Avery Boulware, Campus Carrier Sports Editor
Viking soccer fans were on the edge of their seats at Saturday’s game against Centre College, but unfortunately, the Berry men’s soccer season ended abruptly in a penalty kick shootout.
Both Berry and Centre played with skill and intensity, but the Vikings will not be progressing to the semifinals.
Senior goalkeeper Zach Wroblewski finished his Berry soccer career in the goal box for the shootout.
“You do whatever you can with [penalty kicks], but not a whole lot is expected of the goalkeeper,” Wroblewski said.
The Vikings were winning 1-0 at the end of the first half, thanks to a goal by freshman Steven Moore, assisted by freshman Anu Campbell. Centre countered the attack and put a goal in the back of the net shortly after the second half began.
Since the match decided who progressed to the SAA conference semifinals, the score could not end in a tie. The game was extended to two 10-minute “golden goal” halves — if either team had scored, the game would have ended without completing the rest of the allotted overtime.
But neither team scored in overtime, so the winner had to be decided in a shootout.
“The Centre keeper and I were talking to each other before [the shootout started] about how there wasn’t much either of us could do at that point,” Wroblewski said.
Junior J.T. Kieffer saw several changes in the Vikings’ gameplay that could have secured a win.
“We had a couple opportunities that could’ve gone in the goal or gotten saved,” Kieffer said. “I think the keeper made some good stops, and it just came down to not finishing our chances.”
Saturday’s game marked the end of a unique season for the Vikings. The men’s soccer team had 14 freshmen and two other new faces, which meant that the majority of the team had never played for Berry before.
According to head coach Richard Vardy, this year’s game schedule was one of the hardest the Vikings had ever seen.
“We were struggling to get wins in September, but the guys were still competitive,” Vardy said. “They fought hard and moved in the right direction. The freshmen stepped up and started scoring goals and gaining confidence.”
Vardy praised freshmen Anu Campbell and Steven Moore for being dynamic offensive players. Moore was the team’s leading scorer with eight goals. Campbell and junior Daniel Shaw tied for second place with three goals each.
Kieffer, a team captain along with Wroblewski, also had positive things to say about the young team’s progress.
“We started with 14 freshmen not really knowing their role on the team, but towards the end of the season we were all clicking,” he said. “We all got into the same stride. That transition into knowing who you are as a player definitely showed in the end.”
Saturday’s match was recorded as a tie game, which resulted in an overall record of eight wins, six losses and three ties for Berry men’s soccer. The Vikings finished with a third place ranking in the SAA conference.