YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. – Freshman Ilijia Ilic made an impact in his first match for the Young Harris College men’s soccer team Thursday (Sept. 1) afternoon.

Ilic scored four times and assisted on another goal as the Mountain Lions roared to a 6-1 victory over Lincoln Memorial University at Frances Wood Wilson Field.

It was the season opener for both teams. The Mountain Lions return to action Wednesday (Sept. 7) when they travel to Rome, Ga., and face Shorter University in a 7:30 p.m. contest.

Ilic – in one match – has already scored one more goal that the leading scorer (three) did for Young Harris in 15 matches last year. The six goals the Mountain Lions tallied against the Railsplitters are almost half the total of 13 goals Young Harris scored in 2010.

Illic scored twice in the final 10 minutes of the first half to take a 2-0 lead at the intermission. The Mountain Lions took a 4-0 lead in the first five minutes of the second half as Andreas Pechmann and Ilic found the back of the net. After Lincoln Memorial got a score from Mario Pinto, the Mountain Lions, who outscored the Railsplitters 20-9, got their final scores from Ilic and Sam Walker to account for the final margin.