LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN -- As October turned to November, it brought with it the last home game for the Scots of the 2010 season and the final regular season home game for seven seniors. This final home game had the feel of something riding on the line with a familiar foe coming into town: the Bryan College Lions. To add fuel to the fire both teams have had successful years so far. The Scots have proved their strength with an eleven game winning streak, highlighted with an impressive win over Lee University. On the other side, Bryan has impressively fluctuated inside the top ten of the NAIA.
The electricity of both the large Covenant crowd and the ever growing Bryan mob was still buzzing and getting settled in when the whistle blew less than a minute into the contest. To the shock of everyone there, the whistle signaled a handball by Bryan inside the box, awarding Covenant a very early penalty kick. As the realization of the gravity of the situation hit, every individual in the crowd of 1200 crazy fans drifted toward silence. And when senior Julian Allgeier placed the ball down, the absence of noise was almost deafening, resulting in a tension of what could be. Never had two strides seemed to move in slow motion. The contact between boot and ball exploded in the silence, and the two crowds exhaled in unison. But the scoreboard still read 0-0 with 44:08 remaining in the first half. If the first fifty-two seconds was anything, it was a foreshadowing of what was to come: this was going to be a game full of emotions and jam-packed with drama.
It did not take long for the Lions to have a great scoring chance of their own. Showcasing a finesse passing game that the Scots had not faced all year, the possession was tilted in the Scots defensive third throughout the first half. The Lions best chance came off a shot rocketed from outside the eighteen yard line, and if there was ever equality in a game it was found, as it was only denied by a Covenant friendly crossbar. The Scots defense seemed to bend and not break, limiting the Lions to contested shots and shots from beyond the box with only two of their seven shots requiring a save by Scots keeper John Eger. As time expired in the first half, it was looking like it was going to be a game down to the wire.
The second half was one with high emotions on the field and in the stands as chants flowed back and forth between the student sections of Bryan and Covenant. On the field, the play grew in physicality with every passing minute, and it seemed one hard tackle led to another.
The Scots defense, tested over and over again, was finally penetrated with a long range shot from Lion forward Ricky Angel early in the second half. Angel, after receiving a pass from Bennie Bardales in space, ripped a shot from close to 25 yards out that sailed by Eger and the Scots defensive back line into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. 14 minutes later, a long ball played to another Bryan forward allowed the Lions to double their advantage when Tom Hemmings' shot deflected off a Covenant defender.
In the remaining 23 minutes, the Scots managed 4 shots and 2 corner kicks but were unable to get by a Bryan defense that has allowed 7 goals in 17 games this year.
With the 2-0 loss, the Scots move to 13-5 on the season and will be on the road Saturday at Berry College for their last regular season match. The following week, the team will await news on the location of the NCCAA Mid-East region play-offs, which are scheduled for November 13, 19, and 20.
