Men’s soccer wins SAA championship

Women’s soccer and volleyball come up just short in their SAA title matches.

The Berry Vikings needed double overtime to get the job done, but off of a corner kick, Nathan Carlson delivered the game-winning goal to give the Vikings the Southern Athletic Association championship 2-1 over the Centre Colonels on Sunday in Birmingham.

Gerard Cabrera would end up with the assist as Berry finished its season 7-1-1. The Vikings earn their first conference title since 2014.

After Centre took a 1-0 lead with 24:16 elapsed in the first half, the Vikings responded in the second half with a goal from Aiden Hackett, his third of the season, to tie the game with just over three minutes gone in the second half.

For the next 57 minutes, the difference maker could not be found. But the junior from North Carolina placed a header just outside the left post into the net and sent the Vikings into a frenzy.

Carlson and Chris Barbieri were selected to the all-tournament team. Cabrera was named tournament MVP.

Meanwhile, Berry women’s soccer finished its 2021 season as runner up of the SAA, losing 3-0 to Centre College Sunday. Berry reached the title game after winning in penalty kicks (5-4) over Birmingham-southern Friday.

Vanessa Belanger and Christina Marijanich were tapped for the all-tournament team.

Vikings Volleyball also saw itself on the opposite end of an SAA title, falling to Birmingham-southern 3-0 in the SAA volleyball championship contest. The team finishes 9-1 overall.

Cyrena Bedoian and Sam Heard were designated for the all-tournament team.