HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The Lincoln Memorial University women's lacrosse team kicks off its second season on Saturday afternoon when the Lady Railsplitters welcome the Asbury Eagles to Harrogate for the 2016 lidlifter. Here is our preview of the upcoming 2016 campaign.
 
The Lady Railsplitters finished the inaugural 2015 season with a 1-11 overall record and a 0-8 mark in South Atlantic Conference play. Lincoln Memorial opened with seven straight losses before checking into the win column for the first time in program history with an 8-5 triumph over Pikeville on March 24 at the LMU Lacrosse Complex. But that was followed by four consecutive losses, including a 20-1 loss to Young Harris in the season finale.
 
"I think last season was a success considering what we had in terms of personnel and being a first-year program," LMU head women's lacrosse coach Caitlyn Corace said. "I thought the girls really adapted well to our situation. Winning a game was huge for us and we improved every game on certain stats and scoring. And the effort was always there. It was never an effort issue and the girls always tried hard, so you couldn't ask for anything more than that."
 
Last year's patchwork roster was comprised of more players that had never played lacrosse than those that had, but this season is different, as Corace brought in eight freshmen in the offseason that will be paired alongside some of those now seasoned second-year players.
 
"There's now more spots to fill. And even those girls that were on the team last year and new to the sport worked hard over the summer," Corace said. "There's not as much of a difference for some of the girls because they picked up the sport and experienced a year of the college game while these freshmen haven't gotten that yet. But we are able to fill some of the holes that we couldn't last year, which is nice."
 
The Lady Railsplitters should look much different than last year's team that averaged just 2.92 goals per match. In addition to the return of leading scorers Bre'Asia James (Vero Beach, Fla.) and Autumn Beddington (Newburgh, Ind.), Lincoln Memorial brought in three immediate impact freshmen in Jasmin Click (Clermont, Fla.), Amara Moss (Woodbridge, Va.) and Casey Kelly (Ellenwood, Ga.).
 
"We're leaps and bounds better offensively," said Corace. "We are able to move the ball and get more out of our plays, where we were a little more one-dimensional last year. We've got more pieces that can and will contribute. It's going to be a whole new look completely."
 
James and Beddington accounted for 34 of the Lady Railsplitters' 36 points last season, as James put up 23 goals and one assist, while Beddington potted 10 goals on 27 shot attempts. James tallied at least one goal in nine of LMU's 12 matches, including a five-goal outburst in the program's win over Pikeville. In addition to her scoring contributions, James led the SAC and ranked 18th in the nation last season with 4.67 draw controls per game.
 
"I expected a lot from Bre'Asia last year, but I'm expecting even more from her this year because we have more people that she can work with," Corace said. "There are so many more opportunities for her to make plays and for her teammates to make plays off of her. Our midfield is pretty solid between her, Jasmin, Amara and Casey, who is probably one the fastest players on the team. She is going to be lights out."
 
Moss is listed as a 5-8 midfielder, while the 5-2 Kelly will also function primarily in the midfield. Click is a 5-1 attack/midfield combo player hailing from Clermont, Fla.
 
"Amara will be huge for us on the draw and the attack," Corace said. "She and Jasmin do really well in those tight situations where there's a one-on-one with the goalie or in traffic, catching the ball, dodging and shooting. They are going to be huge for us getting those assisted and garbage goals."
 
On the defensive end of the field, the Lady Railsplitters will be led by sophomore goalkeeper Shannon Novak (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.), who compiled 138 saves and a 39.7 save percentage over more than 700 minutes of action and 12 starts last season. Novak led the SAC and ranked fifth nationally in 2015 with 11.50 saves per game. She made a career-high 22 stops against Tusculum while posting 18 saves at Brevard. Novak also led the Lady Railsplitters with 40 ground ball recoveries.
 
"Having Shannon last year was huge and it's the same thing this season," Corace said. "She has another year under her belt and she's kind of realized that she has more in front of her to help her out. Shannon is so consistent for us. She makes the saves she needs to make and then more. I expect the same thing from her this year."
 
Junior defender McKenzie Edds (Maynardville, Tenn.) is also back after earning All-SAC honorable mention consideration last season. She led the Lady Railsplitters with 14 caused turnovers while finishing among the team leaders with 28 ground balls.
 
"It's a solid group, especially with our midfielders on defense as well," Corace said. "Melissa Saganich (Clinton, Tenn.) has become one of go-to players in that group. She's so fast and her stick has gotten so good in the past month. She will be great on the clears and one-on-one defense."
 
The Lady Railsplitters enter the 2016 campaign looking for their first South Atlantic Conference victory as well as their initial road win. Lincoln Memorial was predicted to finish ninth in the SAC preseason coaches' poll, which was released in late January.
 
Lincoln Memorial will play four of its first five matches in Harrogate, beginning with the season-opener against Asbury at 3 p.m. on February 13. A complete preview of the Lady Railsplitters' 2016 schedule can be seen here.
 
For complete coverage of Lincoln Memorial University athletics, visit www.LMURailsplitters.com.