BARBOURVILLE, Ky. – Freshman
Mariana Diaz tallied the first two goals of her college career to propel the Lady Railsplitters (2-0) to a 3-0 win over the Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs (1-1) at Williamson Stadium on Sunday afternoon. With the win, Lincoln Memorial improves to 2-0 for the first time since the 2012 campaign.
After a lackluster first half, during which Lincoln Memorial was outshot 10-4 and landed just one goal on target, the Lady Railsplitters exploded in the second half, scoring three goals over a 16-minute stretch to power the landslide victory. It marked the second consecutive three-goal performance to open the season for the Lady Railsplitters, who outshot the Bulldogs 9-6 in the second half with seven shots on goal.
Diaz opened the floodgates for the Lady Railsplitters, scoring what proved to be the game winner in the 50th minute off of a lead pass from
Isa Jara. Diaz punched it past the Tennessee Wesleyan keeper off the one-on-one opportunity to notch the first goal of her career.
Diaz scored again in the 66th minute, chipping it in from right in front of the net after a perfectly-place cross from
Ellie Hilton to cap the scoring for the Lady Railsplitters. Diaz finished the match with three shots and three shots on goal.
Wedged between Diaz's two goals,
Caroline Souza scored for the second consecutive match to push her season total to three. Jara also set up that goal to earn her second assist of the day, finding Souza with a feed into the box.
Junior goalkeeper
Brooke Taylor posted a clean sheet for the Lady Railsplitters, stopping all seven shots she faced to post the first shutout of her career.
Quick Hits
- Tennessee Wesleyan's Nicole Broderick led all players with five shots, although only one landed on target. Laure Cunningham also produced four shots with just a single shot on goal, as that duo combined for nine of the team's 16 shots.
- The Lady Railsplitters played a particularly physical match, committing nine fouls compared to only three for Tennessee Wesleyan.
- After tallying three goals in both the season opener and Sunday's match against Tennessee Wesleyan, the Lady Railsplitters scored three-plus goals in a match for the first time since the first two matches of the 2010 campaign.
Up Next
The Lady Railsplitters play the second leg of their three-game homestand and make their official LMU Soccer Complex debut on Friday, welcoming the USC Aiken Pacers to town for a 2 p.m. first touch.
