HARROGATE, Tenn. – Sophomore forward
Stephanie Cawthorne scored the first two goals of her career to lead the Lady Railsplitters (5-4) to a 3-1 win over the Albany State Golden Rams (0-7) on Tuesday afternoon at the LMU Soccer Complex. It marked Lincoln Memorial's third three-goal outburst of the season, as the team improved to 5-1 in nonconference play with the victory.
After combining for just two goals over the past five matches, the Lady Railsplitters put three in the back of the net before Tuesday's match even reached halftime. Lincoln Memorial also racked up a season-high 30 shots and 13 shots on goal to deny Albany State – a first-year program – of its first victory.
Cawthorne put the Lady Railsplitters on the board early, snapping the team's three-game home scoreless streak by curling the ball in directly off the corner kick in the eighth minute. Cawthorne added another goal in the 40th minute when she received a series of passes from
Melissa Carpenter and
Patricia Roach and snuck a long shot over the head of the Albany State keeper.
The Lady Railsplitters added one more goal before the half ended, as Carpenter finished off a chip shot in front of the Golden Rams' net to tally her second goal of the season and give the home team a 3-0 lead in the 44th minute. A tremendous individual effort from
Kate Zander set up that goal, as the defender made a long run up the sideline and played a cross in front of the net just before the ball crossed over the end line. The assist was the first point of Zander's career.
The Lady Railsplitters outshot the Golden Rams in the second half, 11-4, but Albany State would account for the lone goal of the half. Jenna Wade drove home a quick pass from Leticia Cupulille off a free kick to give the Golden Rams their first-ever goal.
Carpenter led the Lady Railsplitters with seven shots and four shots on goal, while Roach had five shots with a pair landing on target. Seven other LMU players produced multiple shots in the contest.
Brooke Taylor finished with four saves, while her counterpart, Abby Whiteside, had nine saves, including five in the second half.
Quick Hits
- The Lady Railsplitters have now scored multiple goals in five of their six nonconference matches. In contrast, Lincoln Memorial is still looking for its first goal against a South Atlantic Conference opponent.
- Lincoln Memorial was short-handed in Tuesday's match as
Alyssa Berry,
Caroline Souza,
Gabby Garcia and
Palisa Chipendo were all unavailable.
- The 30 shots were the most for the program since September 30, 2015.
Up Next
The Lady Railsplitters hit the road to Wingate, N.C. to face the league-leading Wingate Bulldogs at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Since dropping a 2-1 decision to Tampa in the season-opener, Wingate has reeled off five straight wins and conceded just one goal over that stretch. Live stats and video will be available at www.LMURailsplitters.com.
