SALISBURY, N.C. -- A nearly 20-minute scoring drought ultimately made the difference as the Railsplitters (1-6, 0-4 SAC) suffered an 11-7 loss to the Catawba Indians (3-4, 1-2 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference men's lacrosse action on Saturday in Salisbury, N.C.
 
It took the Railsplitters until the 5:57 mark of the second period to put a tally in the scoring column, as Dylan Neisler (Detroit, Mich.) used a pass from Billy Kopsky (Smithtown, N.Y.) to snap a lengthy dry spell.
 
Lincoln Memorial was rock solid defensively over that same span, but Catawba still found a way to produce four goals. Zach LaFavre posted the only goal of the first period, while Jon Williams, Connor Kennedy and LaFavre scored three goals less than four minutes apart to start the second stanza.
 
After Neisler's goal, Jared Courchene (Sagkeeng, Manitoba) cut Catawba's lead in half (4-2) on a goal with 12 seconds left in the first period. Justin Stewart (Copiague, N.Y.) assisted on that goal.
 
The Railsplitters pulled to within one just 56 seconds into the second half on an unassisted goal by Stewart, but the Indians finished the frame with three unanswered goals.
 
The fourth period was an offensive frenzy, as the two teams traded four goals apiece in back-and-forth fashion. Kopsky made it a 7-4 match with 12:07 left with a goal, but Catawba answered just 24 seconds later.
 
Stewart made it a three-goal deficit once again with a goal at the 10:17 mark, but Justin Warnock hit nylon less than a minute later to extend the lead back to four.
 
Jusstin Ruffin (Copiague, N.Y.) and Ronny Paulino (Copiague, N.Y.) added two goals late in the fourth period, but Catawba offset those scores with two goals of their own.
 
The loss overshadowed a magnificent effort from goalkeeper Joe Medel (Virginia Beach, Va.), who made a career-high 17 saves and allowed only 11 goals despite facing a barrage of shots. The Indians finished with a 49-33 shot advantage.
 
Catawba completely dominated the possession battle, grabbing a 52-24 advantage in ground ball pickups and going 16-for-21 on face-offs. Ryan Benck (Hauppauge, N.Y.) paced the Railsplitters with five ground balls, while four different Catawba players matched or exceeded that mark.
 
Stewart led Lincoln Memorial with two goals, two assists and two ground balls, while Ruffin finished with a goal on a team-leading eight shot attempts.
 
The Railsplitters went 25-for-30 on clearances.
 
Lincoln Memorial returns to the LMU Lacrosse Complex on Tuesday to host the Tusculum Pioneers in South Atlantic Conference action. First face-off is set for 4 p.m. in Harrogate.