Berry College

MOUNT BERRY, Ga. - A cool noon kickoff at Bob Pearson Field set the scene for an important clash between the Berry Vikings and the Maryville Scots to fight for their place in the SAA conference tournament. The Scots have been in a battle for the final spot, while the Vikings have been in a battle for a podium position in the standings, and in the end it would be the Vikings who prevailed to take the victory over the Scots, eliminating their chances to have a place in the conference tournament.

The first half was well played by the Vikings. In the 28th minute, Sam Carlson sent in a ball across the box into the feet of Cullen Maas to give the Vikings the advantage. That caused the Scots to start chasing for the rest of the half down 1-0, and it marked Maas' fifth goal of the season.

About 10 minutes later, Sean Martinez was able to beat his defender off the dribble and put a well placed assist into the stride of Daniel Foster. Foster placed the shot into the bottom left corner of the goal, which doubled Berry's lead to close out the half. It was Foster's first goal of the season. 

The second half opened up early with another Vikings goal in the 47th minute. Joey Captain found the ball at his feet after a few scruffy altercations in the box, and managed to scrape the ball just over the line to put the nail in the dagger for the Vikings to grab their fifth conference win of the season. The Scots did however get one back in the 62nd minute, but were not able to get any closer to the result they wanted.

Before the game, Berry honored their two seniors as part of Senior Day festivities. Those two were goalkeeper Cooper Cherry and defender Jaxon Champ, two crucial players who have been a major part of the programs success in recent years. The crown jewel being a magical run in the 2025 SAA Tournament that ended in a conference championship and NCAA Tournament appearence for the team.

The Vikings will next play in the SAA conference tournament on Thursday, November 5, against Oglethorpe. The Stormy Petrels are the sixth seed in the tournament, while the Vikings enter as the three seed. Oglethorpe is also the host of the tournament.