BIRMINGHAM -- The Covenant Lady Scots soccer team closed out the 2010 regular season Wednesday night with a 2-1 loss at Birmingham Southern College. Lauren Probst had the lone goal which incidentally gave Covenant the lead early in the second half, but a couple of late goals helped the Lady Panthers secure the win in their final contest at BSC Soccer Park. The Lady Scots, now 10-6-1, will continue their 2010 campaign in the NCCAA Mid-East regional on November 19-20.
Probst's goal came in the 58th minute, after Birmingham Southern had begun to think the game was in their control. Through the first half, the Lady Panthers had built a 10-1 shot advantage, were dominating the possession, and seemed only a touch or two away from breaking the deadlock. But Covenant, on one of its many counterattacks on the night, managed a close range shot from leading goal-scorer Lauren Probst (11), who did not hesitate in blasting the ball past BSC keeper Richelle Byrd for the 1-0 lead.
With a sense of urgency, Birmingham Southern responded with 9 shots in the subsequent 20 minutes. Included in those 9 shots was one from the right side by Jillian Theibert that goalkeeper Bethany Holman parried over the crossbar. Another was from approximately 10 yards out and straight-on that Holman dove left to snatch out of the air. Still two others, the senior stretched to bat away from the confines of the goal. With the 12 recorded saves, Bethany set a new career high, edging her 11-save performance against Martin Methodist in October of 2008.
But when the Lady Scots defended a corner kick in the 80th minute, Alicia Plotky managed to eliminate the lead with a header from inside the box.
The game still looked promising for Covenant, though, as the team earned a corner kick of its own just three minutes later. Freshman Molly Peele dealt a nice cross, but the awaiting Jane Brandon's header sailed wide right. Two minutes after that, Birmingham Southern had taken the lead off a goal from Jamie Sullivan, and the end was then in sight for the Lady Panthers.
The Lady Scots are now 10-6-1 and are still waiting on final word for opponent and location of the 2010 NCCAA Mid-East region tournament.
