HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The Lady Railsplitters (3-5-3, 1-4-2 SAC) made a strong push late but could not overcome a two-goal deficit in a 2-1 loss to the Newberry Wolves (2-7-2, 2-5 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference women's soccer action on Saturday at the LMU Soccer Complex. As a result, Lincoln Memorial slipped to 1-4-2 in SAC play and lost its fourth consecutive league contest for the first time since 2010.
Newberry dictated the pace throughout much of the first half by maintaining possession on their attacking side. The Lady Railsplitters outshot the Wolves 9-8 in the period but didn't really threaten aside from
Josefin Hedstrom's (Burtrask, Sweden) shot attempt in the 15th minute, which hit the post after being knocked out by Newberry's Rebecca Darley.
The Wolves finished the half with a 6-3 shots on goal edge, which included a 30th-minute goal for Valeria Newcomb. Newcomb's marker came off of a long-range, high-arching attempt from a step inside of the midfield stripe on the right side. Her shot landed just inside of the box and took a big hop over the head of Lincoln Memorial's
Kathryn Lundy (Pinkney, Mich.) - who was drawn well out of the net to gather the ball - to give Newberry a 1-0 lead.
The deficit held at 1-0 until Newberry added to its lead 13 minutes into the second half. Elizabeth Gutierrez was responsible for that goal, which proved to be the game winner, as she gathered a deflection in the box and poked it into the lower right side of the net.
Pitted in that two-goal hole, the Lady Railsplitters pushed forward as the end of regulation approached.
Olivia Thompson (Melbourne, Fla.) very nearly pulled Lincoln Memorial within one with a shot from the right side of the box in the 69th minute that sailed a smidge left of the post.
Later in the half with 13:42 left, Thompson did put the Lady Railsplitters on the board and made it a one-goal match by bending in a direct free kick from outside of the box on the left sideline. It was Thompson's team-leading fifth goal of the season and ended a more than 330-minute scoreless streak for the Lady Railsplitters in SAC matches.
Despite holding the ball in their attacking half for most of the final 13 minutes and building a couple of quality chances for
Michelle Hunter (Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada) and
Krista Holka (Harrison Township, Mich.) in the 85th minute, the Lady Railsplitters were unable to get the equalizer, as they fell to Newberry for the first time since the quarterfinals of the 2011 SAC Championship.
Lincoln Memorial led in shots 19-17, but Newberry held sway in shots on goal with a 9-7 advantage. The Wolves also managed a 6-4 edge in corner kick attempts.
Hedstrom paced the Lady Railsplitters with five shots and a shot on goal. Thompson had four shots and a pair of shots on goal.
Lundy made seven saves and allowed two goals over 90 minutes of action, falling to 3-4-3 in defeat. Darley made six saves over that same stretch to pick up her first win of the season.
The Lady Railsplitters quickly return to action when they host Converse for a nonconference draw on Monday at 2 p.m.
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