WISE, Va. -- The Lady Railsplitters (1-1) look to bounce back from a tough loss on Thursday afternoon when they make the first of two regular-season trips to Wise, Va. to face the Virginia-Wise Cavaliers (1-1) in NCAA Division II women's lacrosse action at 6 p.m.
 
Lincoln Memorial is coming off of a 22-5 loss to the Young Harris Mountain Lions last Wednesday at Rocky Top Sports World in Gatlinburg. After starting fast with a 9-0 run in their season-opening win at Montreat, the Lady Railsplitters were victimized by a slow start against Young Harris, falling behind 11-0 before getting on the board at the 14:46 mark of the first half on a goal by Jasmin Click (Clermont, Fla.). LMU was outshot 32-12 in that contest, while the Mountain Lions accounted for a 23-11 edge in ground ball recoveries. Click and Bre'Asia James (Vero Beach, Fla.) led the Lady Railsplitters with a goal and an assist apiece.
 
"We let ourselves get into a little bit of a hole early and I think it would have been a much closer game if we hadn't done that," LMU women's lacrosse coach Caitlyn Corace said. "Now the girls know what to expect when we play a team that is at a higher level, so they are excited for the challenge on Thursday."
 
Virginia-Wise enters Thursday's contest sporting a 1-1 record. The Cavaliers dropped a hard-fought 22-18 decision to the Tusculum Pioneers in their season opener, as Tusculum closed that match on a 4-1 run to seal the victory. But UVA-Wise bounced back last Saturday by posting the first shutout in the program's two-year history with a 16-0 evisceration of Cumberlands. In that game, the Cavaliers posted a 26-11 advantage in shots with 23 of those shots landed on goal.
 
Four different players have accounted for at least seven points for the Cavaliers this season. Rachel Cole leads the team with nine points (6 goals, 3 assists), while McKayla Grasham (7 goals), Kristin Gobbi (6 goals, 1 assist) and Emily Henneberry (3 goals, 4 assist) have seven points apiece. Catherine Dina is just a point shy of that mark with three goals and three assists.
 
Melanie Reilly has played all 120 minutes in net for the Cavaliers, as she enters Thursday's contest sporting an 11.0 goals against average with 16 saves and a .421 save percentage. She made nine saves against Tusculum before posting the shutout with seven saves against Cumberlands.
 
"Reilly does a really good job for them. She's comes out really high, so we have to make sure that we get good shot selection," Corace said. "That's something we have been focusing on for the last couple of days with the girls."
 
Lincoln Memorial and UVA-Wise squared off last season on April 1 at the LMU Lacrosse Complex in a battle of first-year programs. The Cavaliers picked up their first-ever win in that match with a 15-2 victory, but the playing field was far from even, as injuries forced the short-handed Lady Railsplitters to play a man-down for the entire match. Lincoln Memorial tallied the first goal of the game at the 28:05 mark, but Virginia-Wise closed the half on a 9-0 run to power the win. James and Autumn Beddington (Newburgh, Ind.) scored a goal apiece for the Lady Railsplitters.
 
"We're really excited about the chance to play this team on an even field," Corace said. "I think the girls are even more excited than I am about it because they know what remember how it was last year. This year is definitely going to look a lot different. We have to be play competitive every game and that's how we are going to approach this one."
 
The Lady Railsplitters will be led into the match by Click, James and Amara Moss (Woodbridge, Va.), who are each tied for the team lead with six points apiece. Click and James have both accounted for four goals and two assists, while Moss has five goals and an assist to her credit.
 
After Thursday's match, the Lady Railsplitters turn around to face the Newberry Wolves in the South Atlantic Conference opener on Saturday in Harrogate.
 
Lincoln Memorial and Virginia-Wise are set to get underway at 6 p.m. in Wise, Va. Live stats are available at www.LMURailsplitters.com.