HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The Railsplitters will be looking to exact some revenge on Saturday afternoon when they open the 2016 men's lacrosse season by welcoming the Emmanuel Lions to Harrogate for a 1 p.m. match.
 
Lincoln Memorial and Emmanuel are squaring off in the season opener for the second consecutive year, as the two teams met on February 7 of last year in Franklin Springs, Ga. for the debut of the LMU men's lacrosse program. Despite outshooting the Lions 40-36 and amassing 36 shots on goal, the Railsplitters were handed a 10-7 loss, due in large part to the tremendous work of since departed goalkeeper Blake Duncan, who made 29 stops in the contest. Justin Stewart (Copiague, N.Y.) scored two goals and assisted on another, while Dylan Neisler (Detroit, Mich.) pitched in a pair of goals to lead the Railsplitters in the loss.
 
"We try to stay focused on this year and this journey. But you can't deny the fact that last year's loss still lingers a little bit," LMU head men's lacrosse coach Ryan Kuhn said. "Some guys think they left a little bit on the field that day and if they did a little bit more maybe the result would have been different. But our guys are in a much different frame of mind going up against them this year."
 
Emmanuel went on to complete the 2015 season - the program's second - with a 3-10 overall record that also featured wins over Lees-McRae and North Greenville, who the Railsplitters also beat.
 
The Lions struggled mightily on both ends of the field, serving up an average of 15.08 goals per game while accounting for an average of just 6.54 goals per game on offense. Emmanuel ranked dead last in the nation in terms of shooting percentage with a 20.3 percent clip, but committed an average of just 14.46 turnovers per match, which led Conference Carolinas and ranked ninth nationally.
 
"Emmanuel is a much improved team," Kuhn said. "They have some good midfielders and attackers that can make some things happen, so we are going to have our hands full from a defensive standpoint to try and contain those guys. But we're excited and up to the challenge."
 
The Lions return their top three point scorers from last season's team in junior attacker Austin Brundage, senior attacker Justin Mills and senior midfielder Darian Richardson. Brundage tallied a team-leading 17 goals and nine assists last season, while Mills had 12 goals, six assists and a team-best 62 shots. Richardson contributed 15 goals and three assists with 61 shot attempts and 20 ground balls.
 
Emmanuel did, however, graduate the aforementioned Blake Duncan, who ranked 11th in the nation last season with 11.91 saves per game. He also finished 23rd nationally in save percentage with a 53 percent clip. Senior Alan Troutman or freshman Jake Padden is in line to replace Duncan for the 2016 campaign.
 
The Railsplitters finished their inaugural season with a 4-10 record that was highlighted by wins in three of the last five matches. Lincoln Memorial was a completely different animal at home as opposed to on the road last season, going 4-4 within the friendly confines and 0-6 on the road. The Railsplitters scored 9.75 goals per game and allowed just 7.44 in home matches, but accounted for just 7.17 on the road while allowing 11.62.
 
"Having the opportunity to open up the season at home is a good thing for us," Kuhn said. "We spent the last couple of weekends on the road trying to figure out how to be successful on the road. We put them through the ringer last week to get our guys in the right frame of mind to know that this week games start to count for real."
 
Lincoln Memorial will be led offensively by Neisler, Stewart, Adam Golia (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada) and Billy Kopsky (Smithtown, N.Y.), as that quartet combined for 63 goals and 44 assists last season. Stewart was one of three LMU players selected to the preseason All-South Atlantic Conference team, as he put up 15 goals and 10 assists in 2015.
 
The LMU defense - which ranked 19th nationally last season with 9.29 goals allowed per game - will be led by junior goalkeeper Joe Medel (Virginia Beach, Va.) and 2015 All-SAC honorable mention pick Ryan Benck (Hauppauge, N.Y.). Medel finished eighth in the nation last season with a 56.8 save percentage.
 
The Railsplitters ranked 47th out of 58 teams in the country last season with 8.64 goals per game, but they will look to build off a trend of steady improvement as the 2015 season progressed. In four matches in February, the Railsplitters averaged 6.50 goals per game, a number that jumped to 8.71 in seven appearances in March. Over the last three games of the season, Lincoln Memorial put up 11.33 goals per game, highlighted by a 17-2 shellacking of Asbury in the season finale.
 
LMU and Emmanuel get underway in the 2016 season opener at 1 p.m. on Saturday. All of this season's home matches will be played at the LMU Soccer Complex while construction is being completed on the new lacrosse facility. Admission is completely free of charge to all home lacrosse matches.
 
Live stats and video links are available at www.LMURailsplitters.com.
 
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