MARS HILL, S.C. – The Railsplitters (6-5, 2-3 SAC) begin the closing stretch of the regular season on Sunday with a trip down I-40 to battle the Mars Hill Lions (3-5, 1-4 SAC). That match is scheduled to get underway at 2 p.m. at Meares Stadium.
 
Lincoln Memorial is back in action following an eight-day layoff, as the Railsplitters collected a 16-13 win at Brevard on April 1. The Railsplitters enter Sunday's match with wins in two of their last three contests. Mars Hill, meanwhile, defeated Coker 15-11 last Sunday to snap a four-game losing streak.
 
Schedule/Gameday Links:
 
Sunday, April 9 at Mars Hill (2pm) – Live Stats
 
Quick Hits:
 
-Lincoln Memorial improved to 2-3 in SAC play and rebounded from a heartbreaking overtime loss to Tusculum with a 16-13 win at Brevard last Saturday. The Railsplitters trailed 6-3 midway through the second quarter, but closed the match on a 9-3 run. Robert Tucker powered that victory with a career-high six points on three goals and three assists. Nick Borriello, Adam Golia, Craig Settles and Billy Kopsky chipped in two goals apiece.
 
-With three matches remaining in the regular-season schedule, the Railsplitters are holding steady at sixth in the SAC standings. The top-six teams in the final league standings earn a spot in the SAC Championship. Lincoln Memorial is looking to secure a place in the SAC tournament field for the first time in the program's three-year history.
 
-Golia established the program's single-season record for points (41) and goals (33) during the 2016 campaign, and the Victoria, British Columbia native is close to breaking those records once again. Golia is currently ranked second in the SAC in goals with 30 and fourth in points with 38. Kyle Arcuri isn't far off that pace, either, as the Patchogue, New York native has 35 points.
 
-LMU's win at Brevard represented just the team's second road win of the season. The Railsplitters picked up their only other road win at Shorter on March 4. In SAC play, Lincoln Memorial has a 13-12 loss at Catawba along with that 16-13 triumph at Brevard.
 
-The Railsplitters are ranked third nationally and first in the SAC in caused turnovers per game with 11.27. In addition to that, Lincoln Memorial is eighth in the country and third in the league in total groundball recoveries with 376. Josh Hernandez leads the Railsplitters and is ranked fifth in the country with 2.55 caused turnovers per match, while Hunter Clark has recovered a team-high 58 groundballs.
 
-On the flip side of that, the Railsplitters are ranked 46th out of 58 teams nationally with 18.45 turnovers per game. Lincoln Memorial has averaged a hair over 20 turnovers in its five losses this season.
 
-Joe Medel has been a strong presence in goal for the Railsplitters, as the senior from Virginia Beach, Virginia is sporting a 52.7 save percentage, which is ranked 34th in the country and sixth in the conference. Medel has also averaged 10.82 saves per game – the 24th-highest mark across the Division II.
 
Notes on the Lions:
 
-Mars Hill scored five goals in the second quarter and five more in the fourth to beat Coker 15-11 last Sunday and snap a four-game losing streak. Three different players – Dima Ferreira, Connor Fernandes and Spencer Andrews – scored three goals in that match to lead the Lions to victory. Hunter Maggs and Alex Lipsky also tallied two goals to put Mars Hill in the win column for the first time since February 25.
 
-The Lions finished 0-4 in March, but went toe-to-toe with the upper echelon of the SAC. Mars Hill suffered an 8-5 loss to league-leading Lenoir-Rhyne on March 26, and also fell 8-5 at home to Queens. Mars Hill is 1-3 on its home field, where it hasn't won since beating Shorter 18-6 on February 25.
 
-Mars Hill is ranked seventh in the SAC and 46th nationally in scoring with 9.63 goals per game. On the other side of the field, the Lions are allowed 10.38 goals per game. Mars Hill has struggled mightily at the face-off x, as the Lions have the fourth-worst face-off winning percentage in the country with a 37.6 percent mark.
 
-A quartet of players have at least 15 points for the Lions this season. Lipsky leads the way with 27 points on 19 goals and eight assists, while Ferreira has amassed 23 points on 10 goals and a team-high 13 assists. Fernandes has chipped in 15 goals and four assists, while Nathan Stewart has contributed five goals and 12 assists. Besides those four, no other player has more than nine points for Mars Hill.
 
-The Lions are ranked sixth nationally in caused turnovers per game with 10.25. Kyle Dozzi leads the team with 20 caused turnovers while Asyck Schildt has 15. Mars Hill is also ranked 10th in the nation with 35.38 groundball recoveries per match. Ryan Kearney (44) and Nathan Stewart (42) have combined for 86 groundballs.
 
-Kearney has started all eight matches in goal for the Lions, and has compiled a 10.53 goals against average, a 54.1 save percentage and a 3-5 record over 450 minutes of action.
 
Series History:
 
-The Railsplitters are looking for their first-ever win over Mars Hill, as the Lions beat Lincoln Memorial 7-6 in last season's meeting in Harrogate and 16-7 in 2015.
 
-In last season's match, Mars Hill scored the game-winning goal with 24 seconds left to escape Harrogate with a 7-6 win. Arcuri led LMU with two goals, while Ferreira scored four to pace the Lions.