HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Railsplitters (6-1, 1-0 SAC) extended the best start in program history and opened South Atlantic Conference play with a 16-5 thrashing of the Coker Cobras (3-3, 0-1 SAC) on Saturday afternoon at the Coker Athletic Field. With the victory, Lincoln Memorial also pushed its winning streak to four games to match the longest such streak in program history.
 
Freshman Chris Tucker scored a career-high five goals to power the LMU offensive attack, while Kyle Arcuri pitched in three goals and one assist. Adam Golia added two goals and four assists, while Robert Tucker racked up a goal and four assists. In total, 10 different players contributed at least one point for the Railsplitters.
 
By contrast, only three players registered a point for the Cobras. Matt Murphy led the way with three goals and an assist. Stephen Sperbeck and Andrew Dappen also scored for Coker, who fell to 0-1 in SAC play with the loss.
 
The Railsplitters jumped all over the Cobras in the opening quarter, scoring on three of their five shots on goal to build a 3-0 lead after 15 minutes. Arcuri, Craig Settles and Golia each scored in the frame, with Golia capping the quarter with his goal with 23 seconds left.
 
Coker finally got on the board at the 12:50 mark of the second quarter on a goal from Murphy, but the Railsplitters followed that up with a 5-0 flurry to extend their lead to 8-1. Five different players scored during that run, while Golia assisted on the last two. The Cobras snapped that run with a goal from Sperbeck with 4:17 left in the half before Robert Tucker assisted Chris Tucker on a man-up goal with 40 seconds left. That sent Lincoln Memorial into the break with a 9-2 cushion.
 
Just like the first quarter, the Railsplitters shut down Coker completely in the third quarter, outscoring the Cobras 4-0 to put the match away for all intents and purposes. Lincoln Memorial continued to spread the wealth as four different players scored. Arcuri had one goal and one assist in the frame to push Lincoln Memorial ahead 13-2.
 
With the end result all but decided, the Railsplitters and Cobras traded three goals apiece in the fourth and final quarter. Murphy scored twice and assisted on Coker's final goal of the match with 9:58 left in regulation. Lincoln Memorial blanked the Cobras for the remainder of the match and pitched in two more goals to complete the wire-to-wire victory.
 
The Railsplitters outshot the Cobras 41-29, including a commanding 13-1 margin in the third quarter. Lincoln Memorial also finished with a 24-15 edge in shots on goal and a 39-22 cushion in groundball recoveries.
 
Freshman Michael Kessler picked up the win in goal for the Railsplitters after surrendering just two goals while making 10 saves over 51:46 of work. His counterpart, Chris Hagy, gave up 14 goals and made eight saves in 46 minutes of action to suffer the loss.
 
The Railsplitters return to action on Monday, March 12 when they host Concordia Ann Arbor at 4 p.m. at the University of the Cumberlands.