HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Railsplitters (8-5, 4-4 SAC) celebrate Senior Day as part of the regular-season home finale on Saturday, when they hosts the Anderson Trojans (5-5-3, 1-5-3 SAC) for a South Atlantic Conference match beginning at 3:30 p.m. at the LMU Soccer Complex.
Schedule/Game Day Links
Saturday, October 22 vs. Anderson (3:30pm)
Live Stats /
Video
Notes on the Railsplitters:
-Lincoln Memorial nearly rallied all the way back from a three-goal deficit, but came up just a tad short in a 3-2 loss to the Mars Hill Lions on Wednesday night. Mars Hill scored in the sixth, 51st and 55th minutes to build a commanding 3-0 lead, but the Railsplitters ripped off 18 second-half shot attempts with eight landing on goal.
Victor Peres (Brasilia, Brazil) scored in the 78th minute, while
George Burne (Carlisle, England) pulled the Railsplitters within one in the 82nd minute, but that would be as close as it would get. It wasn't for a lack of quality attempts, though, as
Danilo da Silva (Campinas, Brazil) and
Ronaldo de Jesus (Campinas, Brazil) had shots on goal and Peres hit the crossbar in the last six minutes of regulation.
-That loss snapped a three-game winning streak and dropped the Railsplitters into a tie for fifth place in the league standings with three matches left in the regular season. Lincoln Memorial is just three points back of fourth-place Catawba, but only has a two-point lead over seventh-place Queens. The top eight teams in the final standings earn bids to the SAC Tournament, while the top four hosts their quarterfinal round match.
-In conjunction with the regular-season home finale, Lincoln Memorial will celebrate Senior Day by honoring its four seniors – Burne,
Alexandre Leao (Ribeirao Preto, Brazil),
Bryson Lehn (Hendersonville, Tenn.) and
Pedro Ozi (Sao Paulo, Brazil) – during a pre-match ceremony.
-The Railsplitters are 5-1 at the LMU Soccer Complex this season and have won their last three appearances there, defeating Coker, Lees-McRae and Lenoir-Rhyne. Lincoln Memorial outscored those three opponents by a combined margin of 9-2.
-Lincoln Memorial has tallied multiple goals in four consecutive matches dating back to a 6-1 shellacking of Lees-McRae on October 5. The Railsplitters' offense has improved exponentially in the month of October. After averaging 1.5 goals and 15.4 shots per game in eight appearances in September, LMU is putting up 2.6 goals and 19.4 shots per game in October.
-Two of LMU's next three matches come against teams currently positioned in the bottom half of the SAC standings, but don't let that fool you, as HeroSports.com has the SAC ranked as the second-best NCAA Division II men's soccer league in its power rankings. Saturday's opponent, Anderson, is ranked 61st in the nation according to Hero Sports, while Carson-Newman and Catawba are slotted at 39th and 41st, respectively.
Notes on the Trojans:
-The Trojans are 5-5-3 on the season and 1-5-3 in South Atlantic Conference play. However, four of Anderson's five losses have been decided by a single goal. Anderson is 1-0-3 in its last four appearances, notching double-overtime draws against Newberry, Lenoir-Rhyne and Queens while knocking off Catawba on the road. Prior to that stretch, the Trojans suffered a 2-1 double-overtime loss at Carson-Newman.
-Anderson has had its share of trouble scoring this season, ranking ninth in the SAC with 1.46 goals per game and 19 goals total. The Trojans are eighth in the league with just 13.7 shots per game and only 42.7 percent of those attempts land on goal, which also ranks eighth. They have been much better of late, though, averaging 1.80 goals per match in the month of October with multiple markers in three of their last four outings.
-Brad Du Plooy leads Anderson with four goals and two assists despite missing four straight matches from September 29-October 8. Landon Goodman has three goals and two assists, while Timo Herrmann has produced two goals and two assists. Cameron Emerson has racked up a team-leading 33 shots and 14 shots on goal, but that has only led to two goals and a single assist.
-Redshirt-senior Devon Ashy has played every second in goal for the Trojans this season, accounting for a 1.43 goals against average with 56 saves and a .737 save percentage. He ranks fifth in the SAC in saves and seventh in save percentage.
-The Trojans are 3-2-1 on the road this season. Anderson won its most recent road trip with a 1-0 victory at Catawba on October 15.
Series History:
-The Railsplitters own a 5-4 edge all-time against Anderson with wins in four of the last five meetings. Lincoln Memorial defeated the Trojans 2-1 in both 2015 and 2014. The Railsplitters are 2-1 all-time at the LMU Soccer Complex against Anderson, which includes a convincing 7-1 win in 2012.
-In last season's 2-1 triumph at Anderson, da Silva had a goal and an assist to power the victory.
