Sports

Women’s soccer working hard to prepare for semifinal game

Joshua Mabry, Campus Carrier Asst. Sports Editor

now kick now kick now walk it by yourself
Allie Bertany shields the ball from a Birmingham-Southern player. Bertany had one shot at this game. Photos by Ethan Barker | Campus Carrier

The Berry women’s soccer team is working hard to prepare for the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) semifinal game on Friday against Rhodes after going 9-4-3 in the regular season and defeating Birmingham-Southern 1-0 in the SAA quarterfinal game on Oct. 27.

Lorenzo Canalis, head women’s soccer coach, said that he believes the Vikings are prepared for the semifinal game because they do not have any other choice but to be ready.

“This is that time of the year that everything is on the line,” Canalis said. “You lose and you go home. It’s not important anymore to have style or show entertainment. It’s just a matter of scoring more goals than the other team.”

Berry played Rhodes on Oct. 12 and ended in a 1-1 tie. Canalis said that even though the match ended like this, Rhodes played better on that day than Berry did.

If the Vikings win on Friday, they will go on to play the winner of the Hendrix vs. Centre game on Sunday.

Run *bass drop*
Samantha Schoppy (15) takes the ball down the field during the SAA quarterfinal game against Birmingham-Southern on Oct. 27. Schoppy had one goal this game.

Freshman forward Lauren Caylor said that the team is prepared and excited for the semifinal game. In order to prepare for the game, the Vikings are going to focus and listen well at practice.

“The small details are really what makes a difference in the postseason,” Caylor said.

The Vikings had a successful regular season to get to make it to the postseason. The team went 4-1-2 in SAA conference play, scoring 13 goals in these games. The Vikings scored 21 goals in 16 games during all games this season.

Canalis said some of that success came from long-term plans that the team got together and made the day after last year’s disappointing season ended.

A high point of this season for Canalis was giving up less than a goal per game on average.

im literally out of sport puns at this point
Kaitlin Ramsey tries to keep a Birmingham-Southern player from getting the ball on Oct. 27.

In the back this season, the Vikings have had three freshmen, one senior and one sophomore, according to Canalis.

“Overall, I never felt we were being outrun, outmuscled or outworked by opponents,” Canalis said.

Caylor said that even though the Vikings’ season ended in success, it started out unstable.

There were several freshmen coming in. It took some time before the team became accustomed to that, according to Caylor.

“It was a difficult switch to make for us,” Caylor said. “I think we showed the growth even in the last game we played. We just got so much more creative on our attacks.”

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