HARROGATE, Tenn. -- Victor Peres (Brasilia, Brazil) scored less than two minutes into overtime to give the Railsplitters (5-0, 2-0 SAC) an exhilarating 2-1 win over the Queens Royals (2-3, 0-2 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference men's soccer action on Saturday in the LMU Soccer Complex opener.
 
With the win, the Railsplitters are off to their best start since 2005, when they opened the season with seven consecutive wins. Lincoln Memorial also won its 12th consecutive home debut, a streak that originated in the 2004 campaign.  
 
After trading goals in regulation, the Railsplitters and Royals needed overtime to decide their SAC bout. It didn't take too long to come to a decision, though, as Peres drilled in the first goal of his collegiate career in the 92nd minute to send the LMU faithful home happy. Peres was in the right place at the right time after Alexandre Leao's (Ribeirao Preto, Brazil) bicycle kick attempt was deflected off of a nearby Queens defender before ending up on Peres's foot in front of an open net.
 
The Railsplitters improved to 3-4 all-time against Queens and defeated the Royals for the second straight time.
 
Lincoln Memorial opened the scoring in the 32nd minute as George Burne (Carlisle, England) flicked in a lengthy cross from Leonardo da Silva (Itajuba, Brazil) off of the right side of the field. It was Burne's second goal and da Silva's first assist of the 2015 season.
 
The Railsplitters' 1-0 lead held up well into the second half until Luis Campos evened the match in the 67th minute, gathering the ball amongst a crowd of people in front of the net and punching it in.
 
The Lincoln Memorial defense held its opponent to a goal or less for the fourth time in five matches this season, as the Railsplitters outshot the Royals 23-18 with a dominant 14-7 edge on shots on goal. Leonardo da Silva led the team with seven shots and four shots on goal, while Henrique Rezek (Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil) posted five shots and two shots on target.
 
It was an extremely physical match from start to finish. The two teams combined to draw 39 fouls and seven yellow cards. Lincoln Memorial was issued four of those cards.
 
Goalkeeper Pedro Ozi (Sao Paulo, Brazil) made a season-high six saves and improved to 5-0 while his counterpart, Sergio Lemus, finished with 12 saves, eight of which came in the second half.
 
Next on tap, the Railsplitters head to Greeneville, Tenn. for a South Atlantic Conference battle against the Tusculum Pioneers on Wednesday, September 23, with kickoff set for 4:30 p.m.