HARROGATE, Tenn. – Senior striker George Burne (Carlisle, England) scored the fastest hat trick in program history to power the Railsplitters to their highest goal output since the 2012 campaign in a 6-1 drubbing of the Lees-McRae Bobcats on Wednesday afternoon at the LMU Soccer Complex.
 
Burne, who was returning to action after sitting out last Saturday's match at No. 10 Wingate, scored three times in the final two minutes and 43 seconds to register the first hat trick by an LMU player since 2013. The win helped Lincoln Memorial (6-4) erase the memory of a stretch that had seen them lose three of four, while the Railsplitters also defeated Lees-McRae (3-8) in Harrogate for the first time since 1995.
 
In addition to Burne's outburst, Danilo da Silva (Campinas, Brazil) scored his fifth goal of the season, Ronaldo de Jesus (Campinas, Brazil) tallied his first career goal, and Felipe de Sousa (Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil) notched his second goal of the season, as the Railsplitters racked up their most goals since a 7-1 victory over Anderson in October of 2012.
 
The six-goal explosion was the type of performance that the Railsplitters have been waiting on all season and it was made all the more surprising based on their recent offensive struggles. Lincoln Memorial entered Wednesday's match having combined for just two goals in its last four appearances on the pitch.
 
De Jesus opened the scoring in the 43rd minute and sent the Railsplitters into the break with a 1-0 lead, as he finished off a cross from Henrique Rezek (Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil) to net his first career collegiate goal.
 
In the 58th minute, da Silva doubled the Railsplitters' lead with a breakaway goal set up by Victor Peres (Brasilia, Brazil), who picked up his fourth assists of the season on the play. Ten minutes later, de Sousa made it 3-0 with an unassisted goal on a blast from the left side of the box.
 
Pol Vassart put Lees-McRae on the board in the 71st minute, but the stellar closing effort by Burne made that score inconsequential.
 
Burne scored the first of his three goals at the 87:17 mark, as a through ball from de Sousa put the Carlisle, England native in a one-on-one breakaway with the Lees-McRae keeper. Burne capitalized on that opportunity to make it 4-1. Less than a minute later, a double assist from Hisham Abdelaziz (Alexandria, Egypt) and George Cant (Ockbrook, England) resulted in another goal by Burne. The senior forward scored his final goal and dusted off his hat trick with 16 seconds left on the clock off an assist from Raphael Baeta (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).
 
The Railsplitters were also the beneficiaries of a standout effort from freshman goalkeeper August Ahlin (Stockholm, Sweden), who made a number of spectacular saves, including a diving stop in the 51st minute that denied the Bobcats from getting the equalizer. Ahlin made four saves in the match to notch his sixth win of the season.
 
Lincoln Memorial outshot Lees-McRae 23-9 and produced a 13-5 edge in shots on goal. The Railsplitters also got the better of the Bobcats in corner-kick attempts (6-5). Burne and da Silva led the Railsplitters with five shots apiece.
 
Weather permitting, the Railsplitters will travel to Newberry, S.C. on Saturday, October 8 to face the Newberry Wolves in South Atlantic Conference action beginning at 3:30 p.m. Stay tuned to www.LMURailsplitters.com for updates on the status of that match as Hurricane Matthew makes its approach up the east coast.
 
Quick Hits
-Burne's hat trick was the first by an LMU player since former All-American forward Mario Pinto had one against Trevecca Nazarene on October 17, 2013. The senior accounted for more than a quarter of his career goals in the contest, as he has now produced 11 goals in his four-year tenure at LMU.
-The 13 shots on goal were far and away the most by LMU this season, surpassing the team's eight on-target shots against Brevard. The Railsplitters had just 13 combined shots on goal in their previous three matches.
-Lincoln Memorial improved to 5-3-1 all-time against Lees-McRae and defeated the Bobcats at home for the first time since a 4-0 win in 1995.