HARROGATE, Tenn. - The Lincoln Memorial University men's soccer team started their season Tuesday afternoon with a scoreless draw against Union (Ky.) In a rain-filled contest, there were many bright spots, and several underclassmen contributed to the effort.

"For a preseason game, this was a really good start to the season," head coach Robert Spain commented. "Not ideal conditions but our guys handled the adversity very well. They understood the challenge and used the opportunity to get better. Training for a handful of days can feel monotonous at times, so any time you get to play another quality opponent, they show you things to improve on and allow our teachings to come full circle."

"I'm proud that we started the season with a clean sheet," Spain continued. "That's something we're always going to be focused on, controlling games. Then we're limiting the opponents' chances and opportunities and I thought we did well in that regard. Robin and Jackson shared the clean sheet, and as two of our leaders, that was important for us to get off to a good start."

With the next two games against stout opponents (Columbus Crew U23 and Charleston), the team will look to continue their quality play. Offensively, Spain was also impressed with several facets.

"On the ball, you could see some really good moments from our group, which isn't easy considering the conditions. Usually, in preseason, that's the last piece of the puzzle that you see. For us to see that this early, it gives everyone hope that we're going to get there sooner rather than later. We really focused on managing the minutes for everyone, so no one played more than 50. Two true freshmen started the game, a handful of others played, and players all over our roster got the opportunity to contribute."

The Railsplitters will face the Columbus Crew U23 squad on Saturday, Aug. 21 on the road. The game time has yet to be determined.

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