HARROGATE, TN –

On Saturday afternoon, the Lady Splitters traveled to Wingate, North Carolina and defeated the Bulldogs in a tight 3-2 decision on their own field.  In Tuesday’s match, the Lady Railsplitters didn’t waste time setting the tempo, as senior Heloisa de Oliveira (Campinas, Brazil) found the back of the net in the 1^st minute of the match with help from teammate Camilla Verissimo (Brasilia, Brazil).

LMU leading 1-0, Wingate struck back less than 10 minutes later when Jenni Barbett found Madi Welch on a cross that was placed in front of the goal.  Welch slammed a shot into the left side of the net to even the score at 1-1.

The Wingate goal gave the Bulldogs a little momentum but that quickly changed when LMU’s Becky Thompson (Frederick, MD) was fouled in the box in the 19^th minute on a breakaway.  Oliveira then stepped in to notch her second goal on the penalty kick and the Lady Railsplitters again had a lead of 2-1.

As the late minutes of the first half ticked off the clock, the match moved into a defensive struggle.  The struggle lasted until the 35^th minute when reining South Atlantic Conference Player of the Week Becky Thompson used her speed to form a one-v-one situation with the Wingate goalkeeper and hit the back of the net to give LMU a 3-1 advantage.  The goal clearly took the fight out of the Bulldogs and the Lady Railsplitters carried the lead into the half.

When the second half got underway, the defensive struggle resurfaced throughout the first twenty minutes of play.  Finally, in the 66^th minute, LMU senior Camilla Verissimo tallied her second assist of the match when she hit freshman Karina Campos (Sao Paulo, Brazil) with a cross from the right side and Campos chipped it past the keeper for the final 4-1 margin.

LMU’s win ends the Bulldogs season with a 5-11-1 record while the Lady Railsplitters will join the LMU men’s team on Friday in Rock Hill, South Carolina for the semifinals of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament.  The Lady Railsplitters play Tusculum at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.  The Lady Pioneers defeated Carson-Newman on Tuesday 2-1 to advance to this Friday’s semifinal round. 

The last time the Lady Railsplitters met the Lady Pioneers, Lincoln Memorial emerged a 3-1 winner over Tusculum when the Lady Pioneers were the #7 ranked team in the country.  Admission to the match is $5.00 for adults and $2.00 for children under age 12, and students with a valid ID.    

Photo by Ray Welch Photography