FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- Parker Owen notched his first career two-goal match and Josh Brower had a goal and two assists as the Covenant men's soccer team ran past Methodist in a 5-1 victory in USA South play on Saturday night.

The win for Covenant (8-5-1, 5-2-1 USA South) moves the Scots into second place in the USA South West Division, just two points behind division leader Piedmont. The Scots travel to face Piedmont next week.

Similar to Friday's match at N.C. Wesleyan the Scots were able to strike first, but unlike that match Covenant continued to add on to its lead.

Owen scored his first goal of the night in the 15th minute when he received a short pass from Anthony Buzzeo and found the back of the net to give the Scots a 1-0 lead. Owen would score again early in the second half, assisted by Brower, to give Covenant a 3-0 advantage. The goals were Owen's fourth and fifth of the season.

After Owen's goal in the first half, Covenant kept that 1-0 lead until late in the period. Brower added his third score of the year in the 44th minute to make it a 2-0 margin. Covenant would carry that lead into halftime and outshot the host Monarchs 8-5 in the opening half.

Methodist (5-4-1, 2-2-1 USA South) trimmed the Covenant lead to 3-1 in the 60th minute on a goal from Kristoffer Skarstein, but the Scots would tack on two more goals to seal the win. Covenant caught a break in the 65th minute when Methodist produced an own goal to extend the Scots' lead to 4-1. In the 66th minute, Jake Major got some space, thanks to a pass from Brower, and netted his fourth score of the year to make it 5-1.

Both teams took 13 shots on the night, with Methodist holding a 7-6 edge in shots on goal. Covenant keeper Paul Lemay made six saves, while his counterpart, Methodist's Scott Brecke, made one.

Noah Lee led Covenant with three shots attempted. Garrett Shan had three shots for the Monarchs. 

UP NEXT

Covenant travels to Piedmont for a key USA South West Division showdown on Wednesday. Kickoff in Demorest is set for 4 p.m.

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