ROCK HILL, S.C. — With a goal from Diego Deschamp in the 99th minute, the Lincoln Memorial University men’s soccer defeated the Carson-Newman College Eagles, 1-0, to advance into the championship match of the 2012 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Soccer Tournament. The Railsplitters improve to 13-3-1 on the season and extend their winning streak to seven with the victory. The Eagles conclude their season with an 8-6-3 mark overall.

After 98 minutes of action, Lincoln Memorial and Carson-Newman were in the midst of a defensive struggle with the game knotted in a 0-0 stalemate. As the first overtime period was coming to a close, South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year Mario Pinto streaked up the left side of the Eagle side of the field, sent the ball to the top of the box where Diego Deschamp capitalized, driving the ball into the corner of the net, to give the Railsplitters a 1-0 victory over the Eagles. Deschamp’s goal, his eighth of the season, came at the 99:09 mark to propel Lincoln Memorial to the championship match.

The two teams played to a near draw throughout the entirety of the match, with the Eagles holding a slight edge in the battle of shots (18-17) with the Railsplitters leading the way with seven shots on goal. Pinto, Deschamp and Leonardo Germniani paced LMU with four shots apiece in the match, while Trystan Dafydd led the way for the Eagles with four shots as well.

Marcel Barwanietz tallied his third-consecutive shutout in goal for the Railsplitters with 99:09 minutes of action and four stops. All-South Atlantic Conference First Team selection Rumwald Le Gueval nearly matched that effort with 99:09 minutes in goal and six stops, allowing the lone goal of the match to Deschamp.

The Eagles also held the edge in corner kicks with six in the match to only three for Lincoln Memorial.

The Railsplitters advance into the championship match of the 2012 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament, set to be held at 4 p.m. in Rock Hill, S.C. on Sunday. Lincoln Memorial is slated to take on the Anderson University Trojans, who they defeated 7-1 in their regular-season match up.