HARTSVILLE, S.C. -- Leonardo da Silva (Itajuba, Brazil) scored two goals and assisted on another as the Railsplitters (8-2-1, 5-2-1 SAC) walloped the Coker Cobras (3-7-1, 3-5 SAC) 5-0 in a South Atlantic Conference men's soccer match on Saturday afternoon in Hartsville, S.C.
 
Lincoln Memorial went wild over the final 20 minutes of the first half, scoring four goals on four shots to turn an early defensive battle into a runaway victory.
 
The gates sprung open at the 25:36 mark when Coker committed a foul just outside of the box on the left-hand side. Free-kick wizard Leonardo da Silva took advantage of that close-range attempt by belting a shot around the wall and into the lower right-hand corner of the net.
 
The Railsplitters slowly drew into their attacking front and doubled their lead just over four minutes later. Henrique Rezek (Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil) received a short pass, wiggled around his defender and fired a shot from 30 yards deep in the middle of the field that bounced off of the left post and into the net.
 
Rezek later played a part in two more goals for the Railsplitters. In the 37th minute, he sent a corner kick to the far post that was headed back into the middle by Lucas Coro (Ribeirao Preto, Brazil), and Leonardo da Silva finished off that beautiful set piece on the back end with a header to make it 3-0 in the Railsplitters' favor. 
 
After absorbing a bit of pressure early in the second half, the Railsplitters took it back into their attacking front and registered two point-blank range shots that were saved. The second save kicked out of bounds to set up a corner kick, and Lincoln Memorial created a mad scramble by getting the ball back in play quickly off the corner. That confusion opened up another scoring opportunity as Rezek placed a cross at the foot of Yinka Lawal (Bromley, England), who scored from just in front of the net.
 
Wedged between those two goals, just before the buzzer sounded on the first half, the Railsplitters made it a 4-0 with arguably the prettiest goal of the day. Lincoln Memorial regained possession in the 42nd minute at midfield after a Coker throw in and got the ball to Nick Spielman (Melbourne, Fla.), who carried some space, passed it off to da Silva and got it right back on the give-and-go. That left Spielman in a one-on-one with Coker's Kyndle Cobb, and Spielman got the better of that matchup with his second goal of the season.
 
The Railsplitters had 14 shots and 13 shots on goal in the match, while Coker was limited to just five shots and four shots on goal. Da Silva paced Lincoln Memorial with four shots and four shots on goal, while both Spielman and George Cant (Ockbrook, England) had two shots apiece.
 
Pedro Ozi (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Cole Luby (Hillsboro, Mo.) combined to shut out the Cobras, with Ozi making three saves in 73 minutes of action and Luby stopping one shot over the last 16 minutes. Ozi was awarded the victory to move to 8-2-1 in his debut season in the Blue and Gray.
 
Alvaro Urena led Coker with two shots and two shots on goal. Cobb played well, making eight tough saves, but was credited with the loss to fall to 3-6-1 on the season.
 
Saturday's match was a complete change of pace from the first three meetings between Lincoln Memorial and Coker, as the first two ended in draws and last year's saw the Railsplitters come away with a 2-1 overtime victory in Harrogate.
 
The Railsplitters return to the LMU Soccer Complex on Wednesday to host the Mars Hill Lions in SAC action. That match is set for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff in Harrogate.
 
Match Notes
After going scoreless through the first six matches in his debut season with the Railsplitters, Rezek has nine points (3 goals, 3 assists) in his last five appearances...Leonardo da Silva has scored at least one goal in four of his last five matches - he's scored a SAC-leading eight goals this season, surpassing his career high for a single season (previous best: 6, 2014)...Lincoln Memorial has combined for 10 goals in its last two matches, their most over a two-match stretch since 2012...the Railsplitters have scored five goals and shut out their opponent in back-to-back games for the first time in program history