HARROGATE, Tenn. -- A pivotal South Atlantic Conference contest awaits the Lady Railsplitters (4-6-3, 2-4-2 SAC) as the Mars Hill Lions (3-11, 1-7 SAC) make their way to the LMU Soccer Complex on Wednesday for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
 
Mired in a four-match losing skid and a seven-match winless streak against NCAA Division II opposition, Lincoln Memorial needed a win in the worst of ways this past weekend, and they produced just that with a convincing 4-1 walloping of the Coker Cobras in Hartsville, S.C. With the match knotted at 1-1, freshmen Claire Leasure (Franklin, Tenn.) and Caroline Souza (Sao Paulo, Brazil) connected for goals in the 35th and 38th minute, both of which were scored by Leasure, to give the Lady Railsplitters some breathing room. LMU later tacked on to its lead in the 83rd minute when Mady Naggy's (Viera, Fla.) corner kick deflected off of a Coker defender for an own goal.
 
That win moved the Lady Railsplitters from 11th in the SAC standings into sole possession of seventh place with eight points. Four teams (Brevard, Coker, Newberry and Catawba) are right behind Lincoln Memorial with six points, but a win Wednesday would go a long way towards solidifying a bid to the 2015 SAC Championship, which features only the top eight teams in the final standings. The Lady Railsplitters could reasonably move up one more spot in the standings, as Tusculum is in sixth with 13 points and has Wingate and Carson-Newman still left on the schedule.
 
Leasure now leads the Lady Railsplitters and ranks 12th in the SAC in points with 15 (6 goals, 3 assists). If that held, she would be the third freshmen to lead Lincoln Memorial in scoring since 2012. Michelle Hunter (Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada) paced the Lady Railsplitters in 2013, while Josefin Hedstrom (Burtrask, Sweden) accomplished that same feat the season before.
 
Olivia Thompson (Melbourne, Fla.) is ranked second on the team with 12 points, five goals and two assists. She has already matched the most productive season of her career, which was her sophomore year (2013) when she also recorded five goals and two assists.
 
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at the LMU Soccer Complex. The LMU School of Business will be hosting a cookout on site with free food and drinks from 1-5 p.m. Live stats and video links are available at www.LMURailsplitters.com. 
 
Know the Opponent
 
Mars Hill - 1 p.m. Live Stats | Video
 
The Lions went winless in 2014 and things haven't gotten much better this season, as Mars Hill is currently sitting in last place in the South Atlantic Conference with a 1-7 league record and a 3-11 overall mark.
 
After ending September on a high note with wins over Southern Wesleyan and Brevard, which ended a 15-match SAC losing streak that dated back to the 2013 season, October has not been kind to the Lions. Beginning with lopsided losses to Coker (4-0), Lenoir-Rhyne (9-0) and Queens (4-1), Mars Hill is 1-4 in the month and has been outscored 20-2. 
 
In total, the Lions have conceded 47 goals and scored just 16 over the course of 14 matches, as they rank last in the SAC and 242nd out of 249 NCAA Division II teams with a 3.34 goals against average.
 
Offense hasn't come easy either for the Lions, who are ranked ninth in the league with a 1.14 goals per match average, but are second-to-last in SAC matches alone with six goals and a 0.8 goals for average.
 
Sophomore Breona Tate has played a part in half of the Lions' offensive output this season, as she leads the team with seven goals on 28 shots and 18 shots on goal while adding an assist. Rachel Blong has three goals, two assists, 16 shots and nine shots on goal, while Hannah Russell has accounted for a team-leading 36 shots and 23 shots on goal, but has been limited to just two goals and two assists. Paige Thompson leads Mars Hill with three assists.
 
Maslyn Greene, Shelby Savolainen and Tori Stajduhar have all made at least four appearances at goalkeeper for the Lions this season. Greene leads that committee with 12 starts and 843 minutes played, a span in which she has allowed 36 goals with a 3.84 goals against average and made 71 saves. Stajduhar has the best numbers of the bunch with a 1.81 goals against average and an .881 save percentage, but she has played the fewest minutes with 198:43.
 
The Lady Railsplitters have completely dominated the series against Mars Hill, winning 13 of the 15 all-time meetings, including four straight. Lincoln Memorial hasn't lost to Mars Hill in Harrogate since 2010, and that was their only loss to the Lions in seven home matches. The Lady Railsplitters scored two goals in each half to pace a 4-1 win over the Lions last season in Mars Hill, N.C. Hunter, Kadie Soall (Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada) and Marissa Kiernan (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) each had goals in that match.