HARROGATE, Tenn.— The Lincoln Memorial University women's lacrosse program (1-9, 0-7 SAC) and Brevard Tornados (1-11, 0-6 SAC) meet in Brevard, N.C. on Saturday for the South Atlantic Conference finale, with the first draw control slated for 4 p.m. Both the Lady Railsplitters and Tornados will by vying for their respective program's first SAC victory.
 
Game day links:
Live Stats
 
Last time out:
The short-handed Lady Railsplitters fell by a final score of 15-2 to the UVA-Wise Cavaliers on Wednesday, slipping to 1-9 in the program's inaugural season. The Lady Railsplitters opened by taking a 1-0 lead just 1:55 into the match on a goal by Bre'Asia James (Vero Beach, Fla.), but UVA-Wise ended the first half on a 9-0 scoring run. The deficit ballooned to 11-1 before Autumn Beddington (Newburg, Ind.) snapped an 11-0 flurry that bridged the first and second half with a goal at the 18:43 mark of the second stanza. The injury-plagued Lady Railsplitters played man-down from start to finish.
 
James's streak:
James - a freshman midfielder from Vero Beach, Fla. - has registered at least one goal in three straight contests dating back to a five-goal outburst against Pikeville on March 24. James has scored at least one point in all but one of the Lady Railsplitters' 10 matches, accounting for a team-high 22 markers with multiple goals on six occasions this season.
 
Between the pipes:
Freshman goalkeeper Shannon Novak (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.) has been a stable and productive presence in net for the Lady Railsplitters, playing all 589:41 minutes in goal while facing an astonishing 358 shots on the season. Over that span, Novak has turned away a SAC-best 115 attempts. Novak's 11.50 saves per contest currently ranks sixth in the league in that department.
 
Controlling the draw:
James currently owns the nation's 14th-best draw control average as the standout midfielder has accumulated 49 tip controls and hauled in a SAC-high 4.90 attempts per game.
 
Brevard's season so far:
The second-year Tornados had to wait more than a season, but captured the program's first-ever win on March 21 by pulling off a 13-10 triumph over Emmanuel (Ga.) in Brevard, N.C.  Brevard has dropped three straight matches since that historic victory, but the losses to both Colorado-State Pueblo (11-10) and Lees-McRae (20-19) were decided by only one goal. Like the Lady Railsplitters, Brevard is still seeking the program's first SAC victory. A 17-11 loss to Newberry was the closest the Tornados have come to scratching that off the program's to-do list. 
 
Tornados at a glance:
Brevard is scoring 8.92 goals per game while allowing opponents to amass 17.75 goals each outing, ranking eighth in the league in goals for and last in the SAC in goals against. The Tornados have been outscored by a cumulative 213-107 margin. Brevard has finished off 20 of its 54 free-position attempts, gone 109-for-189 on clears and won 150 draw controls. The Tornados have committed a league-worst 282 turnovers.
 
Players to watch:
Caitlyn Nemeth has accounted for 35 goals, six assists, 27 ground balls, 44 draw controls and 55 shots on goal, while Alyssa Barrett has added 29 goals, three assists and 49 shots on goal. Nina Siu and Sade Allen are the only other Brevard players with more than 10 goals, as Siu has contributed 14 goals and three assists and Allen has scored 11 times and handed out four helpers.
 
Arsenault in goal:
Shelby Arsenault is likely to appear in net for the Tornados, as she has played more than 537 of the team's 720 total minutes. Over that span, the freshman goalkeeper has allowed 151 goals and made 111 saves, stopping 42.4 percent of the shots on goal.