Covenant Day School

Game Recap 3/27/2019

On a sunny and breezy Wednesday afternoon, the Covenant Day Lions fell to the Charlotte Latin Hawks 12-0. Despite the loss, the entire defensive unit left the field heralded by the coaching staff following what was truly yeoman-like work. As a unit that may not always get the full recognition it deserves, the CDS defense stood tall multiple times in turning away the Hawks after 2-3 minute long possessions; an eternity in lacrosse.

Senior Poles Drew Kury, Ben Seibert, Zach Martens and Connor Westover coupled with LSMs Hill Wilson, Payton Vaughn and James Willing in order to push back the Hawks' offensive unit. CDS Goalie, Bennett Estes, recorded 12 saves and Westover recorded his first save as well! Junior Seth Shannon also went 50% at the faceoff dot as he continued to return from injury.

For their next matchup, the Lions will host South Meck HS at Warner Park on Friday, March 29 at 7PM.

Game Recap 3/14/2019 vs Wesleyan Christian Academy

Combine the much-welcomed warm weather with the upcoming Spring Break holiday, and teams can get hit with a lack of focus and daydreaming. On Thursday night, for a brief moment, this seemed to be the case for the Covenant Day Lacrosse team as they saw visitor Wesleyan Christian go up 1-0 early.

Thanks to Senior leadership and the return of Senior defense-man Ben Seibert, the Lions quickly turned on their game mindset and sprinted the rest of the first half to a 11-2 lead en route to a 16-7 win.

The offensive eruption was led by Junior Attack Hanson Church (2 Gs & 4 Assists) and Senior Attack-man Ford Hiller (5 Gs). However, CDS' key goal came from Freshman Midfielder Andrew Jordan, who shook a defender and buried his first career goal as the entire team celebrated and continued to push the pace from there.

Offensively, scorers included Seniors James Jiang (3 & 2), Davis Harrelson (1 & 1), Leland Harrelson (1), Junior Seth Shannon (1 & 1) and Sophomore Noah Strand (2). Senior Josh Burgan also tallied an assist.

On the special teams' side, Senior Goalie Bennett Estes tallied 6 saves (36 on the year) and 2 GBs while Shannon led the face-off unit with 12 wins; Jiang (2 wins), Church (3 wins) and Payton Vaughn (2 wins) also provided CDS with possessions.

On defense, Freshman James Willing, who has been a utility player of sorts committing to learning three positions this season, earned his first career start. After being held out due to illness, Seibert tallied 2 goals, helped create turnovers and got his first career assist, as fellow Senior defense-man Drew Kury led the defense with 4 GBs.

The Lions head into Spring Break with a win and take the next week learning from the highs and lows of the first half of the season which should provide them ample time to come out firing again in late March.

Game Recap 3/12/2019 vs Denver Spartans

Following a tough, one-goal loss in their Monday game, the Covenant Day Lacrosse team came out firing Tuesday night against the visiting Denver Spartans and took an early 2-0 lead. To their credit, the Spartans found a small groove as they chipped away at the Lions lead but over the course of 3 quarters the game never got too far away from CDS.

Ford Hiller continued his scoring streak, tallying 5 goals, as CDS looked to tie up the Spartans in the 4th quarter. Seniors Josh Burgan, James Jiang and Davis Harrelson each had a goal, as did Sophomore Noah Strand. Fellow Senior, Leland Harrelson, netted his second goal against the Spartans as CDS attempted a final minute comeback. The Lions fell one goal short, 9-10, as their final shot went wide at the horn.

CDS looks to right the ship as they take on Wesleyan Christian on Thursday, March 14th at Warner Park.

Game Recap 3/8/2019 vs Davidson Day School

The Covenant Day Varsity Lacrosse team hosted Davidson Day School on Friday, March 8th. The Lions and Patriots battled it out for a full, four quarters in heavy rains and cold temperatures.

Neither team could work up a large advantage as DDS took an 8-6 lead into halftime. Twice the Lions tied the score up at 8-8 and 10-10 thanks to a team effort and goals from Seniors Ford Hiller (5) and Davis Harrelson (3). Harrelson would also lead the Lions in groundballs with 9 total. Senior Zach Coleman and Junior Hanson Church scored Covenant Day's other goals and Church also added an assist.

Perhaps the strongest performance came from Junior Seth Shannon, who returned from a knee injury in the off-season to win 65% of his faceoffs which kept the possession battle close for the Lions' offense.

The Lions' final tie came at the 6-minute mark, but unfortunately the Patriots would net the final score and come out victorious 11-10. Next up for the Lax Lions is a home game with the Denver Spartans on Tuesday, 3/12 at 7:00 p.m.

Game Recap 3/5/2019 vs Forsyth Country Day

Following a strong, season-opening win, the Covenant Day Varsity Lacrosse team took the field again on Tuesday, March 5th in a rematch against 2018 playoff opponent, Forsyth Country Day School.The Lions and Furies battled throughout the first half as the teams traded goals before entering halftime with CDS trailing 6-5. The Furies took advantage of some face-off wins and defensive stops to extend their lead in the 3rd quarter. Our Lions responded by pushing themselves to the limit before eventually falling, 7-12.

Senior Ford Hiller led the Lions with 4 goals while James Jiang (2) and Noah Strand (1) each recorded goals as well. Senior Davis Harrelson did his best to advance the offense with 3 assists. Our guys fought hard throughout the game as the team totaled 52 ground balls, with Strand tallying 12 alone. The Varsity Lions intend to learn from their mistakes and are poised to get back into the winning column on Friday as they host Davidson Day at 4:30 at Warner Park.

Game Recap 3/2/2019 vs Parkwood HS

With the sun shining on a beautiful Saturday at Warner Park, the Lions opened their 2019 season at home as they hosted Parkwood HS. The team settled into a rhythm after the game found itself tied at 1. Through the leadership of a strong senior class, CDS held a 6-1 lead at halftime en route to a 13-2 victory over the Rebels.

Senior Midfielder James "JJ" Jiang and junior, Hanson Church, were both 100% at the faceoff dot. Their dominance, along with Junior Payton Vaughn's efforts, allowed CDS to control the possession battle throughout the course of the game. Church led the team with 4 assists to go with 1 goal, while senior attack-man Ford Hiller tallied 4 goals and 2 assists to lead the team with 6 points. Freshman Wade Gullickson scored his first 2 career goals for the Lions, and additional goals from Sophomore Noah Strand and Seniors Leland Harrelson (2), Jiang (2) and Davis Harrelson (1) cemented the win for the Lions.