Railsplitters Finding That No. 1 Is A Tough Role To Handle
September 7, 2008
HARROGATE, TN - The Lincoln Memorial University men's soccer team moved to 3-0-1 over the weekend. However, the Railsplitters are learning that holding on to the No. 1 spot in the country is going to be no easy task.
On Friday afternoon, the LMU men traveled to Louisville, Kentucky as the nation's No. 1 team to take on Bellarmine University. Despite taking a 1-0 lead on a goal by freshman Renato Segalla (Santo Andre, Brazil) in the 32nd minute, Bellarmine bounced back in the early minutes of the second half to even the match at one to one. Less than 20 minutes later, the Knights struck again to take a 2-1 lead.
LMU wasn't able to score the equalizer until late in the match in the 81st minute when Brito Martins (Sorocaba, Brazil) goal made things a two all tie. Although two overtime periods were played, neither team could score in the overtime periods and the Railsplitters were forced to settle for the tie.
On Sunday afternoon, the Railsplitters hosted Shepherd University in their first home match of the season. LMU found the back of the net first when Brito Martins scored on an assist from teammate Willian Moura (Newtown, CT) in the 18th minute to give the Railsplitters a 1-0 lead. LMU carried that lead into the intermission, giving the Railsplitter faithful reason to celebrate in the University's first game on the new field.
As the second half got underway, Shepherd managed to tie things up in the 70th minute on a goal by Jeffers Frazier. The goal shocked the Railsplitters and the LMU fans, making things look as though overtime would be a strong possibility.
Late in the match, the Railsplitters managed to switch the momentum from defense to offense. In the 87th minute, freshman Robbie Curtis (Ozark, MO) who had recently checked into the game for the first time used a pass from teammate James McLeish (Amprior, Ontario, Canada) and Willian Moura to find the back left corner which gave the Railsplitters a 2-1 lead. As fate would have it, the goal turned out to be the game-winner and the final blow in LMU's victory over Shepherd University.
Now 3-0-1 on the year, the Railsplitters will travel north into the state of Kentucky again this week when they will take on Asbury College. The match with Asbury is set for Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. and LMU will be playing without the services of All-Americans Leandro Pereira (Brasilia, Brazil) and Felipe Nogueira (Uberaba, Brazil). Pereira is still rehabilitating an injury from last season's national semifinal match, while Nogueira received a red card in Sunday's match with Shepherd University.
