Harrogate, TN- Lincoln Memorial women's lacrosse gets a victory in their conference opener as they defeated the Catawba Indians 11-7 Saturday afternoon.

The Railsplitters got things started quickly in the first quarter as they scored three straight goals, beginning with Josie Tinnerello scoring her first goal of the match with 14:10 as Ruby Copeland earning the assist. Ryan Smith followed two minutes later with 12:15 remaining, and Tinnerello tallied her second goal of the afternoon with 6:21 remaining. Catawba put their first goal on the board with 4:42 remaining to make the score 3-1 going into the second quarter.

The Catawba Indians had the first say in the second as they registered a goal with 13:46 remaining. Tinnerello then scored her third and fourth goals of the match at 7:40 remaining and 6:25 remaining. Abby Durkin added her name to the box score with 2:16 remaining, with Smith getting the assist. Like the first quarter, Catawba scored the last goal of the second with 1:00 remaining, making the score 6-3 going into halftime with Lincoln Memorial having the advantage.

Izzy Hobday began the scoring for the Railsplitters in the third as she scored her first of the day with 13:18 remaining, with Smith earning the assist. Three minutes later, with 10:33 remaining, Copeland added her first goal of the day, unassisted. Catawba responded with a goal of their own a minute later with 9:14 remaining, and Smith recorded the last goal of the quarter with 8:19 remaining to give LMU the 9-4 lead going into the final frame. 

Catawba scored first in the fourth with 10:40 remaining, followed by a pair of goals by Tinnerello with 9:23 remaining and 8:55 remaining (assisted by Copeland). The Catawba Indians had a late offensive push by adding two more goals at 4:32 remaining and 0:02 remaining, but that wasn't enough as Lincoln Memorial secured the 11-7 victory. 

Tinnerello led in points on the day with six points for six goals followed by Smith with four points for two goals and two assists. Copeland finished with three points as she scored one goal and two assists, and Hobday and Durkin both recorded one goal each.
 
Tinnerello led in shots with 11 and shots on goal with seven. Brookelyn Walls was the team-leader in ground balls with five and caused turnovers with two, and Smith led at the draw control with three. 

As a team, LMU took 25 shots, with eight being on goal, 17 successful clears, 16 ground balls, and 11 draw controls. 

With the win, Lincoln Memorial improves to 5-3 overall and 1-0 in conference play and Catawba falls to 3-2 overall and 0-1 in conference play.

The team will take a week off as they will face Coker in Hartsville, SC on Saturday, March 14th at 11 am.