HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The Coker Cobras (5-10, 4-4 SAC) opened the second half with a 6-1 run and withstood a late rally to knock off the Railsplitters (6-6, 2-6 SAC) 12-9 in the regular-season finale on Saturday afternoon in Harrogate, Tennessee. With the loss, Lincoln Memorial, which needed a win to earn a spot in the 2016 South Atlantic Conference Championship field, ends the program's second season with a 6-6 overall record and a 2-6 mark in SAC play.
 
The Railsplitters and Cobras were all knotted up a 4-4 at the end of the first half, but Coker outscored Lincoln Memorial 4-1 in the third quarter and tallied two quick goals early in the fourth to provide enough breathing room to stiff-arm the Railsplitters' late push.
 
Freshmen Kyle Arcuri (Patchogue, N.Y.) and Nick Borriello (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) led the Railsplitters with two goals apiece, while Dylan Neisler (Detroit, Mich.) and senior Justin Stewart (Copiague, N.Y.) tallied a goal and an assist apiece. Adam Golia (Victoria, British Columbia) chipped in a goal on eight shots and three shots on goal. Billy Kopsky (Smithtown, N.Y.) and Tylor Justin (Buffalo, N.Y.) also tallied goals for the Railsplitters.
 
LMU goalkeeper Joe Medel (Virginia Beach, Va.) made 14 saves, but allowed all 12 Coker goals over his 60 minutes of work to fall to 6-6 on the season.
 
The Railsplitters needed just eight seconds to tally their first goal in the match, as Josh Hernandez (Middletown, N.Y.) won the opening face-off and connected with Arcuri, who put LMU on the board at the 14:52 mark.
 
Coker would answer, though, as Rylee Marsh sandwiched two goals around a goal from Golia - assisted by Neisler - at the 7:38 mark to send the two teams into the second quarter all tied up at 2-2.
 
The Railsplitters and Cobras continued to trade goals in the second quarter, as Marsh scored 23 seconds into the quarter to give Coker a brief lead. Lincoln Memorial knotted it back up at 3-3 on a goal from Justin at the 9:50 mark, while the Cobras regained the lead on a goal by Paxton Caristi a little over three minutes later. Neisler would score in unassisted fashion with 3:18 left in the first half to make it a 4-4 game, which is where the score stood at the break.
 
The momentum would shift violently in favor of the Cobras in the third quarter, as Mike Martiello and Shane Wilson scored at the 11:26 and 9:32 marks, respectively, to give Coker its largest lead of the match at 6-4. Arcuri stopped the bleeding with his second goal of the match midway through the quarter, but Wilson and Brooks Long capped the third-quarter scoring for the Cobras and made it an 8-5 game.
 
The Cobras' lead quickly ballooned to 10-5 in the fourth quarter on goals from Wilson and Brad Clements, putting the Railsplitters' backs squarely against the wall. Lincoln Memorial responded to that adversity, as Borriello scored twice during a 3-0 run that pulled the Railsplitters within two at 10-8 with six minutes to go. However, Coker steadied itself and received goals from Wilson and Martiello less than a minute apart to put the game to bed with less than four minutes left.
 
Aptly, senior Justin Stewart tallied the final goal of the match for the Railsplitters on Senior Day. Stewart was one of two members - along with Jordan DeAngelis (Morristown, Tenn.) - of the Lincoln Memorial men's lacrosse program's first-ever senior class, which was honored during a pre-match ceremony.
 
Wilson led the Cobras with four goals and an assist. Marsh finished with three goals and two assists, while Martiello had two goals and four assists. Coker goalkeeper Anthony Malik improved to 2-7 on the season after making 15 saves and allowing nine goals over 60 minutes of work.
 
The second season of LMU men's lacrosse saw a number of firsts, as the Railsplitters increased their win total from four to six, won their first-ever South Atlantic Conference match and captured the program's first win on the road. The Railsplitters return nine of their top 10 point scorers next season.