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HARROGATE, Tenn. — In a contest that was physical from start to finish, the Lincoln Memorial University men’s soccer team battled the Wildcats of Bethel University to a 1-1 stalemate on Tuesday afternoon at the LMU Soccer Complex. The draw takes the Railsplitters to 4-2-1 on the season while Bethel moves to 4-1-1.

At the end of the first half, the game remained scoreless as both teams struggled to find any offense in the period. The two teams were limited to a combined 13 shots in the period with eight going to Railsplitters over that span. The lone shot on goal for either team came at the 21:07 mark, as Juan Hernandez fired a shot that was stymied by LMU keeper Marcel Barwanietz.

After the break, Diego Deschamp put the Railsplitters on the board with his fourth goal of the season. Deschamp’s score came at the 47:59 mark, as he found the ball following a deflection and slammed it into the back of the net. He was assisted on the play by Nathaniel Johnson, his first of the season.

With the game coming to a close, the Wildcats knotted the match with a score from Antonio Pereira. That was Pereira’s fifth goal of the season, as he used a cross from Juan Hernandez to tie the game at 1-1 in the 77th minute.

Over the final 13 minutes of regulation LMU fired three shots with one coming on goal. Over that same span the Wildcats got off one shot that sailed over the goal. With all four attempts missing the contest went to overtime.

The first overtime saw the two teams combine for only three shots, while Bethel fired the only two shots recorded in the second overtime period. The two defenses highlighted the extra time as the game came to a 1-1 conclusion after 20 minutes of scoreless action. Marcel Barwanietz made two saves in the two overtime periods to keep the tie intact for the Railsplitters.

There were 35 total fouls called in the game as physical play was a constant theme of the afternoon. Lincoln Memorial University finished with 22 shots, while the Wildcats fired 17 in the game. LMU recorded seven corner kicks to six for Bethel.

Barwanietz played all 110 minutes in goal, recording four saves on the afternoon. Christopher Baker matched that performance with 110 minutes in goal and five saves for Bethel.

The Railsplitters will be back in action on Saturday as they host Anderson University. That South Atlantic Conference battle is tabbed for a 3:30 p.m. start.