Sometimes playing a game in the face of a tragedy can help start the healing.
Covenant boys lacrosse senior defender Colby Shriver’s grandfather passed away early Friday morning in Maryland.
“I woke up at 4 a.m. and I knew something was up,” Shriver said.
Shriver decided to play in what was a big game for Covenant against Albemarle with local bragging rights on the line, and he and his fellow defenders helped push Covenant to an 11-6 victory over the Patriots Friday night. Shriver, for his part, felt like he had some extra help as well.
“I think I saw him in the stands today, but I don’t know, you never know,” Shriver said.
Covenant, after losing to Cape Henry late last week, made a defensive shift to a 3-3 zone and the switch seemed to give the Eagles new life. Goalie Austin Hall looked much more comfortable, piling up 15 saves as the Eagles seemed to force Albemarle’s offense into tough shot after tough shot.
“Early season we tried the 3-3 and we just weren’t ready for it and we’ve tried a few things between then and now,” said Covenant coach Clay Tharrington. “I thought the zone was going to be something that would really help us…the guys have really taken to it. That’s the biggest part of it, is kids buying into it.”
Shriver pointed out that the zone’s success seemed to give the Eagles a big boost that bled over into a number of different aspects that helped key the win.
“It turned out really well and we played all together as a family,” Shriver said. “(When we’re in the zone) we think as a team, we think as one.”
Covenant also held a 40-19 advantage on ground balls thanks to a clear commitment to winning loose balls throughout the lineup.
Covenant got enough offense to make that zone’s effort matter, building a significant lead with a four-goal run that stretched from late in the second quarter when Craig Van Dyke scored to make it 5-3 Covenant until back-to-back Quinn Garland goals made it 8-3 Eagles with 8:20 to play in the third quarter. That pivotal scoreless stretch forced Albemarle to try and speed up too, which led to a series of poorly timed turnovers.
“You name it, we need to work on it,” said Albemarle coach Dave King, who’s squad also lost to St. Christopher’s earlier this week. “I thought tonight was our chance to regroup but obviously that’s not true. Covenant’s a better team, I think they were better coached and they outplayed us and that’s about all there is to it.”
Covenant’s Okleigh Archer led the way with three goals and a pair of assists while Michael Colberg, Sav Moore and Quinn Garland each posted two goals and an assist. Clark Gathright and Van Dyke rounded out the scoring with a goal each while Seth Nichols had an assist.
“The offensive IQ of our team is huge right now,” Tharrington said. “At the end of the game I had six of our underclassmen out there offensively and they looked pretty good. The kids move so well off the ball and that’s a big part of it.”
For Albemarle, Ian Davis finished with three goals and an assist while Justin Peck had two goals and an assist and Silas Beers had one goal and an assist.
