HARROGATE, Tenn. — Three different Lady Railsplitters scored Tuesday afternoon as the Lincoln Memorial University women's soccer team scooted to a mid-week, non-conference, 3-1, victory over Shaw University at the LMU Soccer Complex.
 
LMU (6-1) got on the board quick as Itzel Ballesteros took a long through ball from Thenia Zervas, running with it before sticking it just 45 seconds in. However, after the early score, Shaw (1-4) maintained the offensive attack of the Lady Railsplitters to keep it knotted at 1 at halftime.  

"In the second half, we realized we had to pick it up," junior Graciela Palencia said, "so we picked it up and got two more goals."
 
Navie Webb was the first to add onto the lead as the freshman took a ball from Jessica Cravero in the 56th minute and scored to make it 2-0, and then it was Palencia backing up her own words two minutes later.
 
The JUCO transfer set up herself up for success, being in the right place at the right time as Zervas sent in her second assist of the day and Palencia headed it in for the third and final score.
 
"It was a goal kick then it got sent to Thenia," Palencia said, "and I just saw the open spot, so I just ran, and we made eye contact. I honestly didn't think I was going to get it because I'm really short and then it was right there, and I was like, 'I need to get a head on it.' I ended up getting my hair on it. I needed that goal, you know. I had been wanting to get a goal."
 
Newcomers Flourishing
 
Zervas and Palencia are just two of the key additions Sean Fraser added to his lineup heading into the season.
 
So far, it's more than safe to say the duo has made an impact and the chemistry is beginning to take full stride. First off, Zervas' two-assist day pushed her to a team-leading seven through the same number of matches.
 
"Unbelievable — absolutely unbelievable," said the LMU head coach of Zervas. "She's going to be able to do that and she just needs to continue doing that. How many assists can she have if she keeps doing that?"
 
Secondly, Palencia's score was her second — with her first coming in a 1-0 win over West Georgia in her first-career LMU start Sept. 15 — in now her fourth straight start as a Lady Railsplitter.
 
"She's amazing; a brilliant player," said Fraser of Palencia. "We worked hard to get her to come here and sell her on what we are doing, the system we try to play and how she would fit into it. It's been a good fit for 'G' and a good fit for us so far and hopefully she can keep doing what she's doing because she's been magnificent."
 
Defender Ermelinda Pantaleao is another newcomer who has made her presence known, scoring her first LMU goal versus Carson-Newman nearly a week ago. Emanuely Costa has been solid in goal, and despite allowing a tough goal Tuesday she's locked down the goal with four total — two being combined — shutouts.
 
"Navie scored. G was quality, Ermelinda was quality and Thenia was quality," Fraser said, "that's the three of the biggest new signings that have been starting. "Manu played 90 again and ultimately had a good game until the goal she had no chance to get. Good minutes and good opportunity for everyone."
 
Learning Curve
 
The stat sheet was heavily in LMU's favor as the Lady Railsplitters had 21 shots with 11 on goal compared to the Bears' six shots and four on target. LMU also had another double-digit corner outing with 16 while limiting Shaw to just two.
 
However, LMU netted just three goals and left what felt like a lot of scoring opportunities on the field. With that being said, the Lady Railsplitters had a good amount of new faces in their starting lineup, allowing some of the normal starters to rest up their legs.
 
Webb, who replaced Ballesteros after seven minutes, played the rest of the way as sophomore transfer Lauren Woodcock registered her first start and freshman Sydney Wolfenbarger got the nod at defender for the full 90 minutes. Sophomore Rachel Taylor also transitioned outside into a new role for 68 minutes, while freshman Symantha Campos played her first LMU minutes with 23, senior Amanda Perez saw 50 and rookie Lexi Bearden played 16.
 
"Navie just has to learn and that's the only thing that's going to help Navie," Fraser said, "and people like Rachel, Sydney played, Lauren Woodcock played and ended up getting good minutes under their belt that's going to help them and us for the next couple years. Last year, we talked about the team being so young, starting five freshman and today we only started one and that's Sydney. She's had some good minutes this year and has done really well for us.
 
"The team is maturing, and this is another one where we have to learn a lesson and learn we have to be ruthless and we weren't today. We left a lot of goals on the table."
 
Next Test
 
LMU will gear right back into South Atlantic Conference play with a road trip to Wingate for a 1 p.m. start time Saturday. Before a 1-0 home victory last season, the Lady Railsplitters (6-1, 1-1 SAC) had lost 12 straight to the Bulldogs (3-1, 2-0) and are aiming to keep the new series standard flowing.
 
"Every game in the SAC is a big game," Fraser said. "We have to make sure we have the right attitude. We are going there and they have had a good start to the season. We have to make sure our mentality is right, and we get a positive result."
 
Stay tuned to LMURailsplitters.com, as well as LMU's social media platforms —@LMURailsplitter on Twitter, @LMURailsplitters on Facebook and @lmurailsplitters on Instagram — for complete coverage of Lady Railsplitter soccer through the 2019 season.
 
-LMU-