GREENEVILLE, Tenn. -- The Railsplitters (5-3, 1-3 SAC) withstood a late rally to knock off the Tusculum Pioneers (3-6, 2-2 SAC) and pick up the program's first South Atlantic Conference victory with a 13-12 triumph on Wednesday night in Greeneville, Tenn.
 
Lincoln Memorial opened on a 5-0 run and carried a 13-6 advantage into the fourth quarter, but had to ward off the Pioneers down the stretch to end an 11-game SAC losing streak dating back to the start of the inaugural 2015 season. In addition to that milestone, the Railsplitters also surpassed their win total from the entire 2015 campaign, improving to 5-3 overall.
 
Adam Golia (Victoria, British Columbia) led the way for the Railsplitters with three goals on six shots, while Justin Stewart (Copiague, N.Y.) accounted for a goal and three assists. Kyle Arcuri (Patchogue, N.Y.) contributed two goals and two assists, while Billy Kopsky (Smithtown, N.Y.) and Tylor Justin (Buffalo, N.Y.) produced a pair of goals apiece.
 
Lincoln Memorial junior goalkeeper Joe Medel (Virginia Beach, Va.) improved to 5-3 on the season after making 15 saves and allowing 12 goals over the course of the 60-minute match.
 
Ben Boyd led Tusculum with four goals and an assist, while Dallas Wade notched three goals to go along with three groundball recoveries. Nate Wade added two goals and an assist, while Keegan Bell had a goal and an assist.
 
Kevin Haggerty was saddled with the loss for the Pioneers, slipping to 3-6 on the season after serving up 13 goals with 12 saves in 60 minutes of work.
 
The Railsplitters couldn't have asked for a much better start, racing out to a 5-0 lead before the Pioneers finally got on the board with a little under six minutes to play in the first quarter.
 
Arcuri notched the first goal in that 5-0 run at the 11:37 mark of the first, while Kairos Bodley (Orlando, Fla.) scooped up a groundball on the ensuing face-off and went coast-to-coast to score 16 seconds later. Stewart then found Golia for another LMU goal at the 9:45 mark, while Justin scored in unassisted fashion with eight minutes still to go in the quarter. Dylan Neisler (Detroit, Mich.) capped that 5-0 flurry at the 5:56 mark off of a pass from Arcuri.
 
Ben Boyd stopped the LMU run with his first goal of the match at the 5:48 mark, but Golia answered on the other end with three minutes left to extend the Railsplitters' lead to 6-1. Tusculum was able to trim the deficit to 6-2 after one, though, as Ryan recovered a groundball and scored with less than a second left on the clock.
 
Tusculum struck first in the second quarter on a score by Wade at the 13:43 mark, but the Railsplitters would rip off three straight goals from Arcuri, Nick Borriello (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) and Kopsky to establish a 9-3 cushion with less than five minutes left in the half. The Pioneers scored another goal in the final minute of the quarter, though, as Boyd hit nylon with 35 seconds remaining to send the Railsplitters into the half with a 9-4 lead.
 
Wade and Boyd sandwiched goals around a Golia goal to help the Pioneers close the gap to 10-6 with 26 minutes left in the match, but the Railsplitters would end the third quarter with a 3-0 spurt to take a commanding 13-6 lead into the final quarter. Stewart capped that third-quarter finish by rebounding his own miss and scoring with two seconds left.
 
Those three insurance goals proved significant in the fourth quarter, too, as the Pioneers put a scare into the Railsplitters. It took just over three minutes for Tusculum to score four goals and close the gap to 13-10 by the 11:53 mark. Neither team would score for the next eight minutes, but Tyler Klarner tallied at the 3:31 mark and Bell scored again less than a minute later to make it a one-goal game at 13-12 with 2:40 left to play.
 
The Pioneers had a chance to tie it late, as they had possession in the final minute of regulation, but Ryan's shot attempt at the 37-second mark went wide. That would be the only shot attempt for Tusculum in the closing minute, as the Railsplitters held on for the 13-12 triumph.
 
The Railsplitters dominated possession, winning 18 of the 27 face-offs and going 10 for 16 on clears. Lincoln Memorial also finished with a 33-28 edge in groundballs while outshooting the Pioneers 37-34. Josh Hernandez (Middletown, N.Y.) went 18 for 27 at the face-off x while also matching Bodley for the team lead in groundballs with six.
 
With the win, the Railsplitters moved into seventh place in the SAC standings.
 
Lincoln Memorial returns to action on Saturday, hosting the Brevard Tornados in a SAC tilt at 1 p.m.