SALISBURY, N.C. – The Railsplitters (4-2) start the South Atlantic Conference slate on Saturday at 3 p.m. when they face the Catawba Indians (3-4, 0-1 SAC) at Shuford Stadium. Lincoln Memorial will be looking to rebound from a narrow 9-7 loss to Florida Southern, while Catawba aims to snap a two-game losing streak in its home SAC opener.
Schedule/Gameday Links:
Saturday, March 11 at Catawba (3pm) –
Live Stats
Quick Hits:
-The Railsplitters took a 6-5 lead into the fourth quarter in Wednesday's showdown against Florida Southern at the LMU Lacrosse Complex, but the Moccasins opened the final quarter by scoring four unanswered goals to snap Lincoln Memorial's program-best, four-match winning streak. It would have been a signature win for the young LMU men's lacrosse program, as Florida Southern entered that contest receiving votes in the USILA national poll.
-Wednesday's loss spoiled a pair of magnificent efforts from midfielder
Billy Kopsky (Smithtown, N.Y.) and goalie
Joe Medel (Virginia Beach, Va.). Kopsky scored a season-high five goals on eight shots and seven shots on goal to completely carry the Railsplitter offensive attack, while Medel matched a career-high mark with 19 saves. He finished with a brilliant 67.9 save percentage, but fell to 4-1 with the loss.
-Junior midfielder
Adam Golia (Victoria, British Columbia) looks to bounce back from a forgettable performance against Florida Southern. After combining for 12 points (10 goals, 2 assists) to earn AstroTurf South Atlantic Conference Player of the Week plaudits a week ago, Golia was limited to a season low in points (1), shots (2) and shots on goal (1) against the Mocs. The Victoria, British Columbia product still leads the team in points with 24, which ranks fifth in the league.
-The Railsplitters are 2-14 in their brief history in SAC play. Lincoln Memorial posted a 2-6 mark in conference play in 2016 to finish alone in eighth place. The Railsplitters will be looking to halt a three-game SAC losing streak after falling to Mars Hill, Lenoir-Rhyne and Coker in succession to end the 2016 campaign.
-Face-offs continue to be an issue for the Railsplitters, who are ranked fifth in the SAC in face-off winning percentage with a 42.7 percent clip. Lincoln Memorial's 67 total face-off wins are the third-fewest in the SAC. LMU went just 6-for-20 at the face-off x against Florida Southern.
-The Railsplitters lead the conference in caused turnovers with 75 – an average of over 12 per game.
Josh Hernandez (Middletown, N.Y.) leads the team and the SAC in caused turnovers with 21 while scooping up 19 groundballs. On the flip side, Lincoln Memorial has also committed the third-most turnovers in the SAC with 112.
Notes on the Indians:
-Catawba won three of its first five matches to open the 2017 campaign, but comes into Saturday's contest hoping to snap a two-game losing streak after dropping a 13-6 decision to Queens in the SAC lidlifter and falling 11-5 to Bentley. In that loss to Bentley on Wednesday, the Indians fell into a 4-0 hole right from the jump and were never able to recover.
-The Indians have had trouble consistently creating offense this season, ranking eighth in the SAC in goals per game (9.71) and shooting percentage (28.9) despite firing off the third-most shots per game in the league with 33.6. Catawba has been held to six goals or fewer in three of its seven appearances. Against Bentley, the Indians were held to a season-low 18 shots after mustering just 29 shots against Queens.
-Sophomore Cole Fanzo leads the Indians in points with 20 on 17 goals and three assists, while junior Dalton Cook has contributed 17 points on 14 goals and three assists. Sophomore Joe Barber and freshman Trevor Bellotte have put together identical stat lines with five goals and six assists apiece, while junior Chase Scott has tallied three goals and a team-high seven assists.
-Fanzo has been in a funk of late, scoring just one goal on eight total shot attempts in the Indians' last two matches. Cook has just one goal and one assist on six shots over that same span. Justin Warnock carried the Indians against Bentley with a season-high three goals after tallying just one goal and one assist in the team's previous six matches.
-The Indians allow a modest 11.96 goals per game and rank third in the SAC in save percentage with a 53.1 percent mark. That is a product of strong play from senior goalie Ryan Applegate, who has compiled a SAC-leading 91 saves over 411 minutes of action. He has stopped at least 55 percent of the shots he's faced in four of his seven appearances this season.
-Catawba leads the SAC in clear percentage with a 90.9 percent mark, but are ranked eighth in the league in face-off winning percentage with a 37 percent clip.
Series History:
-Catawba has won the only two meetings in the series, topping the Railsplitters 11-7 in 2015 in Salisbury before pulling out a 12-3 win in 2016 in Harrogate.
-The Indians held Lincoln Memorial to a program-low three goals in last season's meeting. The Railsplitters launched 30 shots and 14 shots on goal, but Applegate made 11 saves to power the dominant defensive performance, as LMU was held scoreless in the second half.
-In the first meeting in 2015, Catawba jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never looked back. The Railsplitters pulled within one early in the third quarter, but a 3-0 run by the Indians kept Lincoln Memorial at bay. Applegate dominated that one as well with 10 saves.
