The third time might be the charm for Nansemond-Suffolk Academy’s boys’ lacrosse team.

The Saints hosted The Covenant School in a regular season contest on Thursday, the first time the two teams had officially faced off since the 2014 Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Division II state championship game.

The Eagles won again on Thursday, but rather than by the narrow 12-10 margin of last year’s state title game, they were able to form a comfortable lead and prevail 10-5.

NSA coach T.W. Johnson said on Friday, “I think they played like the No. 1 team in the state yesterday in our division.”

Covenant School currently is ranked No. 1 at the VISAA Division II level, according to the latest poll released for games through April 5. Nansemond-Suffolk is right behind the Eagles (7-1) at No. 2.

The Saints now have a record matching Covenant’s, as Thursday’s loss was their first of the season.

“The No. 1 difference in the game was stick handling,” Johnson said.

NSA had 49 stick handling errors, which can refer to a variety of things including a player losing the ball or not picking the ball up.

“Our best is required playing a team like that,” Johnson said.

The Eagles led only 5-3 at halftime but doubled their offensive output in the third quarter alone, taking a 10-4 lead into the final period.

Johnson pointed to how often Covenant had the ball in the third quarter as a key reason it was able to rack up goals. He drew an analogy to basketball, noting the Eagles benefited from offensive rebounds.

“They got some second opportunities,” he said.

The biggest lead Covenant managed during last year’s state title game was a three-goal advantage midway through the final period.

But the contrasts to that game were not all negative for NSA on Thursday. This time, the Saints did not have as many penalties. In the state final, they played a man down at times during the fourth quarter.

“The guys did a nice job yesterday of staying out of the penalty box,” Johnson said.

He continued to be pleased with their effort overall.

“I’m lucky from the standpoint (that) I never have to worry about our effort,” he said.

Nansemond-Suffolk’s standouts included senior attackman Whit Riddick, junior attackman Noah Dowd and sophomore attackman Tanner Jackson, each of which scored a goal.

“I thought our attack played well,” Johnson said.

He also praised senior midfielder Addison Peak, who led the Saints with two goals, and senior defenseman David Gough.

“David spent a lot of the afternoon on their best player,” Johnson said, referring to Eagles senior midfielder Drew Gaffney, who currently leads his team with 29 goals and will be playing at the Division I college level next season.

Johnson said the Saints would love to earn the opportunity to face Covenant again later this year.

Nansemond-Suffolk (7-1) hits the road this morning to face Norfolk Academy.