Covenant has had trouble getting games in this season between rain and the resulting soggy field conditions, it just hasn’t always worked out for the Eagles. But they didn’t let another postponement, from Tuesday to Wednesday, impact them in the state quarterfinals.
“We’ve had a lot of cancellations so we’ve had to deal with it a lot,” said Covenant’s Abi Shim. “We came in today and we were fired up and ready to go.”
Now, thanks in part to a hat trick from Teagan Murrie in a 6-0 win over Steward in the state quarterfinals, they’re back in a familiar spot, headed to the state final four in VISAA’s Division II to square off against top-seeded Cape Henry for a shot at the state title. The Eagles have faced Cape Henry in the state championship game the last two years, winning in 2016 and falling in 2017.
“For us, we know we have to go in on Friday and it’s going to be a tough game,” Shim said. “But we’re in the correct mindset, we’re not lax about it, we’re going in like we’re going to win this.”
Murrie scored a trio of goals for the No. 4-seeded Eagles including one just before halftime and another late in the second half to power Covenant’s attack. Moving Megan McGlothlin, who has traditionally been a more defensive player for the Eagles, up into the attack is clearly paying off in a big way after Covenant struggled earlier this season to score, with Murrie getting on a roll in part because McGlothlin is helping initiate.
“That was a big change for her but that forward line has been tearing it up since we made that change,” said Covenant coach Alan Good. “Generally when Teagan gets a goal there’s always more to follow and you saw three goals tonight.”
Abi Shim, McGlothlin and Claire McCartney each also tallied goals with McGlothlin registering three assists and with Ivy Allen putting in her usual bigtime work in the midfield, Covenant (14-0) hasn’t had a goal scored on them all year and yet still appears to be getting things going in a big way at just the right time. Which is no easy task considering all the revamping and rescheduling Covenant has had to endure this year.
“The weather has thrown us a lot of curveballs,” Good said. “We’ve had to do a lot of practices that have been chalk talks or hockey in the wrestling room. We’ve had to improvise and they’ve just gone with the flow.”
Keeper Erin Flynn posted her 14th shutout on the year for Covenant. The Eagles will face Cape Henry at 11 a.m. Friday in the state semifinals at the Evergeen Sportsplex in Leesburg.
Covenant’s Teagan Murrie talks about the Eagles 5-0 state quarterfinal win over Steward where she notched a hat trick in First Off the Field presented by @PT_acac pic.twitter.com/zGjjTUThTz
— scrimmageplay (@scrimmageplay) November 7, 2018
