Covenant was already up by three goals, but when Jay Gaffney saw Western Albemarle goalie Jackson Sours cover the right pipe and peek to his right for a brief second to align a defender, he took advantage.
“It feels good when your team needs you to step in and shoot one,” Gaffney said. “I think a lot of guys were shooting well, anyone could’ve made that one.”
Gaffney unleashed a strike and stung the top right corner, the high water mark in a big run that gave Covenant a five-goal lead going into the fourth quarter that was critical in helping the Eagles hold on to a 12-11 victory over the Warriors, who put together a late surge to make things interesting down the stretch.
“Coming off (his) shoulder surgery last summer that was a great goal for him and great team offense to set it up,” said Covenant’s Drew Gaffney. “I was just really happy for him.”
Covenant’s offense got cranked up early in the game, jumping out to a 5-1 lead before Western tilted the momentum back toward the Warriors when they reeled off four unanswered goals to tie the game at 5-5. About that time, Drew Gaffney really got into a groove though he’d already scored three of those first five Covenant goals. Gaffney scored twice in the final two minutes of the half including the last goal with five seconds to play, giving Covenant a 7-5 lead at the break. Gaffney finished with six goals on the night to lead the Eagles’ assault.
But that offensive explosion wouldn’t have mattered much if the Eagles hadn’t found a way to dominate the first three quarters in a couple of other aspects. Austin Llera led the effort on ground balls with seven pickups while goalie Austin Hall finished with 10 saves.
“Ground balls were probably the biggest thing,” said Covenant coach Mike Gardiner. “Goalie play and defense in the first half, when you combine that with an eight-ground ball lead (that was the key).”
The Eagles created some real separation in the third quarter with three goals from both Gaffneys and Clark Gathright who finished off a rebound near the cage. Craig Van Dyke won three of four faceoffs during that third quarter, which tilted the field toward the Eagles.
That run gave the Eagles a 10-5 lead going into the final frame. About that time, Western woke up and went after the Eagles with a more aggressive tack on offense and on loose balls.
“This game, for us, was all about the last eight minutes,” said Western coach Alex Whitten. “The coaching staff had absolutely nothing to do with the comeback and the last eight minutes was awesome to watch. It was up and down the field, it was intense, it was hard fought and it was good. It was just good lacrosse. We needed to play like that from the first whistle against everyone we play against.”
Sours had a monster game in the cage to keep the Warriors alive, registering 16 saves on 31 Covenant shots as the Eagles did a solid job of putting nearly everything on the cage. Clark Sipe led the Warriors’ offense with four goals and an assist, but it was long stick midfielder Oliver Herndon’s two second half goals that really ignited Western’s rally. The two quick goals came in unsettled situations and the second pulled the Warriors within four. Taylor Godine, Ryan Ingram and Luke Reilly scored the last three goals for Western, with Reilly’s tally with nine seconds left really putting the pressure on the Eagles. Van Dyke helped Covenant snag the final faceoff though and Covenant milked the final seconds off for the big win.
“Covenant is a good program, they’ve got good players, they’ve got good team chemistry and they’ve got good athletes across the board,” Whitten said. “My hats off to those guys.”
The victory ends the regular season for the Eagles who jump into VIC play next week before the state VISAA Division II tournament starts after that. Covenant is ranked No. 1 in the state in Division II.
