One goal accomplished, more to come.
The Covenant men's soccer team completed a wire-to-wire run in the USA South West Division as the Scots claimed a regular season title after a 2-0 victory at Brevard on Tuesday afternoon at Ives-Lemel Family Field.
The conference regular season title for Covenant (14-2-1, 11-0 USA South) is the first for the program since 2007, and the first in the NCAA era. The Scots will be the No. 1 West seed, and are guaranteed at least one home match, when the USA South Tournament begins on Nov.
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Josh Brower had a goal and an assist and Jesse Riggs added a score for the Scots, who battled a tough Brevard squad throughout the 90 minutes. Covenant keeps its USA South regular season winning streak alive at 16 matches, while the Scots have outscored 11 conference opponents by a combined 40-2 this season.
Covenant got on the board in the 14th minute thanks to the combination of Brower and Riggs. Brower dribbled into the left-side of the box and slotted a short pass to Riggs, who struck his shot past the diving effort from Brevard keeper Patrick Hall for the goal.
The score was Riggs' fifth of the year, while Brower collected his USA South-leading 11th assist.
In a rare occurrence this season, Covenant was out-shot in the first half despite holding a one-goal lead. Brevard stayed within striking distance, but the host Tornados were turned away by Paul Lemay and the Covenant defense through the first 45 minutes. Lemay made three saves in the first half.
Brower added a big goal in the 58th minute to put the game out of reach. Off a corner kick, Brower was able to knock the ball into the net on a scramble at the goal line to give the Scots a 2-0 lead. The score was Brower's eighth of the season.
The Covenant defense did the rest as the Scots allowed just two Tornados shots in the second half. Lemay finished with four saves as he collected his USA South-leading eighth shutout of the year. Covenant leads the conference with 10 shutouts, with nine of those coming in USA South action.
Covenant held a 12-11 edge in shots, with Riggs taking three attempts. Adam Spencer led Brevard (5-6-3, 5-3-3 USA South) with three shots, while Hall made four saves for the Tornados.
Covenant continues USA South play on Friday with a trip to Greensboro. Match time is set for 4 p.m.