SALISBURY, N.C. – This one had to hurt. The Lincoln Memorial men's soccer team battled back from a deficit two different times, overcame a two goal Catawba lead late in the second half, and sent the game into double overtime, but fell on the road to the Indians 5-4.
 
It was a back and forth battle all afternoon, and the scoring started early for both teams. Catawba got the scoring started in the ninth minute to take the lead, but the Railsplitters answered back two minutes later when Shanden Vergara put back a rebound attempt to tie the game at 1 apiece.
 
LMU would build off of that momentum as Diego Alvarado beat the goalkeeper in a one on one breakout, to put the Railsplitters up 2-1 in the 21^st minute. The Indians would answer right back less than a minute later to tie the game back up.
 
Catawba would add two more goals in the first half to take a 4-2 lead into the break. The Indians would outshoot the Railsplitters 16-7 in the first half, but LMU goalie Phillip Pressotto tallied four saves to keep LMU within two.
 
Whatever the coaching staff said during the break must have worked, as the second half belonged to Lincoln Memorial. The Splitters outshot Catawba 10-8 in the second half, and scored the only two goals of the half.
 
Freshman Arkin Ulusoy scored his team leading fifth goal of the season in the 73^rd minute, off a penalty kick opportunity to cut the lead to one. Then with just 22 seconds remaining in the half, Alvarado tied the game up, as he scored his second goal of the game off a free kick from just outside of the box and sent the game into a golden goal overtime.
 
Both teams were held scoreless in the first overtime period, as the Railsplitters just missed wide on multiple shots that would have secured the win. It was not to be however, as the Indians scored the game-winning goal in the 107^th minute.
 
Despite the loss, the four goals represents the best offensive performance of the season for the Railsplitters. Alvarado's two goals made it three in the past two games for him, while Ulusoy now has a team leading 12 points, as he added an assist on Alvarado's first goal to go along with his goal. Vergara's goal was the third of the year for him, tying him with Alvarado for second on the team.
 
Up Next
The Railsplitters return home on Saturday, September 30 as they host Anderson on Senior Day and their last home match of the year.

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