Haiden Widener, Campus Carrier Asst. Sports Editor
The Vikings defeated Birmingham-Southern 2-1 on Saturday in the first round of the Southern Athletic Association conference tournament, advancing their overall record this season to 10-5.
The Berry women’s team have faced Birmingham-Southern once before this season, defeating them 2-1 in overtime.
The team also lost a key player, Maggie Midkiff, to an ACL tear on Oct. 23 against Centre College. Midkiff had nine goals and four assists this season throughout the 14 games she played. Despite the loss, the team was still able to defeat Birmingham-Southern on Saturday 2-1.
“We’re pretty evenly matched teams,” sophomore forward Beata Brock said. “[Birmingham-Southern] scored first, but our whole team really picked up the pace second half.”
According to head coach Lorenzo Canalis, the change of pace was due to a change in the field set up. The Vikings put senior Sara Dillon at wing instead of midfield, and it made all the difference.
Berry scored both of their points in the second half, and the defense was able to hold Birmingham-Southern out of the goal.
This win advances the Vikings to the quarterfinals of the SAA conference tournament where they will play Centre College in Danville, Ky.
Last year the Vikings’ season got cut short by Centre in the first round of the conference tournament, so they are looking for a good rematch this season.
“I’m really hoping that we come out and destroy [Centre],” senior defender Tessa Piety said.
Centre is currently the number one seed in the conference, with an overall record of 15-1 and 6-0 conference record. The Vikings took one of their few losses to Centre on Oct. 25. Brock said they are preparing for this game with scouting reports, watching footage of past games and scrimmaging during practice.
Even though Centre has the home field advantage, the Vikings are planning on coming in strong.
“The advantage is to [Centre],” Lorenzo said. “But we’re certainly going to show up and play our best.”
Regardless of the outcome during the tournament, the team has a winning record of 10-5-1 so far this season.
Six players on the team won All-Conference awards. Becca Proschansky and Maggie Midkiff earned spots on SAA first-team, Sara Dillon earned a spot on the SAA second-team, and Michala Bibbins, Samantha Schoppy and Lynnsey Danford all earned SAA honorable mentions.
The team placed fourth in the SAA conference during the regular season and hopes to keep advancing in the post season.
“I hope that we will dominate Centre, and a win in the finals would be incredible,” Brock said. “I think we deserve it.”
The Vikings will travel to Kentucky on Friday to play Centre in the SAA quarterfinals, starting at 5:30 p.m.