ROCK HILL, S.C. – Fourth-seeded Lincoln Memorial (10-4-3) fell 3-0 to Wingate (13-4-1) in a semifinal match of the 2017 South Atlantic Conference Men's Soccer Championship Friday afternoon at Manchester Meadows. The Bulldogs advance to Sunday's championship match to face the winner of the other semifinal between Queens and Anderson.
 
The Railsplitters, currently ranked sixth in the NCAA Division II Southeast Region rankings, will have to wait to learn their NCAA Tournament fate. Six teams from the region will earn a bid.
 
Neither team could find the back of the net through 45 minutes, though Lincoln Memorial came out attacking early. The Railsplitters attempted the game's first five shots—all within the first 11 minutes—and landed two on goal. However, the team went on to attempt just one shot for the rest of the half as Wingate's defense settled in. Lincoln Memorial went into halftime with a 6-4 shots advantage, though Wingate attempted three corners to LMU's one.
 
The teams remained scoreless well into the second half until Wingate broke through on a Jon Ander penalty kick. Ronaldo de Jesus' 73^rd-minute foul on Elma N'For in the box led to the attempt.
 
The Bulldogs added two insurance goals late in the second half to seal the win. Ander again found the back of the net off a Nate Evans pass in the 89^th minute. Evans added a goal just 27 seconds later on a feed from N'For.
 
Wingate dominated the second half offensively and outshot LMU 11-2. The Railsplitters couldn't muster a shot on goal in the half. The Bulldogs outshot Lincoln Memorial 15-8 overall.
 
LMU was booked for a season-high five yellow cards by five different players. All cards were handed out before the 70^th minute while the game was still scoreless. Felipe Machado, Andrea Cattaneo and Danilo da Silva received their bookings just 6:30 apart in the second half. Christoph Willemsen and Felipe de Sousa were carded in the first half.
 
Pablo Jara had a busy first eleven minutes in goal for the Bulldogs but only saw one shot on goal afterward. Caleb Cothrin only had to make one save in the first half but let three of Wingate's five shots on goal in the second half past him.
 
Ander and N'For each attempted five shots and landed two on goal. Victor Peres and da Silva led the Railsplitters with two shots apiece. Both of Peres' landed on goal.
 
Quick Hits
 
- Lincoln Memorial is winless in its past eight meetings with Wingate. The Railsplitters have been shut out in four straight matchups and six of the past seven dating back to 2013. LMU has not scored against Wingate in 478:12 and has one goal in the last 660:19.
 
- Da Silva was held without a shot on goal for just the third time on the season and the second time against Wingate. All three instances resulted in the Railsplitters getting shut out. He did, however, produce one of the Railsplitters' best scoring chances when he had an open shot after juking past Jara, but da Silva's shot went wide right.
 
- The Bulldogs advance to the championship round of the SAC championship for the third time in four years. The only exception was last year when Brevard handed the eventual national champions their only loss of the season in the quarterfinal round.
 
Up Next
 
The Railsplitters will learn whether they make their first NCAA since 2007 following the conclusion of the conference tournaments.