HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The Mars Hill Lions (3-9-1, 2-6-1 SAC) scored in the 72nd minute and escaped the LMU Soccer Complex with a 1-0 win over the Railsplitters (8-3-1, 5-3-1 SAC) on Wednesday in what will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the most unfortunate outcomes for the Lincoln Memorial men's soccer program in recent memory.
 
In a match that had already been riddled with near misses by the Railsplitters, Mars Hill broke a scoreless stalemate at the 71:50 mark when Stian Sanner spun around a defender at midfield and ripped a laser into the upper left-hand corner of the net from 30 yards out.
 
Over the 70 minutes prior to that marker, the Railsplitters had already seen two shots from Yinka Lawal (Bromley, England) bang off the crossbar and another from Danilo da Silva (Campinas, Brazil) ricochet off the left post, but bad breaks continued to besiege Lincoln Memorial as they pushed forward to try and even the match.
 
Even when including Sanner's goal, the Railsplitters outshot the Lions 14-2 over the final 30 minutes of regulation and consistently bombarded Mars Hill's back line.
 
Da Silva rebounded his own blocked shot off of the free kick in the 78th minute and rattled a blast off of the crossbar. Nick Spielman (Melbourne, Fla.) had two close calls after that, as his close-range shot was turned away by a couple of Mars Hill defenders in the 79th minute before he too bounced one off the crossbar in the 84th minute. Mars Hill keeper Connor Talbot also made two saves during that closing stretch, turning away Pedro Villa (New Braunfels, Texas) in the 75th minute and da Silva in the 83rd.
 
By nearly every statistical measure, the Railsplitters dominated the match, outshooting the Lions 26-8 with a 6-3 advantage on shots on goal and producing a 10-3 edge in corner kick attempts. Lincoln Memorial - who hit the crossbar or post six times in the match - outshot the Lions 16-4 in the second half alone.
 
The Railsplitters also had the misfortune of playing without Leonardo da Silva (Itajuba, Brazil) - who entered the match tied for the South Atlantic Conference lead with eight goals - for most of the match. Da Silva suffered a lower leg injury in the 24th minute and did not return.
 
Danilo da Silva led all players and nearly outshot the Lions by himself with seven shots and two shots on goal. Lawal posted five shots and two shots on frame, while Spielman had four shots and a shot on goal. Henrique Rezek (Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil) and Lucas Coro (Ribeirao Preto, Brazil) had three shots apiece.
 
Pedro Ozi (Sao Paulo, Brazil) made two saves and conceded one goal to fall to 8-3-1 on the season. Chris Mitchell and Talbot each played a half in net for the Lions. Mitchell made three stops in the first half, while Talbot turned away two shots in the second half to pick up the win.
 
The loss perpetuated a series of agonizing losses to Mars Hill, who has now won seven straight matches against Lincoln Memorial since the quarterfinals of the 2010 SAC Championship. The Railsplitters now trail the all-time series against the Lions 10-11-1.
 
The Railsplitters next hit the road to Anderson, S.C. for a South Atlantic Conference showdown against the Anderson Trojans on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
 
Match Notes
The Railsplitters' 26 shots were their most in a loss since last season's regular-season meeting against Mars Hill (Sept. 24), when they launched 29 attempts in a 2-1 defeat...Danilo da Silva registered a season-high seven shots, surpassing his six-shot effort, which resulted in a goal and an assist, against Newberry last Saturday...Lincoln Memorial remains in position to host its first-round game in the SAC Championship despite the loss, as they are now alone in fourth place in the SAC standings