Covenant cruises to LIS championship

Following a drubbing of Steward in the LIS semifinals, the Covenant girls soccer team again jumped out to an early lead, leading to a 10-0 dismantling of Fredericksburg Academy in Thursday’s championship game.

Led by their seniors, the Eagles (18-1-1) grabbed a 4-0 halftime lead and all but ran circles around the visiting Falcons, who seemed to be a step behind from the start.

Covenant was impressive on offense and defense, as the Eagles held the Falcons to just three shots on goal.

Second-year coach Pat Campbell refers to his quartet of senior captains as “the Fantastic Four,” and the group put on quite a show on senior day.

“It was a lot of fun to see these four get the win tonight,” said Campbell, who admitted that he got a bit choked up prior to the game. “The seniors are certainly the heart of the team, there’s a lot of girls who will be stepping into their position, but their heart and spirit are so beautiful.”

Erin Hauser, a four-year varsity player, scored a game-high three goals to lead the way. Emily Klein added a goal, and fellow seniors Katie Estep and Sarah Ameling each had solid performances.

To cap the day off, when asked who would be accepting the LIS trophy for Covenant, the reply was simply “The seniors.”

Hauser scored her first goal just over five minutes into the action and weaved through Falcons defenders all day. Campbell praised his senior star’s play in Thursday’s title game, and said that her dominant performance was nothing new.

“She’s been a leader for four years and she’s so coachable — when you ask her to do something different, she does it,” Campbell said. “What people don’t realize is how hard Erin works outside the games, she comes ready to practice, and even when she’s not practicing.

“She’s in the weight room or going for a run or working with the ball, and we all get to see the fruits of that — she does so much on her own.”

The Eagles also got help from the underclassmen, as sophomores Rachel Maxwell, Kelly Crispens, Lina Godine and Alyse Marotta combined for five goals. Freshman Hannah Klein scored a goal and dished out two assists and classmate Amy Inouye helped out with two assists.

Campbell now will have an opportunity to capture his second VIS title in as many years as Eagles coach, as Covenant begins play in the state tournament next week.

“We’ve worked on being more creative offensively and it’s really paid off,” said Campbell. “Last year, we had a great defense. This year, we’ve got a much more creative offense. We’re really looking forward to it.”

Estep, Klein, Hauser and Crispens were named to the all-tournament team after the win. Covenant will host a quarterfinal match on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.