CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Railsplitters (2-0) will try to pick up a signature win and record the program's first-ever South Atlantic Conference victory on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Charlotte, N.C. to face the 20th-ranked Queens Royals (3-1) at 2 p.m. in the 2016 SAC opener.
 
Lincoln Memorial moved to 2-0 on the season and checked off another milestone last Wednesday at North Greenville, defeating the Crusaders 12-7 to grab the program's first-ever road win. Now the Railsplitters will look to accomplish two things that have never been done by LMU's fledgling program: win a South Atlantic Conference game and beat a nationally-ranked opponent.
 
"This is one of those situations that a college athlete thrives on," LMU head men's lacrosse coach Ryan Kuhn said. "It's an opportunity to do something that we've never done before against possibly the best team we have ever played against. The goal for us is to be up to the challenge. This is an opportunity for us to gain to respect not just in the conference but on the national level."
 
Queens will almost certainly be the best team the Railsplitters have faced, as the Royals enter Saturday's match ranked 20th in the nation and fresh off of a 16-10 win over No. 16 Belmont Abbey on Wednesday. In that contest, Queens opened on a 5-0 run and never looked back in handing Belmont Abbey its first loss of the season. The Royals' only setback this season came at the hands of No. 13 Pfeiffer, while Queens has also beaten Florida Southern, who is receiving votes in the latest USILA/Nike national rankings.
 
"Queens is a very seasoned and well-coached team," Kuhn said. "Coach (Jim) Fritz is a pioneer for lacrosse in the south. He has a tremendous track record of being successful with whatever team he's coaching. So we are going to have our hands full. They are very explosive in transition and have one of the best players in the conference. It's going to be a tough task guarding that dynamic offense."
 
Though it's a small, early-season sample size, Queens is putting up gargantuan offensive numbers, as the Royals lead the SAC in nearly every significant category, including goals (60), assists (36), goals per game (15.0), shooting percentage (34.9 percent) and man-up goals (11). The Royals' offensive machine has been fueled by an absurdly efficient face-off percentage, as Queens leads the SAC by a wide margin in that department by winning 75 percent of its face-offs.
 
"A lot of their offensive success has started at the face-off x," Kuhn said. "If we can do a good job of disrupting their flow at the face-off, then I think we will have a good opportunity to kind of take away some of those extra possessions that they have had."
 
The Royals are led by three of the top four goal scorers in the South Atlantic Conference. Senior attacker and former SAC Player of the Year Garrett Chan leads that trio with 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists), while freshman Garrett Sadler is pacing Queens in goals with 16. Another freshman, Jesse Olliver, has 10 goals and four assists already this season.
 
"Teams spend so much time focusing on Garrett Chan that they forget that he has two other line mates that are extremely good finishers," Kuhn said. "If we don't do a good job of playing off-ball defense, then they are going to pick us apart. The biggest thing for us is that we communicate well and play high level on-the-ball defense, but our off-ball defense has to be the best it's ever been since I've been here for us to be successful."
 
On paper, it sets up to be a match of strength versus strength, as the Railsplitters lead the SAC in goals against (11), goals against average (5.50) and save percentage (67.6). Lincoln Memorial is also second behind the Royals in face-off percentage with a 57.5 percent clip, while the Railsplitters lead the SAC in clear percentage at 92.3 percent.
 
Junior Jonathan Paige is the lead face-off guy for the Royals, as he has won 72 of his 88 face-offs this season. He will likely battle it out with Lincoln Memorial's sophomore midfielder Josh Hernandez (Middletown, N.Y.), who is 22-for-38 in the x this season.
 
In net, it will be LMU's Joe Medel (Virginia Beach, Va.) against Queens' Eric Dolan. Medel currently leads the league in goals against, goals against average and save percentage over 120 minutes of action. Dolan is sporting a 10.28 goals against average with a league-leading 50 saves.
 
Adam Golia (Victoria, British Columbia) looks to continue his red-hot start for the Railsplitters. Golia - tied for second in the SAC in total goals - tallied six goals against Emmanuel and poured in four goals with two assists against North Greenville. He is already three goals away from matching his total for the entire 2015 season.
 
Lincoln Memorial nearly beat the Royals in last season's meeting at the LMU Lacrosse Complex, taking a 3-2 lead into the half after Dylan Neisler (Detroit, Mich.) scored the only two goals for either team in the second quarter. However, Queens opened the third quarter with a 5-0 flurry to put the game out of reach before ultimately finishing off the 9-6 win. Neisler led that Railsplitters with three goals.
 
That was one of several close calls for the Railsplitters in SAC play last season, as LMU lost in overtime to Tusculum and Brevard while suffering a one-goal loss at Wingate.
 
Lincoln Memorial and Queens get underway at 2 p.m. in Charlotte, N.C. Live stats and video links are available at www.LMURailsplitters.com, the comprehensive online home of LMU sports.