St. Anne’s-Belfield’s Kurt Bertone exploded Thursday against Covenant when the senior unleashed a monster performance to help STAB power past the Eagles 5-1.
“One of the things that having a nice big field is that it gives him an opportunity to get up and around the outside,” said STAB coach Rob Lane. “That’s one thing we’ve looked to utilize is his speed and ability to get up and down.”
Bertone notched three assists and scored a goal, a veritable season’s worth of scoring for the defensive-minded midfielder whose brother Alex Bertone does most of the Saints’ scoring at striker. Two of Kurt Bertone’s three assists, in fact, found his brother’s head with Alex Bertone finishing two of those goals. Alex Bertone also assisted on Kurt’s goal and on the Saints’ second tally that Jack Schultz finished.
“We would not be where we are without (Alex), he’s become more clinical with his finishes and he’s scoring with both his feet and with his head,” Lane said. “Not sure you could ask for much more.”
Covenant, meanwhile, couldn’t find an answer for the Saints’ attack most of the game, with a glimmer of success coming early in the second half when the Eagles jumped out and played aggressive, creating a goal by T.J. Tyler with an assist from Bryce Boland.
“I was proud of the way we came out in the second half and scored quickly,” Covenant coach Bryan Verbrugge said. “But it proved too difficult to contain their strikers. Credit to their movement and nice placement of long balls into the attacking third.”
The Eagles also had to contend with a strong performance by STAB keeper Arav Patel, who stepped in for injured starter Cooper Allen. Patel had three saves.
“He’s been with the team now for two years and he’s often just had to sit and watch,” Lane said. “For him to come in and step up like that, just be calm and consistent in the back is huge for us.”
The Saints will host Blue Ridge Tuesday. Covenant gets a week-long break before taking on Carlisle on the road Friday.
