Preview: Mars Hill to kick off SAC Tournament against LMU

MARS HILL, N.C. - Mars Hill will travel to Harrogate, Tennessee as they square off against fourth-seeded Lincoln Memorial at the LMU Soccer complex in a South Atlantic Conference tournament quarterfinal match on Tuesday, October 31. The winner of the contest will take on the winner of the Wingate and Newberry match in the semifinals on Friday, November 3 in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

The Lions had an opportunity to host the matchup at the Ammons Family Athletic Center and Meares Stadium if they were able to defeat Anderson on Saturday evening. The Trojans came away with a 2-1 victory and the Railsplitters rolled past Catawba, 4-1, to leapfrog Mars Hill in the standings.

Following a two-game losing streak, the Lions look to right the ship in tournament play.

"We've just got to get back to the simple things," head coach Gary Hamel said. "Focus on the details, defend well and take the chances when we get forward."

Less than two weeks ago, LMU hosted Mars Hill and were downed by a late goal from Stian Sanner. In the 88' minute, Sanner collected his own rebound and sealed the victory for the Lions with his third of the year. It was LMU's only loss at home on the season.

Over the last several years, the Lions have come away with key victories on the road, especially against the Railsplitters. Since 2010, LMU is winless against the Lions while hosting, losing four straight. The two previous times both teams met in the quarterfinals, Mars Hill prevailed (2009, 2010).

In Mars Hill's seven previous victories over LMU, each contest has been decided by one goal.

Despite being the lowest scoring offense in the conference with 14 goals in as many games, the Lions are focused on their defensive strength and understand the type of action they will see in tournament play.

"It's going to be a tight game," Hamel added. "We need to keep it tight defensively and hopefully get a couple quality goals."

Sanner and Jordan Lennon lead the team with four goals apiece, followed by Joakim Lien who has three on the year. Tatum Cartner, Kyle Dix and Derek Kaple each have one goal on the season.

Senior goalkeeper Ben Lucas played in every game of the regular season, posting a 1.30 GAA and four shutouts.

The Railsplitters offense will be led by Danilo da Silva who recorded 29 points (11 G, 7 A) in the 2017 campaign. The total earned him the SAC regular season scoring title as he had at least one point in every game this season and five multi-point matches.

Goalkeeping duo, consisting of Caleb Cothrin and Caio Bergamo, ended the regular season with a combined 0.94 GAA and total of five shutouts.

Coach Hamel knows the contest will be a challenge, but is confident in his defense corps.

"We limit the opportunities from close," Hamel said. "Defending is all about mindset and it is about hard work and attitude. Our attitude has been pretty good, so hopefully we can keep going with that and improve it a little bit. We try to limit the opponent and if we can do that, we're always in the game."

Mars Hill takes on Lincoln Memorial on Tuesday, October 31 at 2 p.m. to open up SAC tournament play.

"I think we're a team that can compete with anyone in the conference," Hamel added. "I think we can match up with anybody."