HARROGATE, Tenn. – Two first-year programs collide on Wednesday as the Railsplitters (2-9) tangle with the North Greenville Crusaders (1-8) in NCAA Division II action at the LMU Lacrosse Complex, with first faceoff set for 4 p.m.
 
Game day links:
Live Stats
 
Last time out:
Lincoln Memorial dropped a 16-7 decision to the Mars Hill Lions on Saturday, falling to 0-7 in South Atlantic Conference play. The Railsplitters trailed just 7-4 after Billy Kopsky (Smithtown, N.Y.) scored with 6:40 left in the second period, but the Lions responded with a 7-0 flurry. Justin Stewart (Copiague, N.Y.) halted that run with a man-up marker with 7:48 left in regulation, but it was too little, too late.
 
Young's breakout:
Freshman attacker Ryan Young (Mukwonago, Wis.) recorded just two total shot attempts without a goal in his first six appearances in the Blue and Gray, but has broken onto the scene of late. The Mukwonago, Wis. native produced a career-high four goals on four shots against CSU-Pueblo, then added two goals on four shots in versus Mars Hill.
 
Neisler's streak:
Dylan Neisler (Detroit, Mich.) has registered at least one point in six straight matches with multiple points in four of those contests. Neisler was limited to just a single goal against Mars Hill, but scored two goals and added an assist in the win over CSU-Pueblo. Neisler leads the Railsplitters with 19 goals, 23 points and 58 shot attempts. He ranks second behind Ronny Paulino (Copiague, N.Y.) in terms of shots on goal.
 
Wreaking havoc:
The Railsplitters are ranked 24th in the nation and third in the SAC in caused turnovers per game with 8.00. Kyle Fleck (Toledo, Ohio) leads Lincoln Memorial in that department with 15 caused turnovers, while Josh Hernandez (Middletown, N.Y.) is second on the team with 12. Colin Jackson (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) has 11 caused turnovers.
 
Man-down (lockdown) defense:
The Railsplitters own the nation's 11th-best man-down defense, killing off the penalty 76.2 percent of the time. That is the third-best mark in the South Atlantic Conference.
 
North Greenville's season so far:
The Crusaders won their first ever men's lacrosse match on March 7, topping the Lees-McRae Bobcats 16-13 in Banner Elk, N.C. North Greenville has dropped four straight matches since that inaugural win, though, most recently suffering a 26-1 setback to Limestone. The Crusaders have played three SAC opponents, falling to Brevard (14-8), Catawba (15-9) and Coker (15-7).
 
Crusaders at a glance:
NGU is scoring 7.67 goals per game while allowing 16.44 over that same span. The Crusaders have won just 37.2 percent of their faceoffs. Drew Wassenaar leads North Greenville with 19 goals, while Dieter Treusdell has 17 goals and 10 assists. Ethan Gray has contributed seven goals and eight assists.