HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Railsplitters will try to halt a two-game skid on Wednesday afternoon when they return to the LMU Lacrosse Complex to host Tusculum for a South Atlantic Conference showdown.
Lincoln Memorial (10-3, 4-2 SAC) gave No. 3 nationally ranked Lenoir-Rhyne a run for its money on Saturday in Hickory, N.C. as that match was all square at 6-6 at the half. However, the Bears pulled away in the second half to hand the Railsplitters their second straight narrow defeat, 14-11. Despite the loss, Lincoln Memorial is once again receiving votes in the USILA national poll after its valiant effort against a national title contender.
Tusculum (4-6, 2-3 SAC) has dropped three of its last four matches, including a 17-13 home loss to Coker last Friday. Prior to that, the Pioneers beat Newberry in double overtime and lost back-to-back matches to Queens and L-R.
The Railsplitters and Pioneers have had a few heated battles over the last two seasons. Lincoln Memorial earned its first-ever SAC victory in 2016 with a hard-fought 13-12 in Greenville but lost a 13-12 overtime decision to the Pioneers last season in Harrogate. Tusculum also ended Lincoln Memorial's 2017 campaign with an 11-4 win in the opening round of the SAC tournament. The first-ever meeting between the two squads in 2015 required two overtimes with Tusculum pulling out the 8-7 win in Harrogate.
Schedule / Game Day Links:
Wednesday, April 11 vs. Tusculum (4pm) –
Live Stats
Quick Hits:
- A 6-1 run to start the second half gave L-R the breathing room it needed to shake off the Railsplitters and remain atop the SAC standings on Saturday.
Robert Tucker led all players with a season-high four goals while
Adam Golia scored on two of his three shot attempts.
Billy Kopsky,
Kyle Arcuri,
Anthony Teresky and
Chris Tucker finished with a goal and an assist apiece.
- The Railsplitters are looking to avoid their first three-game losing streak since March 2017 when the team dropped three successive matches to Florida Southern, Catawba and Wingate.
- Golia, who leads the SAC in points with 73 and assists with 32, needs eight more points to become the first player in program history with 200 career points. The senior's 192 points are far and away the most in program history as Arcuri is second with 127 and Kopsky is third with 104.
- Lincoln Memorial still ranks as one of the elite offenses in the country. The Railsplitters are ranked fifth in goals per game with 15.46, eighth in man-up offense with a 43.6 percent clip, first in total assists with 127, third in assists per game with 9.77 and fourth in points per game with 25.23. LMU has produced at least 11 goals in 12 of its 13 matches with the lone exception coming in a 20-6 loss to Saint Leo.
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Chris Tucker is second in the country in man-up goals with seven.
Robert Tucker and Arcuri have contributed five apiece, which ranks 18th nationally.
- The Railsplitters are set to play just their second match at the LMU Lacrosse Complex and first since defeating Catawba 11-8 on March 24.
- Behind Golia, Arcuri is ranked third in the conference in total points with 47. He is second to only Golia in assists with 25.
Know the Opponent:
- In Friday's loss to Coker, the Pioneers fell into a 10-2 hole by the midway point of the third quarter. Tusculum whittled the deficit down to 14-12 by the 4:50 mark of the fourth quarter but could never quite get over the hump. Nate Wade was sensational in the loss, though, scoring five goals to go along with three assists. Keegan Bell had two goals and one assist while Tyler Klarner added a pair of goals as well.
- Defense has been at the root of the Pioneers' struggles this season as Tusculum is 53rd in the nation in goals per game allowed with 11.8 and 55th in caused turnovers per game with 6.4. That has offset an otherwise solid offensive unit that accounts for 11.1 goals per game.
- Tusculum leads the nation in man-up offense by scoring on 54.5 percent of those opportunities.
- Wade leads the Pioneers with 30 points on 18 goals and 12 assists while Chris Ryan has 15 goals and nine assists. Bell has produced 13 goals and 10 assists while Dallas Wade (17 goals, 5 assists) and Klarner (13 goals, 8 assists) are also over the 20-point threshold this season.
- Freshman Patrick Thomas has been tasked with replacing departed All-SAC second team goalie Kevin Haggerty. Over the course of 10 appearances and nine starts, Thomas has compiled a 11.84 goals against average and a 48.4 save percentage with a 3-5 record. He is seventh in the conference in total saves with 93.
- Tusculum is 1-3 on the road compared to 2-3 at home. The Pioneers notched their only road win of the season on Saturday, March 31 with a 12-11 double-overtime victory at Newberry.
