sunk to 3-12-1 in the all-time series against its former Gulf South Conference nemesis. West Florida has made two-straight appearances in the NCAA Division II National Championship, winning the title in 2012 and finishing as the runner-up last season.
 
West Florida rolled out to an early 2-0 advantage, as Hugrun Elvarsdottir snuck a long ball through LMU keeper Kayla Stephens's (Keller, Texas) hands and across the goal line in the 20th minute, while April Syme doubled the lead by finding the net off of a Sara Helgadottir corner kick in the 33^rd minute.
 
Sophomore forward Michelle Hunter (Tecumseh, Ontario) matched Syme's effort in the 37th minute to break the Lady Railsplitters into the scoring column, as she used a Fernanda Miaci (Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil) corner kick to tally her first goal of the season and the ninth of her career. Hunter's score sent the Lady Railsplitters into the half facing a mere 2-1 deficit.
 
Lincoln Memorial opened the second stanza with an early chance to even the score, as Hunter and Miaci connected again. However, Hunter's shot on the end of Miaci's cross glanced just off of the cross bar to keep the score in favor of the Argonauts.
 
After hanging within one through the first 15 minutes of the second 45, the Lady Railsplitters were eventually overcome by West Florida's relentless attack. A untimely turnover in the defensive third freed up space for UWF's Daryl Bell, who provided the Argonauts with a two-goal cushion in the 62nd minute. 19 minutes later, Sara Helgadottir found herself in the box on the end of a nice passage of play between Taylor Harbison and fellow Icelander Hugrun Elvarsdottir. Helgadottir finished it off to extend the Argonaut advantage to 4-1.
 
The Argonauts finished with 21 shots and 10 shots on goal, while accumulating a 7-3 advantage on corner kicks.
 
West Florida's veteran defensive presence left its imprint on the contest, limiting the Lady Railsplitters to only four shots and three shots on target. Hunter accounted for two shots and one shot on goal (her 37th minute score), while Olivia Thompson (Melbourne, Fla.) and Madison Rivard (Roanoke, Texas) posted a shot on frame apiece.
 
Kayla Stephens and sophomore Kathryn Lundy (Pinckney, Mich.) split time in goal for the Lady Railsplitters, finishing with identical numbers. Stephens recorded three stops and allowed two goals through the first 45 minutes, while Lundy matched those numbers in the second half.
 
The Lady Railsplitters look to bounce back on Sunday, September 7, as they take on Mount Olive at 10 a.m. in their second match of the CSU Collegiate Invitational at CSU's Walden Soccer Complex. Live stats and video will be available for that contest.