The Covenant women's soccer team fell behind by two goals in the first 12 minutes of action and could not pull out of the early deficit as they fell to Methodist 3-1 on a rainy Friday evening at Scotland Yard.
The match pitted two teams separated by just three points in the USA South standings, but with the loss Covenant drops to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in conference play. Methodist goes to 7-4 on the year and 5-1 inside the USA South.
Methodist struck early in the match to take a quick 2-0 lead.
Taylor Cavazos scored from inside the 6-yard box off a pass from Sara Snotherly to give the visiting Monarchs a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute. Just four minutes later, Methodist struck again as Jasmine Newman found the back of the net from the top of the box for a 2-0 advantage.
The rains came in the second half, but no delay was needed. Kortney Maggard gave Methodist a 3-0 lead in the 48th minute with her second goal of the year, assisted by Capri Clark.
Covenant would not let down, however, as the Lady Scots produced a few scoring chances late in the second half. It looked like Covenant might get on the board in the 83rd minute as Methodist was called for a foul in the box resulting in a penalty kick. But Methodist keeper Meaghan O'Meara made a diving save on Andrea Hunt's kick to thwart the Covenant rally.
Covenant finally broke through in the 87th minute. Off a corner kick from Bekah Kanoff, Grace Bartelt put away a shot from close range to draw Covenant to within 3-1. The goal for Bartelt was her first collegiate score.
Methodist held a 13-5 edge in shots. Covenant keeper Rachel Lemay made four saves on the day, while O'Meara, who came on late for starter Taylor Ross, made two. Five different Covenant players recorded one shot.