YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. – Danilo da Silva (Campinas, Brazil) and
Victor Peres (Brasilia, Brazil) tallied a goal and an assist apiece as the Railsplitters knocked off Young Harris 2-1 to claim their third straight victory on Saturday afternoon in Young Harris, Ga.
The Mountain Lions (1-3), who opened the season ranked ninth in the NSCAA preseason top-25 rankings, took the lead less than three minutes into the contest, but da Silva and Peres scored two goals during a six-minute stretch in the first half to secure the win for Lincoln Memorial (3-1).
The shot battle favored the Mountain Lions, but the Railsplitters dominated in their quality of shot attempts. Young Harris posted a 12-8 edge in shot attempts, but seven of Lincoln Memorial's eight shots landed on goal compared to only four for the home team. Young Harris also attempted six corner kicks to only two for the Railsplitters, but the Mountain Lions wasted numerous opportunities with six offside calls.
Alex Jacq gave the Mountain Lions a 1-0 lead with only 2:57 elapsed in the match, as he received a cross in the right side of the box from Marco Micaletto and sent the ball into the upper left-hand corner.
Young Harris' lead was short-lived, though, as the da Silva-Peres duo quickly catapulted the Railsplitters in front.
In the 15th minute, Peres and da Silva worked a give-and-go before da Silva lined in a shot from 15 yards out to net his second goal of the season and draw the match even at 1-1. Just over six minutes later, da Silva returned the favor, crossing it into the box for Peres, who fired the ball in from 12 yards out to stake the Railsplitters to a 2-1 lead that they would not relinquish.
The goal was Peres' second of the season, as he and da Silva are now tied for the team lead with six points apiece.
Young Harris put steady pressure on the Railsplitter defense in the second half, launching eight shots with three shots on goal, but LMU stood up to that challenge to defeat the Mountain Lions, who won 17 matches last season and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Division II Tournament.
Freshman goalkeeper
August Ahlin (Stockholm, Sweden) made all three of his saves in the second half, winning his third straight match to improve to 3-1 on the season. His counterpart, Young Harris' Anton Viden, allowed two goals and made five saves over 90 minutes of action.
Da Silva led all players with six shots and five shots on goal, while Peres and
Henrique Rezek (Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil) had a shot on goal apiece.
Saturday marked the first meeting between Lincoln Memorial and Young Harris since the 2011 campaign, when the Mountain Lions pounded the Railsplitters 6-1 in Georgia. Lincoln Memorial now leads the all-time series 2-1.
The Railsplitters return to the LMU Soccer Complex on Wednesday, September 14 to host the Brevard Tornados in the South Atlantic Conference opener. That match is scheduled to get underway at 3:30 p.m. Live stats and video links are available at www.LMURailsplitters.com.
