HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Railsplitters (5-4, 1-2 SAC) started fast and pulled away late to defeat the No. 16 Queens Royals (5-3, 3-1 SAC) 11-5 to pick up the program's first-ever win against a nationally-ranked opponent on Saturday afternoon at the LMU Lacrosse Complex.  
 
The win snapped a three-game losing streak and gave Lincoln Memorial its first South Atlantic Conference victory of the season. It also exorcised some fourth-quarter demons, as the Railsplitters outscored the Royals 4-0 in the final period to close out the game. In its previous three contests, Lincoln Memorial had been outscored by a combined 13-3 margin in the fourth quarter.
 
"Today was a good win over a very good Queens team. They are a very well coached and extremely talented team, so to come away with a win is definitely something we as a staff are pleased with," head coach Ryan Kuhn said.
 
"I'm really proud of the way the team closed the game out and I couldn't be happier for the guys. We preached all week about finishing and today they did it. The fourth quarter has been our Achilles heal and today was a good day to turn it around. While it is great to enjoy a win over a ranked opponent, we have a quick turnaround and we need to focus on a very dangerous Tusculum team."
 
Lincoln Memorial used a balanced offensive effort and a stellar performance from senior goalie Joe Medel (Virginia Beach, Va.) to overcome the 16th-ranked team in the nation.
 
Adam Golia (Victoria, British Columbia) led the way with three goals, while Billy Kopsky (Smithtown, N.Y.), Dylan Neisler (Detroit, Mich.) and Robert Tucker (Wantagh, N.Y.) had two goals and two assists apiece. Kyle Arcuri (Patchogue, N.Y.) added two goals, while Nick Borriello (Myrtle Beach, S.C.), Jared Courchene (Sagkeeng, Manitoba) and Khanan Bodley (Orlando, Fla.) chipped in an assist apiece.
 
"From an offensive standpoint it was great to see lots of balance between our attack and midfielders, which kept their defense on its toes," Kuhn said. "We had a bunch of different guys chip in today and they did a really good job of sharing the ball which helped balance us out."
 
Queens outshot the Railsplitters 39-31, but Medel was a brick wall in goal, making 16 saves on a season-best 76.2 save percentage. That was just a tad short of the best save percentage of his career, as the Virginia Beach, Virginia native posted a 78.9 percent clip in the program's inaugural match in 2015.
 
Lincoln Memorial also forced the Royals into an 18-for-23 effort on clears and recorded a 33-28 edge in groundball recoveries. The Railsplitters were a nearly perfect 24-for-26 on clear attempts.
 
"Our goal as a team was to limit their opportunities in transition, which is an area they thrive, and being able to slow them down really helped us defensively," Kuhn said. "Our goalie play was stellar today and that really gave us confidence as the game wore on."
 
Queens' five goals were its lowest total since Tampa held the Royals to four in the 2015 season opener.
 
Nick Sawyer led the Royals with two goals, while Justin Swick, Duncan Smith and Griffin Stechmiller had a goal and an assist apiece.
 
The Railsplitters came storming out of the gate, as Arcuri scored twice and Neisler, Kopsky and Tucker also added goals to put Lincoln Memorial up 5-0 early in the second quarter.
 
The Royals broke that 5-0 flurry with goals from Smith and Sawyer less than a minute apart midway through the second quarter, but Golia found the back of the net twice in the final three and a half minutes of the half to send the Railsplitters into the break with a commanding 7-2 lead.
 
Queens made things interesting in the third quarter, shutting out the Railsplitters while tossing in three goals to close the gap to 7-5. However, despite being outshot 11-8 in the fourth quarter, Lincoln Memorial closed the door on the Royals by outscoring the visitors 4-0.
 
Tucker kick-started that flurry with a goal at the 9:31 mark, while Kopsky followed with a goal with eight minutes left. Neisler put the exclamation on the Railsplitters' victory with a goal at the 1:40 mark to complete the 11-5 win.
 
Queens committed three of its five penalties in the fourth quarter, one of which led to Tucker's man-up goal.
 
The Railsplitters forced the Royals into 17 turnovers. Ryan Ferguson (Memphis, Tenn.) and Kyle Fleck (Toledo, Ohio) led the team with three apiece.
 
Lincoln Memorial completes its three-match home stand on Wednesday, hosting the Tusculum Pioneers at 3:30 at the LMU Lacrosse Complex.