HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Railsplitters (7-4, 3-3 SAC) aim to continue their recent scoring surge and push their winning streak to three on Saturday when they hosts the Coker Cobras (5-4-1, 3-3 SAC) for a 3:30 p.m. South Atlantic Conference men's soccer match at the LMU Soccer Complex.
 
Schedule/Game Day Links
 
Saturday, October 15 vs. Coker (3:30pm) Live Stats / Video
 
Notes on the Railsplitters:
Papa John's Splitter Sound Bites podcast with Coach D'Anna
 
-Sophomore forward Victor Peres (Brasilia, Brazil) converted a penalty kick in the 94th minute to power the Railsplitters to a 3-2 overtime win at Newberry on Monday. Lincoln Memorial led deep into that match, as Danilo da Silva (Campinas, Brazil) and George Burne (Carlisle, England) both scored in the first half, but the Wolves tallied the game-tying goal in the 76th minute to force overtime. It was LMU's first overtime winner since a 2-1 victory at Queens on September 19, 2015. The Railsplitters were 0-1-3 in their previous four matches that required overtime.
 
-After accounting for just two goals over a four-game stretch from September 17-October 1, the Railsplitters have combined for nine goals in the last two contests, highlighted by a six-goal outburst against Lees-McRae. Thanks to that surge, Lincoln Memorial is ranked fifth in the South Atlantic Conference with a 1.91 goals per game average. That is ranked 12th in the Southeast Region.
 
-Silva has tallied a goal in two consecutive matches and combined for 13 shots over that span. The Campinas, Brazil native has racked up six goals and four assists so far this season, which far exceeds his output from the 2015 campaign (5 goals, 3 assists), when he was an NSCAA All-Southeast Region first team selection.
 
-Saturday stands as the second-to-last home match of the regular season for the Railsplitters, who play three of their final four contests away from the LMU Soccer Complex. Lincoln Memorial hosts its final home match on October 22 against Anderson.
 
-The Railsplitters have remained solid on the defensive side of the field, ranking fourth in the SAC and 66th in the nation in the goals against average with a 1.18 mark. Freshman goalkeeper August Ahlin (Stockholm, Sweden) is a big reason for that, as he is currently carrying the fourth-best goals against average in the SAC.
 
-According to HeroSports.com, the SAC is the second-toughest league out of the 21 NCAA Division II conferences for men's soccer. The SAC has two teams ranked inside the top seven of the most recent NSCAA national poll – No. 4 Wingate and No. 7 Tusculum – and six that are ranked in the top 40 on the Hero Sports poll. The Railsplitters are slotted at No. 14 in the most recent update.  
 
Notes on the Cobras:
 
-Coker has not played since last Wednesday, when they suffered a discouraging 8-1 loss at Wingate. The Cobras were slated to play Mount Olive earlier this week, but that game was cancelled by Hurricane Matthew. Prior to that beatdown at Wingate, which saw the Bulldogs scored four times in both the first and second half, the Cobras had won two straight games, beating Mars Hill and Barton.
 
-Coker is mediocre by all accounts on both sides of the field, ranking dead last in the SAC in goals against average (2.54) and ninth in goals per game (1.60). The Cobras average just 10.3 shots per match and only 4.8 of those are landing on goal, both figures that rank 11th in the SAC. Additionally, Coker is last in the league in save percentage with a .644 clip.
 
-Junior Alvaro Urena and sophomore Aladdin Elfares have combined for 13 of the Cobras' 16 goals this season and 17 of the team's 36 points. Urena has scored seven times on 19 shots and 11 shots on goal, while Elfares has six goals and one assist with a team-leading 22 shots. Jaedon Williamson is third on the team in total points with a goal and an assist. All told, that trio has combined for 51 of Coker's 103 shot attempts.
 
-Junior Michael Ritterbeck is likely to get the nod to start in goal for Coker. Over the course of seven appearances this season, Ritterbeck has provided 34 saves and accounted for a .694 save percentage. He has a 2.08 goals against average.
 
-The Cobras are 2-3-1 on the road this season and have generally fared much worse outside of Hartsville. At home, Coker is averaging 1.75 goals and allowing just 1.50. On the road, the Cobras are scoring just 1.50 goals per and serving up 3.22, which would rank 200th out of 204 teams nationally.
 
Series History:
 
-Lincoln Memorial has never lost to Coker since the Cobras joined the SAC prior to the 2013 campaign, compiling a 2-0-2 mark over that span. The Railsplitters demolished Coker 5-0 in last season's meeting in Hartsville. Prior to that, Lincoln Memorial pulled off a 2-1 overtime win against the Cobras at the LMU Soccer Complex back in 2014.
 
-In last season's 5-0 thumping, Henrique Rezek (Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil) had a goal and an assist, while since-departed All-Region forward Leonardo da Silva had two goals and an assist.