Harrogate, TN - The Lincoln Memorial men's soccer team defeated the Mars Hill Lions Saturday evening on Senior Night 3-0. Seniors Ronan O'Mahony Blondel, Gian-Carlo Kama, Dani Cruz, Botond Skulka, and Joshua Best were all honored before their match in halftime of the women's match for their contributions to the men's soccer program. 

The Lions began the match hungry for a goal with three shots within the first five minute, one in which was blocked and two were saved by Daniel Benedek Miklosi. 

The Railsplitters' first shot on frame came in the 13th minute from Ignacio Arguello, which was saved by the Mars Hill goalkeeper. Two minutes later, Benedek Miklosi got his second save of the match by a Lions shot. 

For the next 20 minutes, possession juggled and both teams were able to get some scoring chances, but they were all wide or high of the goal. The next on target attempt came in the 37th minute by Botond Skulka and in the 38t minute by Gian-Carlo Kama, both in which were saved. 

With that being the last opportunity for either team, the score remained scoreless at halftime 0-0. 

The second half started with both teams firing off shots, first by Railsplitter Filip Jeppesen in the 47th minute, saved, and second by Mars Hill, saved by Benedek Miklosi. 

In the 52nd minute, Jeppesen crossed the ball from the right corner of the 18-yard box to Antonio Talavera, who ran onto the ball and headed it past the Lion goalkeeper to give Lincoln Memorial the lead 1-0. 

LMU continued to be an offensive force as David McDougall took his first shot of the match in the 66th minute, saved, followed by Szymon Sokolnicki in the 69th minute, also saved. 

McDougall gave the Railsplitters a chance at extending the lead in the 78th minute as he drew a foul in the 18-yard box to give LMU a penalty kick opportunity. Ronan O'Mahony Blondel took advantage and fired the ball in the top right corner out of the goalkeeper's reach to make the score 2-0 with the LMU lead. 

Lincoln Memorial's next chance at goal also resulted in a goal. With only a minute left in the match, Kama dribbles the ball from the half line through the Mars Hill defense, to give himself a one-on-one with the Lion goalkeeper. Kama shoots the ball through the legs of the goalkeeper to finalize the win 3-0. 

Talavera, O'Mahony Blondel, and Kama all had one goal on the night, while Jeppesen recorded the lone assist for the Railsplitters. O'Mahony Blondel, Kama, and Arguello were the team leaders in shots with two, and Kama led in shots on goal with two. Benedek Miklosi recorded four saves during the match. 

As a team, Lincoln Memorial posted 13 shots, with nine being on goal, along with four saves and six corner kicks. 

With the win, LMU improves to 4-7-1 overall and 4-2-1 in conference play, and Mars Hill drops to 3-4-6 overall and 1-3-4 in conference play. 

The Railsplitter's next match will be on Wednesday, October 22nd as they host Carson-Newman at 7 pm at LMU Lacrosse Complex.