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Covenant boys soccer shuts out Miller

Covenant’s boys soccer team found out this week that thanks in large part to a solid start to 2018 they’re the state’s No. 1-ranked team in VISAA’s Division II.

 

All it seems to have done for the Eagles is give them another reason to keep trying to meet the high expectations that they’ve set for themselves.

 

“It has been a good foundation but we haven’t played the best teams in the league and we’re trying not to get overconfident,” said Covenant senior Robert Woods. “We’re going to focus on one game at a time.”

 

The Eagles beat the Miller School 4-0 Thursday, sweating through a humid September day to pick up the win. Covenant (5-0) put together a workman-like performance to overcome a scrappy outing by the Mavericks.

 

Josiah McCaskill scored a pair of goals and registered an assist for the Eagles to lead the way, continuing his impressive start that has given the Eagles’ offense a jolt of energy.

 

“Josiah coming in to Covenant this year as well as Patrick Clancy on the right back have been two huge additions, they’ve done really well on both ends of the field,” Woods said. “We’ve been really blessed to have both of them.”

 

McKean Knowlton and Michael Morales scored the other two goals while Soren Scott chipped in an assist. Will Maupin and Jack Barr split time in the net and combined for seven saves on the day.

 

“It was a good effort, and we got the win, our goal is always to win both halves,” Woods said. “We could have played better but we’re going to sharpen up.”

 

Miller struggled to come up with goals, but with a young, inexperienced roster, the Mavericks holding Covenant to just a 4-0 result was an impressive step in their development. Miller has faced an uphill battle trying to bring its team together quickly on a timeline that’s standard for boarding schools.

 

“One of the biggest things we have to overcome as a small team is the mentality, the losing mentality,” said Miller coach Russell Leary. “Today, we played each half the same way, played after each goal the same way and kept fighting. We get our guys a little bit late but we have a young team and we’re just trying to educate a new generation of Miller soccer players”

 

Miller will host Blue Ridge Tuesday while Covenant gets a shot at Collegiate, ranked No. 8 in VISAA’s Division I.

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