LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN -- Fall has quickly taken over the mountain with cool breezes and falling temperatures, encouraging many people to come out and watch the battles on Scotland Yard. As the Lady Scots took to the field Thursday evening against once highly rivaled opponents, the sun ebbed away and left its ambient colors painted vividly against the dark cover of night. Indeed, night games have been a wonderful new addition this season to Covenant's soccer programs, as they have brought a new sense of excitement and intensity to an already fun atmosphere, and Thursday night's battle against Bryan College was no exception. The ever-growing crowd of students, faithful fans, and a large number of prospective students were decked out in Covenant blue, waving Scottish flags, and ready for the classic showdown to get under way.
It did not take long for the Lady Scots to get going. Forward Kara Lee had two shots in the first nine minutes if telling the Bryan keeper she was going to be in for a long night. But without duress, Bryan's keeper snatched both shots out of the air with precession, and in a quick exchange in the midfield, the Lady Lions were on the counter attack. Midfielder Hannah Farlett streaked down the left sideline, passing the Covenant bench on her run to the corner. With clever footwork, she made space between her defender and threaded a beautiful cross to the far post and to the foot of her fellow attacking Lady Lion Liz Pontoing who did not hesitate and buried her shot into the back of the net. Stunningly quick and effective, the Lady Lions found themselves up one on foreign soil and in the presence of a silenced crowd.
It was clear that this was going to be a hard fought battle, one this once strong rivalry was regularly accustomed to. The Lady Scots were not going to go off into the night without a fight though, as they lobbied shots for the remainder of the first half. Even with several close calls from Lady Scot teammates Sheri Koenig, Dana Streufert, and Hannah Weichbrodt, Covenant found no way to equalize the early score by the Lady Lions, and the game entered the intermission at 1-0.
As the crowd of roughly seven hundred in number began to build the excitement back up for the start of the second half, it was clear to all that it was time to get down to business. As if on cue, the Lady Scots found a way to get on the attack quickly with a shot from Covenant's leading goal-scorer Lauren Probst, but yet again the Bryan keeper was prepared for it and stifled the early chance at the equalizer. In the fifty-fourth minute, the Lady Scots finally had sustained pressure in the Bryan box by a great forward ball from defender Caitlin Ezell, flicked on by Lauren Probst to an open Katelyn Newsome who took it into the Bryan box. She was met head-on by two Bryan defenders who tried their best to take it from her, but before they could, Newsome dealt a side-footed pass to wide open Kara Lee who found the back net. Lee's blast from 8 yards out, coupled with a front flip she performed immediately after, ignited the large crowd and effectively swung the momentum toward the home team.
Even with this surging momentum, the Lady Scots and the Lady Lions were dead locked at one though ninety minutes, and with heavy legs, they entered overtime with only one last chance to break the tie. To the dismay of the oversized crowd, neither team could claim victory, and the only consolation was the enjoyment of a well played game by both sides.
Covenant travels to LaGrange College Tuesday October 5 for a 7:00 game against the hosting Lady Panthers.
