HARROGATE, Tenn. — The Lincoln Memorial University men’s soccer team advanced into the semifinals of the 2012 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Soccer Tournament by taking a 1-0 win over the Catawba College Indians on Wednesday afternoon at the LMU Soccer Complex. The win extends the Railsplitters’ winning streak to six as they improve to 12-3-1 on the season, while the loss concludes the Indians’ season with a 9-7-3 record.
With the win, the Railsplitters secured a spot in the semifinals of the 2012 Food Lion SAC Soccer Tournament, as they are poised to face No. 2 seed Carson-Newman on Friday evening in Rock Hill, S.C.
Lincoln Memorial controlled the pace throughout the majority of the contest, as the Railsplitters tallied 28 shots and limited the Indians to only ten. Of the Eagles’ ten shots, only two were on goal.
Mario Pinto, who was named the South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year on Wednesday morning, recorded the lone goal of the match, scoring at the 10:43 mark off of a dish by Erik Bidinger to put the Railsplitters out to a 1-0 advantage. Bidinger sent the ball into the box from the left side, finding Pinto streaking down the middle to capitalize on that early opportunity. That was Pinto’s 21st goal of the season.
The Indians went on the attack in the second half of play, recording six of their ten shots in that frame, however, they were kept off of the board as Marcel Barwanietz tallied his seventh shutout of the season in goal for the Railsplitters. He completed 90 minutes of action with a pair of saves.
His counterparts nearly matched Barwanietz’s efforts, as Evan Harvey and Frankie Cardelle combined for 90 minutes in goal and seven saves for the Indians. Harvey played the first 29:14, making one save and allowing the Pinto goal before giving way to Cardelle down the stretch. Cardelle held the Railsplitters scoreless for the remainder of the game, making six stops in the losing effort.
Pinto led the way with five shots and four shots on goal, while Diego Deschamp fired four shots with one attempt hitting the crossbar and another striking the post. Leonardo Germniani, Fabio Fukumoto, Yuri Passos and Chris Nash each tallied three shots in the contests.
The Indians won the battle of the corner kick, as they tallied three in the match to two for the Railsplitters.
Lincoln Memorial will now turn their attention to Carson-Newman College and the semifinal match up of the 2012 Food Lion SAC Soccer Tournament. That match is slated to be held in Rock Hill, S.C. Friday at 7 p.m. with a chance to play in the SAC Championship on the line. The Railsplitters will look to avenge a 2-1 loss to the Eagles in the regular season.
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