Second-year head coach Becky Burleigh and the 1990 team entered that fall as the top-ranked school in the NAIA preseason national poll on the heels of a national runner-up finish in 1989.
"Personally, I said to myself 'This is my last year. I want to do it all. I want to go out on the highest note possible for our team,'" said Julie Simons of her mindset entering her senior season.
As they did routinely in the program's first four seasons, the Lady Fury continued to square off against NCAA Division I teams. Burleigh said she intentionally lined up that type of competition.
"We played a really aggressive schedule that year," said Burleigh of the 1990 regular-season slate of opponents. "That was just one thing I really believed in. I think that when you play N.C. State, UNC and teams like that, it made playing the NAIA schools feel a little bit easier or at least decreased the pressure. I think it really helped prepare our team when we went on."
Overall NCAA Division I and II competition accounted for all but one of Berry's five regular-season losses, including a pair of 1-0 games. NAIA rival Boca Raton edged the Lady Fury, 1-0, to account for Berry's other defeat.
During the playoffs, Berry would top Boca Raton by scores of 2-1 and 3-2, respectively, the latter victory securing the Lady Fury's ticket to the NAIA National Tournament.
Simons scored the winning goal on a penalty kick in the second overtime of that 3-2 victory.
"I do remember the free kick," said Simons, who earned MVP at the NAIA East Regionals. "It was just a surreal feeling to score that. I took a lot of our free kicks and corner kicks and I spent a lot of time just practicing those from different spots on the field so it was a great feeling to have that work pay off for our team."
Just as it did three seasons prior, the 1990 NAIA National Tournament brought the Lady Fury to Due West, South Carolina. After back-to-back shutout victories, the team squared off with two-time defending champion Pacific Lutheran University, which defeated Berry, 2-1, in triple overtime for its 1989 title.
In the rematch between these two programs, the Lady Fury nabbed an overtime victory, 3-1, during Thanksgiving break. Berry finished with a 16-5-2 record and went 7-0-2 over its last nine games, including four shutout wins.
"I remember watching that game in Due West and just being so pleased after that contest to know 'We're part of something very historic,'" said Bob Pearson, who served as Berry's athletic director at the time. "To win the national title twice in just four years…that's pretty impressive."
"It was a really sweet win and a really sweet way to end my college career," said Tina Burgess, a senior on the 1990 team and the Defensive MVP at Nationals. "Sometimes people's careers go downhill or plateau, but I felt like that was my best year. I gave it everything I had."
"Since they had beaten us the year before, we definitely didn't want them to take that from us," said Simons of Pacific Lutheran.
