MARYVILLE – Knox Gibson scored a first-half goal and Covenant made it stand in a 1-0 decision over Maryville here Wednesday night.
Senior Night drew the largest crowd of the season and not long after the pregame festivities, Gibson scored his header in the 11th minute. A nice delivery into the box from Nathan Laughlin found the head of Gibson, and he flicked it forward into the far netting.
Shots were even throughout the match, ending 17-15 in favor of the home side. But just three of those Maryville shots were on net, with strikes from
Craig McIlwraith,
Ndubueze Henry and
Jason Betts forcing saves from Covenant's Eli Honeycutt.
Mykal Manfred corralled five saves for Maryville, which held possession for 57 percent of the match. Maryville also worked its way to a 12-5 edge in corner kicks.
Maryville drops to 2-7-5 overall, while Covenant is now 6-3-4. Both teams are 2-1-1 in league play and trailing first-place LaGrange at 4-0-1. A win or draw this weekend at Belhaven gives the Panthers the regular season crown.
Before the contest, the Scots recognized their seven seniors and the family members in attendance. Honored Wednesday night were Henry, Manfred,
Jason Betts,
Carter McAdoo,
Jonathan Meystrik,
David Nibayubahe and
Jared Tomson.
Both Maryville teams play Saturday at Piedmont. The women's match kicks off at 2 p.m., with the men following at approximately 4:30.
