MONTREAT, N.C. -- After a lengthy preseason, the Lady Railsplitters commence the 2016 women's lacrosse season and try to win the first road game in program history on Friday afternoon when they travel down I-40 to face the Montreat Cavaliers at 3:30 in Montreat, N.C.
 
Lincoln Memorial heads into the 2016 campaign with a talented crop of new players and a solid core of returners looking to improve upon a 1-11 record in the program's inaugural season. The Lady Railsplitters will also be aiming to win outside of Harrogate for the first time ever, as they finished 0-5 in true road matches in 2015.
 
The Lady Railsplitters will be led offensively by sophomore Bre'Asia James (Vero Beach, Fla.) and freshmen Jasmin Click (Clermont, Fla.), Casey Kelly (Ellenwood, Ga.) and Amara Moss (Woodbridge, Va.). James led Lincoln Memorial in scoring last season with 23 goals and an assist while also ranking among the South Atlantic Conference leaders in draw controls with 56. The Lady Railsplitters also bring back sophomore attacker Autumn Beddington (Newburgh, Ind.), who accounted for 10 goals last season.
 
The Lady Railsplitters also welcome back standout sophomore goalkeeper Shannon Novak (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.), who played every minute in net for Lincoln Memorial last season, securing 138 saves and a 39.7 save percentage while also racking up a team-high 40 ground balls.
 
Montreat is in the same situation that the Lady Railsplitters were in at this time last year, as the Cavaliers are preparing to make their program debut on Friday. Montreat - an NAIA member located just east of Asheville, N.C. - is being led into its first season by head coach Katy Ferguson, who is no stranger to starting up women's lacrosse programs, as she led the Oklahoma Baptist women's lacrosse program to the playoffs in each of its first two seasons of existence.
 
"What's challenging is that we don't know anything about them," LMU women's lacrosse coach Caitlyn Corace said. "This is their first game of the season as well and first year as a program, so we don't really know what we are going to get out of them. We have ideas of what to maybe expect from a first-year program, because we were just in those same shoes. Hopefully with our one year of experience that gives us an edge."
 
For a first-year program, Montreat features a surprisingly balanced roster, even though it is still heavy with underclassmen. The Cavaliers are riding into the season with a roster comprised of six freshmen, three sophomore, four juniors and three seniors.
 
Erin Holdsclaw - a 5-8 sophomore from Taylorsville, N.C. - is the only option at goalkeeper for Montreat.
 
Getting off to a better start will be a key area of concern for the Lady Railsplitters. Last season, Lincoln Memorial was outscored 148-18 and outshot 292-48 in the first half.
 
"I'm hoping that we come out fast from the get go and set the tone," Corace said. "Once we set the tone I think we will be fine. But there's going to be those first-game jitters from everybody, including all of our freshmen that are going to be in the starting lineup. It's going to be their first game so we have to calm them down and play our game the way we've been practicing."
 
The Lady Railsplitters' struggles were magnified on the road last season, as Lincoln Memorial averaged just 2.8 goals per appearance and served up 18.2 goals per match in five road games. The Lady Railsplitters came closest to winning a road match last season in 13-goal losses at Coker and Newberry.
 
"It's going to take focus for us to be successful on the road," Corace said. "We need to play our game and stick to what we know, our Railsplitter lacrosse, and we should be fine."
 
To read the 2016 LMU women's lacrosse season preview, click here.
 
The Lady Railsplitters and Cavaliers get underway at 3:30 p.m. in Montreat, N.C. A complete recap of that match will be available at www.LMURailsplitters.com, the comprehensive home of Lincoln Memorial University athletics.