Covenant Academy is getting stronger on the soccer field with each outing.
The Lions destroyed Dayspring Community 5-0 Monday, improving to 5-2 this season.
“I think it was the first full game we’ve played,” said coach Chris Madewell. “In our first meeting against Dayspring, they jumped on us 2-0. This time we played two good halves instead of one.”
Covenant was the one pouncing early in the second meeting, getting three goals before halftime. Andrew Palmer provided the punctuation with a goal on a corner kick. Palmer wrapped the shot around and in, giving the Lions a 3-0 lead just before halftime.
His goal came after Lance Curtis and Elijah Smith had already scored for Covenant.
The attack didn’t slow in the second half. The Lions continued to look for open looks, just missing on several chances when play resumed.
One look ended with a corner kick, where the ball was played into the heart of the defense to Terry Hines. Despite being surrounded by Dayspring defenders, Hines was able to let loose a shot on net. His aim was true, with his low liner to the left corner flying past a diving keeper to make it 4-0.
Coach Madewell flipped his attack midway through the half, giving several players a chance to play a variety of positions. Alec Stovall, traditionally a part of a stout Lion defense, made the most of his opportunity on offense. He netted a goal in the waning minutes to provide for the final score.
The victory came on the heels of a 1-0 win over Clarksville Christian last Friday. In the low-scoring affair, Grant Peterson came through with the game-winning score for Covenant.
The Covenant Academy Middle School team was also in action Monday, battling Mt. Juliet Christian to a 0-0 tie.
“I was proud of the middle school team and how hard they played,” said Madewell. “It was an excellent effort against a really good team.”
Collin Panter helped pitch the shutout for the Lions, recording several saves to keep it scoreless throughout.
Covenant gets back to action Thursday with a home match against United Christian. The match is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. Both the middle school and high school are set to play Friday against West Academy at home as well. Kickoff is 4:30 p.m. for the middle school game and 5:45 p.m. for the high school match.
