Covenant Men Fall To Greensboro, 2-1

Saturday, September 22, 2018

The Covenant men's soccer team scored an equalizing goal early in the second half, but visiting Greensboro notched a goal in the final 10 minutes to take a 2-1 victory over the Scots on Saturday afternoon at Scotland Yard.

Covenant drops to 6-3-1 overall and 3-1-1 in USA South play.

Greensboro goes to 3-2 on the year and 1-1 inside the conference.

A defensive battle in the first half led to a scoreless tie at the halftime break. Covenant had a slim, 6-5, edge in shots over the first 45 minutes but could not find the back of the net.

In the second half, Greensboro struck in the 53rd minute. Jordy Briceno won the ball back for the visiting Pride on their attacking half and played the ball to Darli Mihindou inside the box where Mihindou got space and placed his shot beyond the outstretched arms of Covenant keeper Paul Lemay for the goal. The 1-0 Greensboro lead did not last very long.

Covenant answered back in the 56th minute to even the score at 1-1. Off a corner kick, Mercer Stout's header was saved by Greensboro keeper Elmer Martinez, but the ball stayed alive inside the six-yard box and Anthony Buzzeo just got enough of his foot on the ball to send it into the net. The goal was Buzzeo's fourth of the season.

However, Greensboro would have the final response. In the 82nd minute, Briceno was at it again as he worked around a Covenant defender and into the box before blasting a shot past Lemay to put the Pride ahead 2-1.

Covenant had a couple of looks late, but neither attempt from Stout or Carl Simakoff were put on frame as Greensboro held on for the conference victory.

The Scots outshot Greensboro 16-12 on the day, but both teams had six shots on goal. Buzzeo led Covenant with four shots. The teams combined for 38 fouls, 24 of those on Covenant, while three yellow cards were issued.

Lemay made four saves in the loss. Martinez picked up the win for the Pride as he tallied five saves.

Covenant will end its homestand on Wednesday against LaGrange. The USA South match is set for 4 p.m. at Scotland Yard.