WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. – The Railsplitters started fast and survived a second-half surge to take down the Queens Royals 14-13 in South Atlantic Conference men's lacrosse action on Saturday at the University of the Cumberlands' James H. Taylor, II Stadium.  
 
With the victory, Lincoln Memorial (8-1, 2-0 SAC), which was receiving votes in the latest USILA national poll, pushed its program-record winning streak to six games and matched the program's single-season wins record (8, 2017 season) with seven games remaining in the regular season. The Railsplitters also secured their first-ever 2-0 SAC start after opening conference play 0-2 in each of the program's first three seasons of existence.
 
The Royals (2-3, 0-1 SAC), who were also receiving votes in this week's USILA poll, suffered their second straight loss and fell to 0-1 in SAC play. Queens dropped its second consecutive decision against Lincoln Memorial after losing 11-5 in Harrogate in 2017.
 
Kyle Arcuri led the Railsplitters to victory with two goals and four assists, while Billy Kopsky provided a pair of goals and handed out two assists. Adam Golia was limited to one goal but dished out three assists to push his season point total to 59. Chris Tucker chipped in a team-high four goals, Anthony Teresky had two assists and Chad Walters pitched in two goals.
 
Freshman goalie Michael Kessler made a career-high 17 saves, including nine in the second half and five in the fourth quarter alone to pick up the win.
 
The Railsplitters finished with a 43-41 edge in shot attempts but Queens produced a 30-23 advantage in shots on goal. The Royals fired 13 shots on goal in the fourth quarter alone but Kessler stood up to that pressure to preserve the victory.
 
Quinn Tallant (3 goals, 1 assist), Justin Swick (2 goals, 2 assists) and Eric Fitz (3 goals, 1 assist) led the Royals with four points apiece. Reed Murphy had three goals, while Justin Metzger produced a pair of assists.  
 
Lincoln Memorial dominated the first half and raced out to a 9-1 lead before the second quarter ended. Queens rallied, though, pulling to within one late in the fourth quarter. However, the Railsplitters came up with a few timely goals to stifle the Royals' comeback bid.
 
The Railsplitters buried the Royals in a six-goal deficit at the half by turning 10 of their first 14 shots on goal into points.
 
Arcuri got Lincoln Memorial started by scoring one minute into the match and added another goal at the 11:26 mark to kick start a 5-0 opening run for the Railsplitters. Dylan Neisler then punched in a goal with 9:50 left in the first quarter to give LMU a quick 3-0 lead and force Queens to burn a timeout.
 
Following the timeout, Reggie Golfin and Golia scored goals a little over a minute apart to put the Railsplitters ahead 5-0 with 5:27 remaining in the first.
 
Queens finally got on the board with a goal from Tallant at the 4:32 mark, but the Railsplitters responded with another 4-0 flurry powered entirely from Tucker and Walters, who each had two goals during that stretch, to extend the lead to 9-1 late in the second quarter.
 
The Royals closed the quarter on a 3-1 run capped by Tyler Redpath's score with 25 seconds left to trim the Railsplitters' halftime cushion to 10-4. Kopsky tallied his second point of the half with a goal at 4:44 to account for LMU's final score of the final six and a half minutes of the quarter.
 
The two teams traded a goal apiece in a relatively quiet third quarter to send the Railsplitters into the final frame with an 11-5 lead, but things got interesting in the fourth.
 
A pair of goals from Murphy in the first minute of the fourth quarter followed by three unanswered goals from Fitz pulled the Royals within two at 12-10 with 6:26 remaining in regulation.
 
A man-up goal from Tucker halted Queens' 3-0 spurt and gave the Railsplitters a little more breathing room, but goals from Tallant and Swick made it 13-12 with just under five minutes left.
 
Tucker once again delivered when the Railsplitters needed it most, scoring off an assist from Arcuri at the 3:35 mark to push LMU back ahead by two.
 
Murphy brought the Royals back within one at 3:00 with a goal, but Queens was unable to produce the equalizer. In fact, the Royals managed just one shot on goal over the final three minutes, which was saved by Kessler with 22 seconds left to clinch the victory.
 
The Railsplitters turned the ball over a season-low nine times and scored on four of their five man-up opportunities. Queens dominated the face-off x by winning 24 of the 31 face-offs and accounted for a 38-22 edge in groundball recoveries. Lincoln Memorial went 19-for-21 on clears compared to an 11-for-12 mark from Queens.
 
Lincoln Memorial returns to action on Wednesday, March 21 with a trip to Mars Hill to face the Lions in SAC action at 2 p.m.