HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Pioneers of Tusculum come town on Wednesday afternoon for a 1 p.m. South Atlantic Conference match against the Lady Railsplitters at the LMU Soccer Complex. Lincoln Memorial (1-4, 1-1 SAC) aims to rebound from a tough loss on the road at Queens, while Tusculum (3-2-2, 1-0-1 SAC) battled back to secure a draw with Lenoir-Rhyne in its last appearance.
 
Schedule/Game Day Links
 
Wednesday, September 21 vs. Tusculum (1pm) Live Stats / Video
 
Notes on the Lady Railsplitters:
Preview with Coach D'Anna on the Papa John's Splitter Sound Bites podcast
 
-LMU is coming off of their opening week of SAC play - one that LMU head coach Helio D'Anna called a "reset of our season" - that ended with a mixed bag of results. The Lady Railsplitters knocked off Brevard 1-0 last Wednesday after a first-half goal from freshman forward Kaitlyn Tisch (Tacoma, Wash.) put LMU in the lead for good. On Saturday, the Lady Railsplitters fell to Queens 3-1 on the road, as a second-half goal from junior midfielder Melissa Carpenter (Jacksonville, Fla.) wasn't enough to stop the relentless attack of the Royals, who tallied three second-half goals of their own to secure the win.
-Against Brevard, Lincoln Memorial outshot the Tornados 23-9 and had firm control over possession and the passing lanes to cruise to their first victory of the 2016 campaign. Along with Tisch's goal, LMU gained offensive production from sophomore midfielder Alyssa Berry (St. Joseph, Mich.), sophomore midfielder Caroline Souza (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and sophomore forward Palisa Chipendo (Brighton, England). Senior goalkeeper Kathryn Lundy (Pinckney, Mich.) and sophomore Brooke Taylor (White Pine, Tenn.) split time in net for LMU, combining for five saves and the shutout.
-On Saturday, the Lady Railsplitters held their own against the Royals in the first half of play despite being outshot 11-2 in the frame, playing to a scoreless stalemate after 45 minutes. But the second half proved to be an onslaught and, despite Carpenter's tally, the Royals' ability to convert on set piece chances proved to be too much for LMU to withstand. Lincoln Memorial was outshot 25-3 in the match and 10-2 on shots on goal, as the Royals' offense accounted for three goals in the second half.
-Leading the Lady Railsplitters statistically this season are Carpenter, Souza, Tisch, Berry and junior defender Gabby Garcia (Aurora, Colo.). Carpenter has one goal and one assist on 13 shots and four shots on goal in 439 minutes of game action, all figures that lead the team. Souza follows with one goal on six shots and three shots on goal over five appearances. Tisch added to her stat sheet with her goal against Brevard, and now has one goal on four shots in 222 minutes of game time. Berry has the second of two assists for LMU on the year to go along with three shots and two shots on target for the midfielder. Garcia, a Laramie County Community College transfer, has yet to find the back of the net, but has six total shots.
-The Lady Railsplitters have won consecutive home SAC matches dating back to a 1-0 win over Catawba in the 2015 regular-season finale. However, since the start of the 2015 campaign, Lincoln Memorial is 3-4-1 against SAC opponents at the LMU Soccer Complex.   
 
Notes on Tusculum:
 
-Tusculum enters Wednesday's match with a 3-2-2 overall record and a 1-0-1 mark in SAC play. The Pioneers have scored 10 goals over that seven-game stretch while relinquishing just over one goal per match (1.07). The Pioneers average 13.1 shots per game but have accounted for a meager .109 shots on goal percentage.
-Most recently, Tusculum placed the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears to a 2-2 double-overtime draw on Saturday in Greeneville, Tenn. The Pioneers were staring up at a 2-0 deficit, but scored twice in the final 12 minutes, including the game-tying goal with 55 seconds left in regulation to stave off what appeared to be a sure loss. Prior to that, the Pioneers topped Queens 2-1 at home in their SAC opener.
-Tusculum is led by senior Olivia Kilgore, who has one goal and three assists on just five shots in her seven appearances this season. Of the Pioneers' 10 goals, all 10 have been scored by a different player. Leading the goal-scoring pack alongside Kilgore is sophomore Katja Andersson (1 goal on 15 shots), freshman Sonja Ballmert (1 goal and 1 assist on 6 shots) and sophomore Carly Mill (1 goal and 1 assist on 12 shots).
-Senior Miriah Martin will be in goal for the Pioneers, as she has played every minute of Tusculum's seven matches this season. Over that span, Martin has allowed just eight goals while producing 26 saves, good for a .765 save percentage. Martin has posted three wins and one shutout so far.   
 
Series History:
 
-LMU and long-time rivals Tusculum have faced off 26 times since 1994, with the Pioneers holding the series lead 13-10-3. It's been a one-side affair since the turn of the century, as Lincoln Memorial has beaten the Pioneers only four times since the 2000 season. The Lady Railsplitters boast a slight edge at home, where they are 5-4-1 all-time.
-Last year's match at Tusculum ended in a double overtime 3-3 draw, as senior midfielder Kadie Soall (Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada) scored a pair of goals and junior goalkeeper Kathryn Lundy (Pinckney, Mich.) made a career-high nine saves for the Lady Railsplitters.