Fayetteville, N.C. - The 2026 Berry College Men's lacrosse season officially kicked off Saturday afternoon at Methodist University. Berry was able to come away with the victory, winning 12-9.

An all-around team effort was the story of the game, as Finn McClendon and Owen Morini both pulled rabbits out of their hats with 3 goals each, and Tyler Gabrielse and Michael Beirne both slashing in two apiece. 

Berry was able to control the action in the first quarter, leading 3-0 going into the second. The Vikings won the first faceoff en route to William Lee scoring the first goal of the season for Berry. Seven minutes later, just after Berry's first timeout, Tyler Gabrielse scored the second goal for the Vikings. Finn McClendon also did not want to be left out, scoring the third goal with a couple of minutes to go.

Methodist was able to end the scoring drought quick into the second quarter with two goals to push the game to 3-2. Berry then responded with two goals of their own, a second goal from Gabrielse, and another from Owen Morini. Going into halftime, Berry remained ahead 5-3.

Both teams traded goals throughout the third quarter, with each team adding on two goals to their total. Morini and McClendon both added their second goals of the day. Methodist was able to tie the game up at seven apiece for the first time since the opening minutes. Michael Bernie quickly added another goal for the Vikings, creating a one-score lead late in the third quarter. Methodist then tied the game up with 58 seconds left in the third, creating a tied game at 8-8 going into the start of the fourth quarter.

The start of the fourth quarter was all Vikings as they added three straight goals to open the fourth. Tad Zappa, Michael Bernie and Caleb Johnson all contributed to the scoring party. Methodist added a goal midway through the quarter, but McClendon put the game to bed with his third goal of the game to give the Vikings a 12-9 lead with two minutes to play.

Berry is back in action Wednesday at Huntington College as they look to go 2-0.
 
 
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