COLUMBUS, Ga. -- Junior striker Leonardo da Silva (Itajuba, Brazil) scored his second goal of the CSU Collegiate Invitational, leading the Railsplitters (2-0) to a 1-0 triumph over the Shorter Hawks (0-2) in NCAA Division II men's soccer action in Columbus, Ga. Sunday afternoon.
 
Sunday was the first meeting all-time between Lincoln Memorial and Shorter, the newest member of the Gulf South Conference, which is under the direction of former LMU assistant coach Paulo Neto.
 
The Railsplitters and Hawks combined for 15 shot attempts in the first half with Shorter holding a miniscule 8-7 edge, but the two teams went into the half locked in a scoreless stalemate. The Hawks accounted for all of the shots on goal in the half, but LMU keeper Marcel Barwanietz (Berlin, Germany) turned away each of Shorter's four shots on frame.
 
Ferrigno and the Shorter defense finally blinked in the 68th minute as Leonardo da Silva scored for the second time in as many games, receiving a pass from senior midfielder Yuri Passos (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) before putting the Railsplitters on the board.
 
The Hawks fired off a flurry of five shots in the final 32 minutes of action, but none landed on frame as Lincoln Memorial was able to hold on for the 1-0 victory.
 
It was a chippy match from start to finish as 29 total fouls were whistled and 10 cards were issued, including red cards to LMU's Yinka Lawal (Bromley, England) and Shorter's Irvin Espinal at the end of regulation. Lawal will be forced to sit out Lincoln Memorial's next contest due to NCAA regulations.
 
Shorter finished with both an 18-16 advantage on shots, a 7-4 shots on goal cushion and a 7-3 edge on corner kicks.
 
Da Silva paced Lincoln Memorial with five shots and three shots on goal, while Lawal added three attempts. Both Thalles Silva (Cotia, Brazil) and Passos accumulated two shots apiece.
 
Senior goalkeeper Marcel Barwanietz posted his second-straight clean slate to open the 2014 campaign, finishing with six saves in 90 minutes of action.
 
Next up, the Railsplitters return to the LMU Soccer Complex for the home and South Atlantic Conference opener, squaring off against the Coker Cobras. First kick in that match is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. in Harrogate, Tenn.