KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Lady Railsplitters (7-9, 2-7 SAC) will try to clinch a postseason berth on Saturday evening when they host the Catawba Indians (6-9, 3-6 SAC) for the regular-season finale at 5:30 p.m. at the Sansom Sports Complex in Knoxville, Tenn. The game was originally scheduled to be held at the LMU Soccer Complex, but with heavy rain in the forecast the match was moved to Sansom's turf field.
 
The Basics
 
Saturday, October 28 at Sansom Sports Complex – 5:30pm
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Quick Hits
 
- Lincoln Memorial suffered its sixth one-goal loss of the season on Tuesday in a 3-2 setback at Division I Hampton. After a sluggish start during which the team fell behind 2-0 and was outshot 9-1, the Lady Railsplitters nearly rallied back behind a two-goal effort from Palisa Chipendo. However, Chipendo's potential game-tying penalty-kick attempt in the 78th minute was saved to prevent the Lady Railsplitters from completing the comeback.
 
- Chipendo has now scored two goals in two of her last three appearances to take over the team lead in goals (5) and points (11). The Brighton, England native recorded the first brace of her tenure at Lincoln Memorial against Mars Hill, which included the double-overtime winner in a 3-2 triumph.
 
- The Lady Railsplitters have been shut out in two of their last three South Atlantic Conference matches and five times total this season. Lincoln Memorial is ranked seventh in the league in scoring with 1.38 goals per match.
 
- With a win on Saturday, the Lady Railsplitters are assured a spot in the field for next week's South Atlantic Conference Championship. It gets a little bit more complicated with a loss, though. In case of a loss, Lincoln Memorial would need both Newberry and Coker to lose as well to make the SAC tournament. Newberry faces fifth-place Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday while Coker tangles with league-leading and No. 4 nationally-ranked Carson-Newman.
 
- Despite all of the adversity the team has dealt with in the form of devastating injuries and one-goal losses, the Lady Railsplitters would match the program's combined win total for the past two seasons with a victory on Saturday. It would mark LMU's first eight-win season since the 2014 team went 9-4-3.
 
- The weather is likely to make an impact on the match. Temperatures are expected to hover in the high 40s at kickoff with a 40 percent chance of rain.
 
Know the Opponent
 
- Catawba was handed its fourth straight loss on Wednesday with a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Lenoir-Rhyne. The Indians held a 1-0 lead at the half thanks to Erin Feldman's 19th-minute strike, but Lenoir-Rhyne scored three times in a 16-minute span in the second half to power the come-from-behind victory.
 
- During its four-game losing streak, Catawba has lost all four matches by one goal – a 2-1 loss at Anderson, a 1-0 double-overtime loss at Wingate, a 2-1 double-overtime loss to Tusculum and Wednesday's 3-2 loss to L-R.
 
- That lull has dropped the Indians into sole possession of seventh place in the SAC standings. Catawba isn't in any danger of missing the SAC tournament, but a loss to Lincoln Memorial would drop the Indians to eighth place. The Lady Railsplitters would then finish in seventh place.
 
- Feldman is far and away the most potent offensive threat for the Indians, as she leads the team with six goals and three assists. Her 15 points rank seventh in the SAC. Becky Frost has collected three goals and two assists on 31 shot attempts, while Abbie Bensted, Bailey Howell and Jovana Sanchez have each tallied three goals apiece as well. Shelby Vasich leads the team with 32 shots and 20 shots on goal, and has recorded two goals with an assist.
 
- Junior goalkeeper Shelby Thompson has appeared in all 15 matches with 13 starts under her belt. Thompson has accumulated a 1.47 goals against average with a .734 save percentage, ranking eighth and 10th in the conference in those categories, respectively.
 
Head-to-Head
 
The Lady Railsplitters are 4-7-5 all-time against Catawba. The two teams played to a scoreless draw in last season's finale in Salisbury, N.C., while Lincoln Memorial pulled out a 1-0 win the last time the two met in Harrogate in 2015. Three of the last four matchups in the series have finished in a draw.