HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Railsplitters scored in the 25th minute and staved off a late charge to defeat the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears 1-0 in South Atlantic Conference men's soccer action on Saturday afternoon at the LMU Soccer Complex.
 
Freshman forward Felipe de Sousa (Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil) tallied his first career goal midway through the first half to help the Lincoln Memorial (5-3, 2-2 SAC) snap a two-game losing streak and draw back even in SAC play. Lenoir-Rhyne (4-3-1, 1-2 SAC), despite outshooting the Railsplitters 17-12 in the match and 10-6 in the second half, lost for the second time in the past three games.
 
Sousa's 25th-minute goal was setup by junior striker Danilo da Silva (Campinas, Brazil), who carried some space up the left side before turning the corner around a pair of Lenoir-Rhyne defenders, pressuring L-R keeper Zach King to come off his line. Silva then slipped the ball back to the middle for Sousa, who drove it into a virtually empty net. That was Silva's fourth assist of the 2016 campaign, which ranks third in the SAC.
 
The Railsplitters were able to make that goal hold up despite steady pressure from the Bears for the final 65 minutes. There were a number of close calls, including a clear ball from sophomore Philip Wong (Hong Kong, China) that nearly went in for an own goal before bouncing off of the left post.
 
As the Railsplitters looked to put the game on ice late, things got iffy when senior forward George Burne (Carlisle, England) drew his second yellow card of the match in the 88th minute, forcing Lincoln Memorial to play a man-down for last two minutes and 20 seconds. Due to his ejection, Burne will be forced to sit out the Railsplitters' next match.
 
Along with a steady effort from the back line, freshman goalkeeper August Ahlin (Stockholm, Sweden) was cool and composed throughout, making three stops to post his second shutout of the season.
 
The Railsplitters were outshot 17-12, but produced a 5-3 advantage in terms of shots on goal. Silva led Lincoln Memorial with three shots and two shots on goal, while Henrique Rezek (Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil) and Ronaldo de Jesus (Campinas, Brazil) tallied two shots apiece.
 
For Lenoir-Rhyne, King had four saves and allowed the only goal of the match to fall to 4-3-1 on the season. Ismael Noumansana led all players with four shots, while DeJean Charlton tallied three shots for the Bears.  
 
The win moves Lincoln Memorial to 8-3-2 all-time against Lenoir-Rhyne and 5-1 at home in the series. The Railsplitters have now won the last two meetings after defeating the Bears 3-2 last season in Hickory, N.C.
 
The Railsplitters will be back in action on Saturday, October 1 when they head to Wingate, N.C. for a SAC showdown against the Wingate Bulldogs, which is set for a 4:30 p.m. kickoff. Live stats and video links will be available at www.LMURailsplitters.com.