Bryan Defeats Covenant 2-0 in Classic Battle
September 19, 2007
Bryan 2, Covenant 0
The Bryan Lions travelled to Covenant with an away win on their minds and that's just what they came back to the Bryan Hill with at the end of the night. The win puts the Classic team at 1-1 on the season as they suffered a loss in their season opener versus a much improved Hiawassee College team. It was good to see the team bounce back with such a quality win after suffering that opening loss.
Bryan 2, Covenant 0
The Bryan Lions travelled to Covenant with an away win on their minds and that's just what they came back to the Bryan Hill with at the end of the night. The win puts the Classic team at 1-1 on the season as they suffered a loss in their season opener versus a much improved Hiawassee College team. It was good to see the team bounce back with such a quality win after suffering that opening loss.
The stage was set at Covenant for another classic rivalry match with the fans split down the middle in what seemed to be a smaller scale replica of the Premier team's match played the night before in which the Lions prevailed 2-1 at home. Fans dressed in blue would chant and cheer only to be countered with the red clothed Bryan fans who had made the trip up the mountain, risking their brakepads on the return trip in the process.
The game began with as much intensity as would be expected in a match such as this. Bryan , however, applied tons of pressure early and really jumped on the Scots from the starting whistle. Work rate was a key factor as Bryan got good leadership out of Ben Whitley up top who set the tone for the guys behind him. The Lions attacked consistently and Daniel Pinckney on the left side created several dangerous opportunities for the Lions. The Lions were very unfortunate to not score in the first half as they kept Covenant on their heels for the most part.
Second half began again with the same intensity out of both teams. Covenant had come to play too, and worked very hard to cause problems for the Lions. The defense for the Lions held strong as Russel, Simon, Beasley and Schaeffer shut down the attacks that Covenant were able to create. Hayden Lavo had a great game for the Lions as he ran things in the center midfield. His efforts were rewarded as he struck a ball from about 25 yards out that took an odd bounce and managed to find the net for a 1-0 lead. Not long after, Freshman Zach Scalf scored another from the left side of the box that ricocheted through the keeper's legs for a 2-0 lead. The Scots pressed late and the Lions were forced to defend the last 15 minutes to preserve the victory. Every player was a part of this victory as it was a team effort with every player seeing the field for some time.
The Lions are now 1-1 on the season and will play Tennessee Wesleyan College on September 24th at home.