HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Lady Railsplitters (0-2) are geared up to host their 2016 home opener on Sunday, as they welcome the Lee Flames to the LMU Soccer Complex for a 2 p.m. kickoff in Harrogate. In commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, Lincoln Memorial will host Patriot Day, as fans are encouraged to wear red, white and blue to the match.
 
Schedule/Game Day Links 
 
Sunday, September 11 vs. Lee (2pm) Live Stats / Video
 
Notes on the Lady Railsplitters: 
Preview with Coach D'Anna on the Papa John's Splitter Sound Bites podcast 
 
-The Lady Railsplitters began their season in Columbus, Ga. this past weekend, dropping a close match against 10th-ranked Bellarmine 3-1 on Friday before succumbing to West Alabama 3-0 on Sunday in the CSU Invitational. Against Bellarmine, the Lady Railsplitters kept up with the pace of the No. 10 team in the nation for the majority of the match despite being outshot 17-7 and gaining only one corner kick to Bellarmine's nine. In fact, the match was knotted at 1-1 until the Knights broke it open with two goals in the first 10 minutes of the second half, which proved to be the difference. It marked LMU's second season-opening loss to a nationally-ranked opponent in three years, as the Lady Railsplitters kicked off the 2014 campaign with a 4-1 loss to No. 2 West Florida.
-The Georgia heat, along with the quick 48-hour turnaround, proved to be a little too much to overcome against West Alabama in LMU's 3-0 loss to the Tigers in the second of two games in Columbus. Despite only being outshot 14-11 and having a massive corner kick advantage in their favor at 9-1, the Lady Railsplitters failed to convert chances into goals and wound up dropping a match that they were looking to gain points from. The loss was a reverse of fortunes from last season, when the Lady Railsplitters erased a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Tigers in double overtime.
-The only goal scored by LMU over the weekend came from sophomore forward Caroline Souza (Sao Paulo, Brazil) in the 27th minute of the match against Bellarmine. Souza's goal was assisted by junior midfielder Melissa Carpenter (Jacksonville, Fla.). Along with the one goal and three shots from Souza and the two shots and one assist from Carpenter against Bellarmine, senior forward Michelle Hunter (Tecumseh, Ontario) and sophomore midfielder/forward Isa Jara (Miami, Fla.) had a shot apiece.
-Against West Alabama, junior defender Gabby Garcia (Aurora, Colo.) had four shots total (two on goal), while Carpenter and Hunter had two shots apiece to lead the way for the Lady Railsplitters. Lincoln Memorial allowed three goals for the second consecutive match and fell to 0-2 for the first time since the 2003 season.
-Since the start of 2012, the Lady Railsplitters have gone 17-11-3 at the LMU Soccer Complex. Lincoln Memorial will look to fare better at home this season, though, as they went 2-5-1 inside of the friendly confines in 2015.
 
Notes on Lee: 
 
-Lee kicked off the season in Columbus, Ga. this past weekend as well, drawing with Wingate 0-0 in double overtime in the first game before falling to No.10 Bellarmine 1-0 in the second match. During their time in Columbus, the Flames were outshot 26-15 while failing to score a goal the entire tournament. Their defense was stout, however, only giving up 1 goal in 200-plus minutes of game action.
-After a frustrating offensive showing over the weekend, the Flames' offense unloaded in their home opener against Lees-McCrae on Thursday, scoring a 4-0 victory and outshooting the Bobcats 27-6. Lee dominated the match from start to finish, scoring almost at will with goals in the seventh, 22nd, 51st and 68th minutes.
-Don't let Lee's slow start deceive, as the Flames are a quality opponent that went 11-5-4 last season and qualified for the NCAA Division II Tournament, where they were handed a narrow 1-0 loss by Tampa. Lee finished tied for first place in the difficult Gulf South Conference with a 10-2 league mark.
-Through three matches this season, Lee has outshot its opponents 42-32 with a .476 shot on goal percentage compared to a .313 shot on goal percentage for its opponents. Shot on goal percentage measures the percentage of shot attempts that land on goal.
-Leading the Flames this season are senior midfielder Kaela Leskovar (two goals in 232 minutes of action), junior midfielder McKenzie Bricker (one goal in 256 minutes), sophomore forward Lauren Peters (one goal) and freshman midfielder Carly Smoltz (two assists). Juniors Haley Gribler and Erin Olson have split time in goal this season for Lee, each earning one shutout, while Gribler leads the way with eight saves on the year.
 
Series History:
 
-Sunday's match will be the fourth overall meeting between the Lady Railsplitters and the Flames. LMU has previously played Lee three times since 1994, losing at Lee 3-0 in 1994, winning in Harrogate 5-1 in 1995, and then dropping a tough match at Lee 3-0 in 2015.
-In last season's meeting at Lee, the Flames outshot the Lady Railsplitters 17-6 and tallied all three of their goals in the second half. In what was the first meeting between the two programs in 20 years, Hunter paced Lincoln Memorial with two shots.