- In a battle of unbeaten teams, the Covenant men's soccer team suffered its first defeat of the season after falling 1-0 to Mary Hardin-Baylor on Saturday night on the campus of Oglethorpe University.
The loss for Covenant (3-1) snaps the program's first three-match win streak to begin a season since 2007. Saturday night's meeting with Mary Hardin-Baylor was the first all-time between the programs.
Mary Hardin-Baylor outshot the Scots 12-2 in the opening half, but did not find the back of the net until the 41st minute.
The Cru's Diego Valadez found teammate Steven Dang in position to score and Dang converted on the opportunity to put UMHB ahead 1-0.
The second half was a little tighter and got even more interesting over the final 24-plus minutes. Mary Hardin-Baylor's Martin Lopez was booked with a red card in the 66th minute, meaning the Cru had to go the rest of the way a man down. Covenant would immediately apply more pressure as Parker Owen got off a pair of shots, one in the 66th minute and the other in the 67th minute, that eventually led to a Scots corner kick.
However, Covenant would not be able to find the equalizer as the Cru held firm on the defensive end to preserve the shutout.
Mary Hardin-Baylor outshot Covenant 18-6 on the night, with a 6-1 edge in shots on target. Covenant keeper Paul Lemay was kept busy and made five saves in the defeat. Cru keeper Travis Aday collects the shutout and made one save.
Owen led Covenant with two shots taken, while Patrick Roach attempted four for Mary Hardin-Baylor. The match saw a combined 22 fouls, three yellow cards, and one red.
UP NEXT
Covenant will open USA South play on Tuesday at Maryville. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.