WINSTON-SALEM, NC -- The Lady Scots (4-1) hit the road on Saturday after a long, seventeen day home-stand to face Great South opponent Salem College (3-1). The game was the first ever to be played on Spirit Field, Salem's newly designed home pitch. Unfortunately, it was not Covenant's day. From the kick-off, the Lady Scots seemed unable to force any action, starting our flat and never really recovering. After twelve minutes, a slight sense of urgency led to four straight corner kicks by senior Caitlin Ezell, but even with the resulting shot opportunities, the Lady Scots were unable to put one in the back of the net.
These corner kicks may have broken the ice, though, as both teams found more offense from the eighteenth minute on. Covenant struck first with a shot by Sheri Koenig, but still fresh from little action, Salem's keeper Jazmine Bridgeman was well prepared and spoiled Koenig her second season goal.
The following twelve minutes were played well by the Lady Scots' keeper Bethany Holman. Salem attempted three shots but all resulted in saves. The Lady Scots, although struggling to find their rhythm in the early going, were not about to roll over.
In the forty-first minute, Kara Lee found an opening and ripped one on frame, but yet again, Bridgeman remained true to her position. Not much more than a minute later did Salem pound their last shot of the half, but Holman watched as it went wide. Though the first half saw relatively little offensive action, both teams' defenses were playing well enough to keep the game goalless.
The second half seemed to be more of the same: no real offensive output by either team. Salem managed two shots on goal in the first few minutes of the half, but Covenant's Bethany Holman was up to the challenge, thwarting both. The Lady Scots earned a few chances of their own in the early going of the second half, but none that led to anything significant.
In the sixty-fourth minute, Covenant conceded their first goal of the year. The goal broke a streak of 423 consecutive minutes of shutout soccer and eventually led to the team's first defeat this season. A through ball placed between Covenant's center backs in the sixty-fourth minute led to a foot race between keeper Bethany Holman and forward Alexi Saganich. Saganich reached the ball first and was able to slot home her second goal of the season.
In this very slow offensive game, the one goal was a backbreaker. The Lady Scots eagerly worked to tie the game back up but found themselves unable to record more than a single shot the rest of the game. When the final buzzer sounded, the Lady Scots were on the losing end for the first time this year.
Covenant will take this week to prepare for their trip to Agnes Scott College on September 25. The game will be played on Agnes Scott's home turf in Decatur, Georgia at 2:00pm.
