ATLANTA, Ga. - A warm 3:00 p.m. kickoff in Atlanta set the stage for the opening match in the SAA Men's Soccer Tournament hosted by Oglethorpe, who found themselves up against the Berry Vikings. In the end, the Vikings defeated the Stormy Petrels 4-2 on penalty kicks to advance to the semifinals.

The first half was filled with intense battles and high-leverage moments, but neither side was able to break through to give themselves an advantage. The two sides would end the first half in a stalemate, causing each of them to go back to the drawing board.

The second half seemed to be the same story, but all of the momentum changed in the closing stages in the match. Grady Strickland and Joey Captain both managed to assist Sam Carlson's goal in the 86th minute. Stickland threw the ball into the box a throw, then a Captain header to flick the ball on to Carlson's feet gave the Vikings the late 1-0 advantage.

The Vikings found themselves in the driver's seat with three minutes remaining, but the Petrels were able to find one in the back of the net thanks to a Nathan Leveque goal a little over a minute later. As a result, the match would end 1-1 in regular time.

The two periods of extra time weren't enough to decide on a winner, so the game had to be decided with penalty kicks.

Carlson, Captain, Cullen Maas, and Aiden Kanclerz all took penalty kicks for the Vikings and converted. On the other end, All-SAA First Team goalkeeper Cooper Cherry saw two penalty kicks go wide and the Vikings won the game over the tournament hosts to advance to the conference semifinals.

For the game, the Vikings outshot the Stormy Petrels 19-9, including 6-4 in shots on goal, and had eight corner kicks compared to just one for Oglethorpe. Carlson scored the team's lone goal in regulation, while Strickland and Captain each had an assist on the play. Cherry also continued his excellence in net with three saves to earn his 10 win of the season.

The Vikings next play once again at Oglethorpe University at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, November 6, but this time against the Trinity University Tigers. Berry tied Trinity in the regular season 1-1 back on October 16, and the winner of this match will take on the winner of the Southwestern vs. Rhodes matchup for the right to play for the championship.