LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN -- After starting the season with four straight road games and compiling a less-than-stellar 1-3 record, the Covenant College men's soccer team finally returned to Scotland Yard last Saturday to defend its home turf against the visiting Faulkner University Eagles.  The support, buildup, and hype for the game was immense, as members of the student body began preparing for the game days in advance.  Marching to the tune of drums, bagpipes, and various cheers and chants, the so called "Tartan Army" came out in full voice to watch the boys in blue take the field for the home opener.

So, with the stands packed on the sunny, hot afternoon, the Scots kicked off and immediately rode the crowd's energy to several early chances.  Senior David Pifer seemed to be at the center of most of them, hitting the post off a corner kick, blazing a header just wide, and having a goal called back for offsides.  But just when it seemed like it wasn't going to be Pifer's day, the midfielder caught a stroke of luck when freshman forward Caleb Peacock's hustle effort poked the ball away from a Faulkner defender.  The loose ball fell kindly at Pifer's foot, and after beating a man, he let loose a shot from 20 yards out.  The ball then deflected off an oncoming defender's foot, and with the goalkeeper having already committed in the wrong direction, it sailed into the net untouched.  "At that point I was just happy with a goal," said Pifer after the game. "I had missed several chances and had one called back for offsides, so I was just content with a shot finally going in, whether it was pretty or not."  Pifer's 35th minute goal put the Scot's up 1-0 with ten minutes remaining in the half, and the Covenant defense held firm to take the lead into halftime.

At the start of the second half, the Scots picked up right where they had left off, with the defense holding firm, and the offense creating chances.  The scoring resumed when goalkeeper John Eger, who had five saves on the day, punched clear a corner that landed at the feet of sophomore Tyler Morrison.  Morrison beat a man and quickly realized he had the whole field in front of him with nearly the entire Eagle's team having pressed up for the corner, and he chose to dribble with pace on the counter attack.  After juking the final defender, the midfielder then slotted the ball past the keeper to complete his coast-to-coast effort.  "I had Julian beside me and I thought about passing it," recalled the sophomore from Slidell, LA, "but the goalie was out of position so I knew that if I just put my shot on target it was a goal."

Up 2-0, the Scots then added their third and final goal when the younger Pifer brother, Chris, headed home his first career goal to give Covenant a three goal advantage over the Eagles with only a few minutes to play in the game.  Senior Brian Stair's dazzling dribbling display in the corner set up the goal, as he beat several defenders before placing his pinpoint cross on Pifer's head for the score.  After scoring, Chris then wheeled away toward the "Tartan Army" crowd and celebrated by giving them an "Army" salute.  It was a fitting ending to a fairytale home-opening match for the Scots, who came away victors in the 3-0 contest.  

"I thought we played well in this game," said Coach Nathan Pifer after the match.  "Now we need to focus on doing it more consistently and on a regular basis.  The crowd really helped us with this one, and I was pleased that our captains Hunt Davidson and Josh Johnson were back from injury to help us keep the clean sheet and win the home opener."

After winning Saturday's contest, the Scots then traveled to Truett-McConnell for a Tuesday afternoon showdown.  Despite going down 1-0 early, the team rallied to come back and win the game 5-2.  David Pifer once again kicked things off for the Scots, curling home a free-kick from the top of the box to tie the score at 1-1.  After halftime, Brian Stair then hammered home a 20-yard shot to give the Scots the lead, and shortly thereafter went on to score his second by putting away a David Pifer cross.  Johnny Frame and Matt Hudnut then polished things off for the Scots as they scored their first-ever goals for Covenant following assists from Ben Duncan and Ross Blaising respectively.