CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Visiting Trevecca Nazarene scored twice in the second half to defeat the Covenant men's soccer tea, 2-1, in the season opener for both teams on Tuesday night at David Stanton Field on the campus of Chattanooga Christian.

The match was moved to CCS due to wet field conditions at Scotland Yard.

Covenant (0-1) wasted little time in notching the season's first goal. In the fourth minute of play, Nathan Laughlin threaded a long through ball and Mercer Stout won possession and finished around the Trevecca Nazarene keeper for the goal.

It was Stout's first goal of the season after coming off a 14-goal season in 2019.

It was a defensive half the rest of the opening period as the two squads managed just 10 total shots.

Trevecca Nazarene (1-0) took advantage of its few opportunities in the second half to tie the match and later take the lead. In the 60th minute, the visiting Trojans evened the score at 1-1 on Yared Ambaw's header off a corner kick from Carlos Bravo.

Ambaw would strike again in the 85th minute for the eventual game-winner. A Covenant defender deflected a long service from the Trevecca back line and Ambaw gained possession and got his shot past Scots keeper Henry Hooks for the score.

Covenant had a pair of set pieces on corner kicks in the final minutes, but could not find the back of the net as Trevecca held on for the win.

Both teams had 12 shots apiece in the tightly-contested match. Stout took six shots for the Scots, while Michael Martey and Ambaw had three apiece for the Trojans. Hooks made three saves at the net for Covenant and Tyler Delgado collected six for Trevecca.

UP NEXT

Covenant is scheduled to open USA South play on Saturday at Maryville. Kick-off is slated for 7 p.m. Per USA South policies, only Marvyille students, faculty, and staff will be able to attend.

CONNECT WITH THE SCOTS

Be sure to follow the Scots all season long on athletics.covenant.edu and on social media at Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for up-to-date scores, news and other information. To receive e-newsletters, click here