LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN -- On a chilly night at Scotland Yard, junior Joel Friesen lit up the scoreboard with two first half goals to lead the Covenant men's soccer team to a 2-1 victory over Emory.
Covenant moves to 9-5-3 overall on the season and snaps Emory's six-game unbeaten streak in the process. Emory drops to 10-4-1 on the year.
It also marks just the second time in school history that Covenant has defeated Emory. The Scots came into the night's match 1-8-7 against the Eagles with the one win coming back in 1980. The last two meetings were decided in overtime, but the Scots would get a lead on this night and never relinquish it.
Friesen notched his first goal of the night in the 21st minute from just beyond the 18-yard box after a nice touch pass from teammate Matt Hudnut. Friesen worked his left-footed shot into the upper half of the net past the outstretched arms of Emory keeper Abe Hannigan to make it 1-0.
In the 29th minute, Friesen was at it again. After taking possession of the ball around midfield, Friesen pushed it up the field, weaving in and out of defenders, until he reached the box where he put one more move on his defender to make room for a shot. The shot went into the lower left corner of the net giving the Scots a 2-0 edge before halftime.
With the two scores, Friesen now leads the team with six goals on the year. It was also the first time in his collegiate career that Friesen has scored twice in a match.
Emory would trim its deficit to 2-1 in the 82nd minute thanks to a score from Jeffrey Cochran, assisted by Sebastian Hardington. But Covenant was able to withstand a furious rally from the Eagles in the final minutes of play.
Shuler Polk made seven saves for Covenant, while his counterpart Hannigan tallied four for the Eagles. Covenant had a slight 10-9 edge in shots in the opening half, but Emory put more pressure on the Scots in the second period as they outshot the hosts 15-4 and 24-14 for the match.
Ian Meredith led Covenant with four shots attempted with Gordon Carpenter, Hudson Brock and Friesen each taking two.
Covenant will head back into USA South play on Friday when they travel to Danville, Va., to take on Averett at 3 p.m.
