Smith's Goal Lifts Lions Past Covenant in Season Finale
October 10, 2007Bryan 1, Covenant 0
The Lion's Classic team entered their final regular season game against Covenant having not been defeated since their opening game of the season. With a record of 6-1-1 going in to this match, this squad had been the most successful Classic team in the history of the program. Coming off of a 5-1 thrashing of conference rival Tennessee Wesleyan on Monday, the Lions were full of confidence and were focused on finishing their season where they had spent most of it ....in the win column.
In an entertaining match up, the first half was a see-saw affair with both teams creating a number of chances, but being unable to convert. A fantastic crowd was out and they were instrumental in backing the Lions as they continued to attack the Scots. With only a little over a minute remaining, a cross was put into the box and rattled around with both Covenant defenders and Bryan strikers battling for it. The ball squirted free inside the six yard box and Justin Smith hammered it home for what would eventually become his second game-winning goal in as many matches. Halftime score: Bryan 1, Covenant 0.
In the second half, the Lions created several more dangerous opportunities that didn’t find the net. Drew Goodman served a beautiful cross to a racing Ben Whitley in front of the goal that was narrowly missed. Later in the half, Daniel Pinckney played a great through ball over the top to Seth Flores who scored, only to have it called back for offsides. The man, the myth, the legend, Mark "Mojo" Welch played a quality one-touch pass through to Seth Flores on the run but a second goal once again escaped the Lions.
The game would end with a 1-0 victory for the Lions. Defensively, Caleb Beasley , Michael Schroeder, Chris Kloc, Luke Gawthrop, Matt Dee and David Villanueva took care of the work in front of goalkeepers, Joe Courtwright and Christian Litwin.
Once again, it was a team effort as each Bryan player gave valuable minutes for the team in this effort to finish the season with the best record ever recorded by a Classic team at 7-1-1 on the season and an undefeated conference record (5-0 versus AAC Conference teams). As the chants of "Champeones, Champeones!" went up on the sidelines after the game, an unforgettable season drew to a close, but the memories of this season and the friendships that were created will live on for a lifetime.