Banner Elk, NC - The Lincoln Memorial women's soccer team will play the first match of the 2025 season on the road in Banner Elk, NC on September 4th as they face the Bobcats of Lees-McRae College at 6 pm. 

The two programs have quite an extensive history, with the first match between them dating back to 1994. They have faced each other a total of 6 times, with LMU winning the most recent match 1-0 in September of 2023. The Railsplitters are winning the series with a 3-2-1 record. 

The contest is anticipated to be a competitive match up, as Lees-McRae was recently selected third in the Conference Carolinas Preseason Poll, while Lincoln Memorial earned a fourth-place position in the South Atlantic Conference Preseason Poll. With both teams positioned near the top of the rankings, this match is a great early-season test for the team to begin the 2025 season. 

In the SAC preseason all conference selections, defender Donna van der Zalm and winger Viktoria Filsner were picked for first team all-conference in their prospective positions, and goalkeeper Emma Cooke was identified as a player to watch. 

Van der Zalm was the powerhouse to the back line last season, as she was a 2x SAC Defensive Player of the Week, Third Team SAC All-Conference, and SAC All-Tournament Team in the 2024 season.

Filsner was a big contributor on both ends of the pitch, as she also was a part of the five shutouts last season, and scored 2 goals and added 5 assists for a total of 9 points. She was also named Second Team All-Conference this past season.

For Lees-McRae, three players were selected as players to watch: senior midfielder Sarah Jones, senior midfielder Brooke Allen, and senior defender Abbey Brosnihan. 

Thursday's match will be the first match of the 2025 season for both the Railsplitters and the Bobcats. 

The match will begin at 6 pm in Banner Elk, NC. The links to live stream and live stats can be found below. 

Live Stream 

Live Stats