GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – No. 13 Lincoln Memorial (3-0-1, 0-0-1 SAC) and Tusculum (0-2-2, 0-0-1 SAC) engaged in a hard-fought battle in which both had golden scoring opportunities, but in the end neither team could convert as they opened SAC play with a scoreless draw on Wednesday night at Pioneer Field.
 
Lincoln Memorial outshot Tusculum 12-10 for the game and held a 5-4 edge in shots on goal. The Pioneers attempted seven corners to the Railsplitters' five, though none produced any scoring chances.
 
The Railsplitters and Pioneers had one scoring chance apiece in the first half. Victor Peres found himself with an open net in the 22nd minute after collecting a rebound off a Felipe de Sousa shot, but his ensuing attempt went over the crossbar. Tusculum was held without a shot on goal until the 39th minute when Caleb Cothrin made a successful diving attempt to deny a shot by Rocco Menna.
 
Lincoln Memorial entered into halftime with a 7-2 edge in shots. Three landed on goal compared to just one for Tusculum. De Sousa, Philip Wong and Diego Zanoni had shots saved by Alejandro Quiriti, though none posed as much of a threat as Peres' attempt.
 
Cothrin made another game-saving save in the 52nd minute when he laid out to stop an attempt from Edgar Cervantes. The junior goalkeeper made his third start of the year in goal for the Railsplitters and stopped all four shots that came his way for his second clean sheet.
 
Quiriti made his Tusculum debut and stopped all five of Lincoln Memorial's shots on goal. The Railsplitters did not place a shot on goal after the 70th minute.
 
Tusculum outshot Lincoln Memorial 2-1 in the first overtime period, though neither team landed one on goal.
 
The Pioneers again outshot Lincoln Memorial in the second overtime, this time 3-2, and landed the period's only shot on goal. That came in the 108th minute when Andreas Kvam broke through the Railsplitter defense. He had a clean look but couldn't put much on the shot, so it rolled right into Cothrin's arms.
 
One minute later, Menna had another good look, but Felipe Machado made a game-saving block.
 
Peres and Danilo da Silva led all players with three shots. Peres was the only player on either side to place two shots on goal.
 
Quick Hits
 
- The all-time series is tied 12-12-6. Six of the past nine matchups have gone to overtime.
 
- The Railsplitters are winless in the teams' past six meetings (0-2-4) and have not defeated Tusculum since 2013.
 
- Lincoln Memorial is 8-1-3 overall in SAC openers.
 
Up Next
 
The Railsplitters return to the LMU Soccer Complex on Saturday to host the Queens Royals in South Atlantic Conference action beginning at 3:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at www.LMURailsplitters.com.