Heinsohn, Rund jumpstart Covenant

ST. GEORGE — The last time Luke Heinsohn made a trip to up to Blue Ridge it was football season, and the Barons were happy to see him head back to Charlottesville as the Covenant senior almost single handedly willed his team to a come from behind victory.
After his performance on the lacrosse field on Wednesday afternoon, the Barons were once again happy to see Heinsohn leave after the Eagles dispatched Blue Ridge 20-12.
“He just showed his heart and determination out there today,” said Covenant coach Dave Breslin. “He’s becoming a real positive leader, which is something that we need. We haven’t hit our stride yet as a team and we still have a way to go, but following a guy like him, we should be in good shape.”
Heinsohn did just about everything from start to finish, picking up a hat trick, assisting five goals, and most noticeably, dominating the ground ball department while absorbing all kinds of Blue Ridge contact.
Of the 20 goals Covenant scored, 15 of them were assisted.
Connor Rund had a monster game on attack, leading all scorers with six goals.
“Playing with guys like Luke and Andy [Colberg] definitely raised everyone else’s play,” Rund said. “I just fed of off them.”
The Barons got off to a great jump to open the game, as Chris Norton and Nathan Greenwood put their team up 2-0 just 90 seconds into the first quarter.
However, the quick start rustled a sleeping giant as the Eagles scored the games next five goals to take a 3-goal lead with just under four minutes left in the first frame.
“That’s a good team,” Breslin said. “They came out and just stomped on us early and it kind of woke us up a little bit.”
“It wasn’t a fluke, it was just very good ball movement — bang bang, they put it in — and so we said, ‘Okay we’ve got a good game on our hands.’”
Greenwood’s second goal of the game got the Barons to within two goals, but it was the closest they would ever get as Covenant extended its lead to seven by halftime, and entered the fourth quarter, up comfortably by nine.
It was a tough day for the Barons defense, as the Eagles precision passing had defenders sliding and shifting nearly the entire game.
“It took us a while to find an answer for [Heinsohn],” said Barons coach Andrew Sheppe. “We shut him down in the third quarter, but couldn’t do it in the second. Still, I’m real proud of the effort our guys gave, [Covenant] is just deeper than we are.”
The overwhelming victory had players wondering where the offense was on Tuesday when the Eagles fell to St. Christopher’s 10-6.
Two weeks ago Covenant struggled against a talented Woodberry team, and Heinsohn thinks the difference between those two losses and Wednesday’s victory is all upstairs.
“I really think it starts mentally,” Heinsohn said. “We’ve definitely got the skill. We just need to put it together. If everyone comes prepared and focused to go, that should take care of business.”
Depth proved to be an issue for Blue Ridge. Greenwood and Michael Carlini carried the bulk of the weight for the Barons by scoring four goals apiece, but the Barons needed more firepower to keep up with the Eagles high-powered offense, which had Rund, Heinsohn, Colberg, and Eric Dixon score at least three goals.
Blue Ridge graduated much of the talent of last year’s VIS Division III runner-up team, but Sheppe feels that his team is starting to take shape.
“We lost our top four scoring threats from last year,” Sheppe said. “Going into the season I was a little concerned but we’ve had guys step up. Greenwood, Carlini they’ve stepped up. And Norton in the crease, he’s real scrappy. We’re getting better.”
Covenant goes on spring break next week but will resume play on April 21 when travel to play Potomac.
Blue Ridge travels to Virginia Episcopal on Tuesday at 4 p.m.