HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The Converse Valkyries (6-6) scored twice with less than two minutes remaining in regulation to hand the Lady Railsplitters (3-6-3) a 3-2 loss in an NCAA Division II women's soccer match on Monday at the LMU Soccer Complex.
 
Lincoln Memorial thoroughly outplayed Converse for most of the match, registering a 17-11 advantage in shot attempts including an 8-7 edge in shots on goal. Until the last two minutes of play, the Lady Railsplitters had outshot the Valkyries 8-3 in the second half alone.
 
The Lady Railsplitters drew first blood at the 35:17 mark when Madison Rivard (Roanoke, Texas) - who had checked into the game just 30 seconds prior - tallied her first goal of the season and the second of her career by banging a 25-yard shot off the crossbar from just outside of the box on the right sideline. Lauren Dusold (Spirit Lake, Iowa) assisted on the play.
 
The Valkyries got the equalizer three minutes later when Claudia Coffin connected with Nicole Doolittle for a 39th-minute score.
 
The score held at 1-1 through the end of the first half, but the Lady Railsplitters regained the lead at the 58:20 mark thanks to Josefin Hedstrom (Burtrask, Sweden), who received a pass up the right sideline, maneuvered around a couple of Converse defenders and ripped a shot into the upper left-hand corner of the net.
 
The Lady Railsplitters held sway at 2-1 for the next 30 minutes and mostly kept Converse locked on their defensive end until the 89th minute, when a foul near midfield opened the door for a desperation attempt. Emily Barry fired a long ball into the box off of the free kick, which ended up at the foot of Converse's Darby Boyd in front of the goal. Boyd then chipped it past LMU's Kayla Stephens (Keller, Texas) to even the match at 2-2.
 
With the match all but assured to go into overtime, heartbreak found its way to the LMU Soccer Complex. As the final 30 seconds of regulation approached, the Valkyries sent a ball into their attacking front that trickled into the box. An LMU defender hurried over to clear the ball out of the box, but it deflected off of a Converse player and into the net for an own goal.
 
The Lady Railsplitters were then left with 30 seconds to shake off that stunning sequence and try to tie the match, but they were unable to register a shot.
 
Olivia Thompson (Melbourne, Fla.) and Claire Leasure (Franklin, Tenn.) led the Lady Railsplitters with three shots apiece. Leasure had a team-high two shots on goal.
 
Kathryn Lundy (Pinckney, Mich.) and Stephens split time in goal for the Lady Railsplitters. Lundy made two saves and allowed a goal in the first half, while Stephens, who fell to 0-1 with the loss, made three saves in the second frame.
 
The Lady Railsplitters return to action on Saturday, October 17 when they head to Coker for a South Atlantic Conference battle against the Cobras, set for a 1 p.m. kickoff in Hartsville, S.C.
 
Match Notes:
-Rivard scored a goal for the second time in her career and for the first time since her freshman season in a 3-2 loss against Tusculum on October 10, 2012.
-The Lady Railsplitters' eight shots on goal were their most against an NCAA opponent since the Queens match on September 19,
-With her goal in Monday's match, Hedstrom has scored in three of her last six appearances. She is now tied for fourth on the team with three goals and eight points.