MOUNT BERRY, Ga. - A nice and cool evening at Bob Pearson Field set the stage for the Vikings to host their opening SAA conference game against the Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels after a hard fought draw against No. 24 ranked Emory. Through the hard fought battles and high intensity moments, the Vikings were able to prevail 1-0, putting themselves in a good position to begin conference play.
The first half was a stalemate, one half of it was dominated by the Vikings and the other by the Petrels. The Vikings took five shot compared to four for the Stormy Petrels and neither team had a corner kick. The half ended in a scoreless tie.
The second half looked very similar but in the 54th minute Joey Captain capitalized on the mistake of the Petrels goalkeeper, giving the Vikings the lead with 35:39 remaining. It was his sixth goal of the season and gave the team some much-needed breathing room.
That one mishap from the Petrels was all the Vikings needed. Thanks to strong defensive display from Jaxon Champ, Elijah Van Heijden, Grady Strickland, Bryce Epstein, and some clutch saves from Cooper Cherry, the Stormy Petrels weren't able to find the equalizer. The final horn sounded and the Vikings took home the win 1-0.
Cherry picked up his third shutout victory of the season by making four saves. Captain had the game's lone goal and was responsible for two of the team's three shots on goal in the match.
The Vikings next play on Friday, October 2 at 7:30 p.m. to continue their early conference run against the Centre Colonels, once again at home at Bob Pearson field.
