Berry's historic regular season came to a close Saturday in Memphis, Tenn., as the Vikings fell to Rhodes, 20-9, in Southern Athletic Association action.
The Vikings (13-3, 5-1) finish second in the SAA regular season standings outright for the first time. The squad in 2017 finished in a tie for second, earning the No. 2 seed for the league's championship tournament via a tiebreaker. This time, Berry earned the slot outright with a 5-1 mark in SAA play, setting a program record for best SAA winning percentage all-time.
Berry grew into the game against the perennial SAA powers, but it was too late to overcome the large lead the Lynx (11-5, 6-0) had buit. Rhodes raced out to the first six goals of the game before sophomore
AnnaKate Estock scored off a pass from
Molley Cross to get the Vikings on the board.
Haley Larsen and
Katie Claire Smith would both score for Berry in the second quarter as Rhodes built an 11-3 lead at halftime; however, the Vikings held the Lynx scoreless for the final eight minutes of the first half.
Rhodes would actually start the running clock against the Vikings in the second half, building a lead up to 11 at 14-3. Instead of rolling over, the Vikings showed the resolve to go on a 5-0 run to trim the lead to six and force the Lynx to call timeout. Taraska and Smith each scored before the end of the third quarter, then Larsen, Taraska, and
Maddie Mashburn each found the back of the net to cap the run for BC.
The Lynx would go on a quick 4-0 run to restore a 10-goal advantage, and while
Abby Sprayberry would score late to cut the deficit to nine, Rhodes would score twice more to earn the victory.
Larsen would clear 100 draw controls for the season, corralling 10 to finish the regular season with 108. Taraska would reach the 60-point plateau in defeat, joining Larsen (63) at that mark.
The Vikings will be back in action at Valhalla Stadium in the semifinal round of the SAA Championships next Sunday, Apr. 23. Start time and opponent are both yet to be decided.
