WILSON, N.C. – The Lincoln Memorial University women's lacrosse program rallied to a win in their 2020 season opener with five-straight first half goals and four-straight second half goals on Saturday morning against Barton College.
 
LADY RAILSPLITTER RUNDOWN:
 
The Blue and Gray opened up with a goal by sophomore midfielder Melanie Cascio within the first two minutes and eleven seconds to get the ball rolling which was matched by Barton's midfielder Lydia Hulshizer within 62 seconds to a 1-1 tie in under the first four minutes of action.
 
The Lady Railsplitters then went on a 5-0 run within a 10-minute span with goals notched by junior attack Erin Depaul, three-straight-unassisted marks by freshman attack Ali Van der Ziel and sophomore attack Kelly Csenar to take a commanding 6-1 lead with 14 minutes remaining in the first stanza of play.
 
Barton College climbed their way back into the game late in the second half with goals by midfielder Morgan McGuffin, attack Anjelica Scarpa and attack Jordan Hare to reduce the deficit to two goals heading into the break.
 
Csenar opened the first five minutes of the second half with two goals assisted by Cascio and Depaul to extend their lead to four (8-4).
 
With 20 minutes remaining in play, LMU tallied four-straight goals starting with an unassisted goal by Cascio, junior attack Rachel Gardner with a dish from Csenar, Csenar after connecting with senior attack Kennedy Buechner and junior midfielder Jacquelin Turner finished the run with 14 minutes remaining.
 
The Lady Railsplitters closed out afternoon of action with two-unassisted goals marked by Van der Ziel and sophomore defender Karmen Board.
 
THE KEEPERS:
BARTON – Junior Katherine Mattena marked 13 saves on 27 shots faced, allowing 14 goals on the day.
LMU – Junior Micayla Starnes recorded eight saves on 14 shots faced, allowing six goals on the afternoon for the Lady Railsplitters.
 
TEAM STATS:
LMU successfully cleared 11 of 11 attempts in the first half and finished the day with converting on 20 of 21 attempts. The Lady Railsplitters led the way in ground balls (23-21), shots (33-20) and turnovers (19-23).
 
LMU LEADERS:

• Csenar recorded four goals on seven shots, four ground balls, two caused turnovers and an assist to cap-off the season opener.
• Van der Ziel totaled four goals on eight shots, three ground balls, a pair of draw controls and caused turnovers with an assist.
• Cascio contributed a pair of goals on four shots, three grounds balls, four caused turnovers with a draw control and an assist on the day.

 
INAUGURAL MEETING:
Today's victory in Wilson, North Carolina marks the first-ever meeting between the Lady Railsplitters and the Bulldogs of Barton College.
 
UP NEXT!
The Lady Railsplitters lacrosse crew will be heading back to North Carolina to take on University of Mount Olive on Monday, Feb. 17, with the first whistle scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
 
How to Follow
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 lacrosse for the 2020 season.