GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – Sonja Ballmert converted a penalty kick in the 47th minute to lead the Tusculum Pioneers (3-1, 1-0 SAC) to a 1-0 victory over the Lady Railsplitters (3-2, 0-1 SAC) in the South Atlantic Conference opener on Wednesday evening at Pioneer Field.
 
After the two teams combined for only two shots on goal and played to a 0-0 stalemate in the opening half, Tusculum tallied the lone goal of the match less than two minutes into the second half, as Ballmert snuck her PK attempt just off the fingertips of Lincoln Memorial keeper Brooke Taylor. Tusculum was awarded the penalty-kick attempt after Cheyenne Upton was taken down in the box.
 
Much like Saturday's 1-0 setback to Young Harris, the Lady Railsplitters dominated the closing stretch after conceding a goal, holding the Pioneers to a single shot attempt over the final 27 minutes of regulation. Over that same span, Lincoln Memorial ripped off seven shots, including five shots on goal.
 
The Lady Railsplitters seemingly brought the match back level in the 82nd minute, when Caroline Souza made a fantastic individual effort to work inside the box. After beating the Tusculum keeper, Souza let off a shot that was stopped by a well-placed defender mere inches before crossing over the goal line.
 
Lincoln Memorial fired off two more on-target shot attempts after that, but Hannah Graham denied both to complete her shutout.
 
The two teams matched one another with 13 shots apiece, while the Lady Railsplitters produced a 7-5 edge in shots on goal. The Pioneers got the better of LMU in terms of corner kicks with an 8-6 advantage.
 
Palisa Chipendo led all players with four shots, while Souza had three shots with two landing on goal.
 
Taylor made four saves for Lincoln Memorial, but fell to 3-2 on the season following the loss.
 
Quick Hits
 
- All told, Lincoln Memorial outshot the Pioneers 10-7 in the second half.
 
- The Lady Railsplitters fell to 4-9-2 all-time against Tusculum in Greeneville. Lincoln Memorial has not won on Tusculum's home field since the 2011 season.
 
- After falling 1-0 to Young Harris on Saturday, the Lady Railsplitters have dropped back-to-back 1-0 decisions for the first time since October 12-23, 2013.
 
Up Next
 
The Lady Railsplitters return to the LMU Soccer Complex on Saturday to host the Queens Royals in South Atlantic Conference action beginning at 1 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at www.LMURailsplitters.com.