PREVIEW: Men's Soccer resumes conference play at 18th-ranked LMU

HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Catawba College men's soccer team tackles its second South Atlantic Conference match on Saturday, doing battle with Lincoln Memorial at the LMU Lacrosse Complex at 4 p.m.

Last Time Out

- Catawba endured a 3-1 loss at Francis Marion on Wednesday, the side's first blemish of the year

- The blue and white were out-shot for the first time in five matches

- FMU allowed just three Catawba corner kicks, but the visitors were gifted 26 free kicks via 18 fouls and eight offside penalties

- Bautista Vecchi-Ramello found paydirt with an unassisted strike in the 19th minute

- Zak Stiffler turned aside four of the Patriots' seven shots on goal

Bautista's Trio

- Vecchi-Ramello has netted a goal in each of Catawba's last three contests, taking over the team lead in scoring

- Ahead of the 2024 campaign, the Rosario, Argentina product was named a Third Team Preseason-All SAC selection

- His standout rookie season in 2022 featured six goals and six assists to slot fifth in the conference and earn Second Team All-SAC laurels

Opportunities Abundant

- Catawba leads the SAC and ranks second in the nation with 8.60 corner kicks per game, despite being held to a season-low three at Francis Marion

- The squad posted back-to-back double-digit corner matches, 14 against USC Aiken and 13 at Mount Olive

- The Catawba Indians also boast the league's top shots mark of 16.4 per contest that also stands 17th in Division II

Regional Rankings Check-In

- In the United Soccer Coaches Southeast Region ranking released Tuesday, five of the top six are SAC programs. Wingate, Limestone, and Lincoln Memorial stand atop the board

- Francis Marion, who tied Wingate (#1) and Clayton State (#8) last week, entered the poll at No. 10 before their defeat of Catawba on Wednesday night

- Limestone moved from fifth to second, swapping positions with Coker following the Saints'  1-0 win over the Cobras

All-Time Series

- LMU has a 17-9 edge over Catawba including a 15-5 advantage since the programs became SAC opponents in the 2006 season

- Seven of the last eight meetings in Harrogate, Tenn. resulted in Railsplitter victories

- In 2019, Catawba halted a six-match streak of losses in LMU territory with a 1-0 shutout

- When the Railsplitters are ranked, the series is tied 2-2 but the previous two matchups – both in 2007 – ended in 3-2 and 4-0 triumphs by LMU

Scouting the Railsplitters

- LMU comes in ranked No. 18 with a 3-1-1 record, suffering a loss in its conference opener to Lenoir Rhyne, 2-0, on Wednesday

- The Railsplitters were placed fourth in the Preseason SAC Coaches' Poll, pointing to another conference tournament semifinal appearance as they fell 2-1 to eventual runner-up Wingate

- The side's five goals have been dispersed equally with Botond Skulka leading the points category on one goal and one assist

- Thomas Chao, Joshua Best, Tajay Grant, and Steven Stone have been part of the starting lineup in each contest

- Goalkeeping has been delegated solely to sophomore Daniel Benedek Miklosi who has allowed just four goals and stopped 19, averaging 0.80 goals against with an .829 save percentage

Follow Along

The match will be broadcast on FloSports ($) accompanied by live stats through LMURailsplitters.com.