MONTEVALLO, Ala. -- Junior forward George Burne (Carlisle, England) netted the game-winning goal as the Lincoln Memorial men's soccer program (1-0) opened its 2015 season with a 1-0 victory over the West Alabama Lions (0-1) late Friday evening in Montevallo, Ala.
 
Burne - a native of Carlisle, England - notched his sixth career goal and his second-ever game-winning score in the 68th minute, receiving a pass from junior forward Danilo da Silva (Campinas, Brazil) to account for the lone goal of the match.
 
The Railsplitters survived a barrage early as the Tigers put four shots on frame in the first half alone. Junior keeper Pedro Ozi (Sao Paulo, Brazil) stonewalled two on-target attempts from Clay Green in the first 15 minutes before turning away two more tries late in the half.
 
Leonardo da Silva (Itajuba, Brazil) posted LMU's only first half shot on goal in the 27th minute.
 
The Railsplitters outshot the Tigers 5-3 in the second half and held them without a shot on goal over the last 52 minutes total. LMU and West Alabama finished even for the match with nine shots apiece.
 
Ozi made four saves and earned the shutout victory in his debut with the Railsplitters. West Alabama's Brad Louis made two stops in the loss.
 
The defending Gulf South Conference Tournament champions, West Alabama entered the match ranked 11th in the HeroSports.com preseason NCAA Division II poll. They ranked 13th in the nation in scoring last season with 2.44 goals per game, as the Tigers had not been shutout since October 5, 2014.
 
Lincoln Memorial improved to 10-3 in season openers with Helio D'Anna at the helm. The Railsplitters' defensive unit posted a season-opening shutout for the third time since 2010.
 
It was the first-ever season-opening loss for West Alabama, a program that was established in 2012.
 
Next up, the Railsplitters face Montevallo at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday in Montevallo, Ala. Fans can follow along via live stats at www.LMURailsplitters.com or on Twitter at the official LMU athletics account (@LMURailsplitter).