Wingate, N.C. – The Lady Railsplitters (1-6, 1-3 SAC) look to get the 2016 season back on track on Saturday, as they face off against the Wingate Bulldogs (4-3-1, 2-2-0 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference action at 2 p.m. at the Wingate University Soccer Complex. Lincoln Memorial is trying to right the ship after suffering its third straight conference loss, while Wingate will be trying to build on its overtime victory against Newberry. The match will be streamed live on ESPN3.
Schedule/Game Day Links
Saturday, October 1 at Wingate (1:30 p.m.)
Live Stats /
Video
Notes on the Lady Railsplitters:
Coach D'Anna on the Papa John's Splitter Sound Bites podcast
- Lincoln Memorial has had the week off since last facing the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears Saturday at the LMU Soccer Complex. The Bears put on an offensive showcase in the first half as they raced to a 4-0 lead, capped off by two goals in a six-minute stretch by Kendall Smith. The Lady Railsplitters played more competitively and settled for a scoreless second half, but Lenoir-Rhyne still coasted to the easy victory.
- Senior goalie
Kathryn Lundy (Pinckney, Mich.) replaced starting goalie
Brooke Taylor (White Pine, Tenn.) in the second half Saturday and held Lenoir-Rhyne scoreless in her 45 minutes of work while making three saves. After a slow start to the year, she now has not allowed a goal in over 131 minutes dating back to Sept. 11.
- Saturday's match is just Lincoln Memorial's second true road game of the season. Including Saturday, six of the team's final eight matches will be played away from the LMU Soccer Complex.
- The Lady Railsplitters are struggling to find offensive production this season, as they have only scored three goals in seven games on 80 shots. The three goals are last in the conference.
Melissa Carpenter (Jacksonville, Fla.),
Caroline Souza (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and
Kaitlyn Tisch (Tacoma, Wash.) have accounted for one goal apiece.
Alyssa Berry (St. Joseph, Mich.) is the only other player to total a point this season; she assisted on Tisch's goal against Brevard.
- Lincoln Memorial was blanked for the second consecutive match and fourth time in their last six. Following Saturday's contest against Lenoir-Rhyne, Lincoln Memorial has now gone 214 consecutive minutes without scoring dating back to Carpenter's 61st-minute goal at Queens on September 17.
- The Lady Railsplitters have yet to tally multiple goals in a match this season and, dating back to the 2015 campaign, have gone 11 consecutive matches without doing so. The last time they scored multiple goals was a 4-1 win at Coker on October 17, 2015.
- Lincoln Memorial is averaging 11.4 shots per match, good for 10th out of 12 teams in the SAC. But the Lady Railsplitters' 3.8 shooting percentage is the lowest mark in the SAC by a wide margin. Wingate is second-to-last with a 9.1 percent mark, but has also put up 143 shots—second-most in the conference.
- The Lady Railsplitters are looking to avoid their worst start to a season since the 2002 team opened with a 1-7-1 mark. That team rebounded to finish with 7-11-1. The worst start in school history was by the inaugural 1994 team, who began the season 1-8-1. They also rebounded by winning the final six games to finish 7-8-1.
Notes on the Bulldogs:
- Wingate's scheduled match at Barton Wednesday in Wilson, N.C. was canceled due to lightning. The Bulldogs' last game played was a 2-1 victory Saturday at home against Newberry. The Wolves' Sara Silvestro tied the game at one apiece with a penalty kick in the 88th minute to send the game to overtime. Taylor Krakower scored on a cross from Kaitlyn Fletcher in the 107th minute to clinch the game for the Bulldogs.
- Junior keeper Alexis Jones has played every minute of every game in goal for the Bulldogs this season. She has conceded seven goals on 75 shots against while making 27 saves, good for a 0.83 goals against average. She ranks 5th in the conference in goals against average and 6th in save percentage. Her four shutouts are also tied for second.
- The Bulldogs are 4-0 at home this season, including 2-0 in conference play. Opponents have been outscored 11-1 in those four games.
- Krakower and Kimmi Moore lead the team with three goals apiece. Krakower has also added two assists. Her eight points are good for a 14th-place tie in the SAC.
- Wingate has earned five consecutive NCAA Tournament bids and six straight trips to the SAC Tournament championship match. Overall, the Bulldogs are 78-19-13 over the past six seasons with a 43-8-5 record in SAC play.
- The Bulldogs' three losses already tie its total each year from 2012-15. 2011 was the last time the Bulldogs lost more than three games in a season (4). The Wingate's two conference losses are also its highest total since also dropping two in 2013.
Series History:
- The LMU-Wingate series dates back to the 1995 season, but has been mostly one-sided since LMU joined the South Atlantic Conference for the 2006 season. All time, the Bulldogs lead the series 11-3, including a current 10-game winning streak by a combined score of 26-4. LMU has not scored a goal in the series since 2013 and has not scored multiple goals in any game during the current losing streak.
- The Bulldogs won last year's match 2-0. The original match was scheduled to be played in Harrogate but was postponed and played in Barbourville, Ky. the next day.
- Wingate won the last match at the Wingate Soccer Complex by a score of 3-0 in 2014.
- Lincoln Memorial last defeated Wingate by a score of 4-1 in 2007 in the SAC Tournament. The team's last win at Wingate occurred just three days prior. They have not defeated Wingate in Harrogate since a 2-1 victory in October 2006.
