HARTSVILLE, S.C. -- The Lady Railsplitters (3-6-3, 1-4-2 SAC) have an opportunity to make up some major ground in the South Atlantic Conference standings on Saturday when they undertake the 350-mile trek to Hartsville, S.C. for a league battle against the Coker Cobras (4-7, 2-5 SAC), set for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
 
Lincoln Memorial felt the pain of their fourth straight loss for the first time since the 2010 season with an absolutely heartbreaking loss to the Converse Valkyries on Monday at the LMU Soccer Complex. After sandwiching a 36th minute goal by Madison Rivard (Roanoke, Texas) and a 59th minute goal from Josefin Hedstrom (Burtrask, Sweden) around a single Converse goal, the Lady Railsplitters carried a 2-1 advantage into the final two minutes of regulation.
 
Without warning, the Valkyries evened the match in the 89th minute when Darby Boyd scored on the back end of Emily Barry's free kick from the opposite side of midfield. The Lady Railsplitters tried to pick themselves back up, but Converse sent a long ball downfield that trickled into the box with 30 seconds left that spelled doom for the home team. LMU keeper Kayla Stephens (Keller, Texas) and defender Krista Holka (Harrison Township, Mich.) converged on the ball and Holka attempted to clear it, but the ball ricocheted off of a Valkyrie attacker and into the net for an own goal. That loss extended the Lady Railsplitters' NCAA Division II winless streak to seven games.
 
In spite of what's been an adversity-filled season, the Lady Railsplitters are still squarely in contention for a postseason berth. As it currently reads, Lincoln Memorial sits in 11th in the SAC standings, but that is a tad bit misleading. The Lady Railsplitters have five points, while the four teams directly in front are all tied in seventh place with six points. As luck would have it, three of LMU's last four regular season matches are against Coker and Catawba, who are in that four-way logjam in seventh place, and Mars Hill, who sits in last place in the SAC with three points. The top eight teams in the final league standings earn bids to the SAC Championship.
 
The Lady Railsplitters have not lost five straight matches since the start of the 2002 season, and that's the only time that's happened this century.
 
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday in Hartsville. Live stats and video links are available at www.LMURailsplitters.com, while live updates can also be followed at the official LMU Athletics Twitter account (@LMURailsplitter). 
 
Know the Opponent
 
Coker - 1 p.m. Live Stats | Video 
 
The Cobras enter Saturday's match smack dab in the mix for earning a berth to the South Atlantic Conference Championship in a four-way tie for seventh place at 2-5. Coker started with three straight SAC losses to Anderson, Brevard and Newberry, but then rattled off wins against Catawba and Mars Hill. That two-match SAC winning streak was viciously halted with losses to Wingate and Tusculum in which they were outscored by a combined 9-0 margin.
 
Most recently, Coker pounded Chowan 6-0 on Wednesday night, scoring three goals in the first 15 minutes of action and later tacking on three second-half scores.
 
The Cobras have produced the fewest shots in the league with 89 total and 44 in SAC matches, but 17 of those 89 shot attempts have gone for a goal, good for a league-leading .191 shot percentage. In total though, Coker is ranked seventh in the SAC with a 1.55 goals for average.
 
Most of the Cobras' problems this season can be attributed to a defense that serves up goals in bunches. Coker, who has given up three-plus goals six times in 11 appearances, is ranked 11th in the SAC and 226th in the nation with a 2.61 goals against average. They have been outscored 29-17 and outshot 198-89 over the course of the season. Among SAC teams, only Mars Hill (49) has allowed more goals than the Cobras.
 
Junior midfielder Anna Vig leads the Cobras offensively with six goals, 29 shots and 14 shots on goal. A tremendous amount of Vig's offensive production was accumulated against Chowan, when she had a hat trick on nine shot attempts. Renee Ledesma has three goals, two assists, 15 shots and 10 shots on goal, while Batavia Mata has contributed two goals and a team-high four assists. Six other Coker players have added a single goal.
 
Coker's freshman goalkeeper Shelby Middleton has been bombarded all season, as she has allowed 27 goals and a 2.50 goals against average in nine starts. She has made 64 saves total and 52 in South Atlantic Conference matches alone, leading the league in that category. She ranks 55th in the country and fourth in the SAC with 5.82 saves per game. Middleton posted shutouts against both Catawba and Mars Hill.
 
The Lady Railsplitters absolutely dominated the only previous meeting in Hartsville, using a pair Olivia Thompson (Melbourne, Fla.) goals to race away with a 5-0 victory in the 2013 SAC opener. But Coker stunned Lincoln Memorial 1-0 in last year's match at the LMU Soccer Complex despite being outshot 18-8 in total and 8-2 in shots on goal. The Cobras evened the all-time series at 1-1 with a 62nd minute goal.