Ward Sutlive, Campus Carrier asst. sports editor

The conference gets tougher every year. At least, that’s whatt Richard Vardy, head coach of the men’s soccer team, said about this season’s championships. However, the team was able to win the conference championship. The team’s morale was high, and they were all in good spirits. “This feels wonderful,” Vardy said in regarding the championship win. “It’s what we always set out to do every year, and to win it feels very good.” 

The team faced off against three different schools in the Southern Athletic Association championship. On Thursday, they took on Oglethorpe University, where they scored a 3-1 victory. The team played Trinity University on Friday, first tying with Trinity before beating them in the penalty kick shootout. During their final championship game of the season against Southwestern University, the team triumphed by scoring with six seconds remaining. 

According to junior Cooper Cherry, the team’s goalkeeper, the team primarily has an adaptive playing style. The players first think about their opponent’s strengths and weaknesses before playing a game. After zeroing in on a flaw, they alter their playing style and do their best to exploit the other team’s weaknesses. During the game against Southwestern, they used a more aggressive playing style.

“We really like to keep the ball in line and play possession-based soccer,” Cherry said. “But at the same time, we really like to go forward with numbers.  

The Trinity University game was difficult, since both they and the Vikings were tied for the entire game. According to Vardy, Trinity’s reputation for being ranked fifth in the country was also slightly intimidating. Nevertheless, the team soldiered on and was able to break the tie using penalty kicks. According to Guzman, penalty kicks were also extremely helpful during the Southwestern match. The fact that the Vikings lost 5-1 the first time they played against Southwestern was also a major motivator.

“I think that we surprised ourselves a lot,” graduate student Alex Guzman, a striker for the team, said. “And we ended up believing that we could beat them.”

According to Vardy, the final championship game was very grueling and hard-won. The Southwestern team was far more used to playing on the Georgetown, Texas field, having played at least 13 games there. There was a 25 mile per hour wind, which kept blowing back the soccer ball. Southwestern used several lunge throw-ins and corner kicks against the Vikings. However, after the Vikings rode out the storm, they were able to strike back. 

“Once we got through it, I think we just felt confident that we were going to be okay,” Vardy said. 

Cherry and many other players were nervous about the championship games. Nevertheless, they were able to power through their anxiety. According to Vardy, Cherry in particular was a great asset to the team and a standout player in general. Despite the rough opening, Cherry is happy with how everything turned out.

“I’m very proud of how we handled ourselves in the tournament,” Cherry said.

After their victory at the championships game, the team began preparing for the playoffs. Their opponent was Christopher Newport University. The game took place Saturday, in Lynchburg, Virginia. The team got back to Berry campus the day after the championships ended. The players were given Monday off to regroup and reframe their minds around new goals.  The break was also meant to allow all of the sore muscles that the players built up playing so many games in a row a   chance to heal. Morale took a hit when the Vikings lost the proceeding playoffs.

 The team lost to Christopher Newport, with a final score of 1-2. 

“I know that we’re eager to get back, and ready to get the game plan under way,” Guzman said. 

Despite their success, the team still had one more goal in mind: win the NCAA playoffs. This was because they still had more work to do before they reach the end of the season. The players made a lot of preparations for the playoffs. Vardy took extra care when considering the drills that his players would perform in preparation for this game. He also instructed the team to watch video footage of Christopher Newport so that they all had an idea of what to expect.

“We’ve played in many different situations this year,” Vardy said. “And we’re a very adaptable team that can fight through any conditions.”  

Some players, such as Guzman, eagerly anticipated what would soon be their final college soccer game. Guzman was in good spirits and had dedicated himself to perfecting his skills in time for the game. He knew that the team had achieved a significant amount of momentum from their win, so he wanted to channel that excitement into winning the playoffs. Guzman knows that the team will come back stronger next season.

“The team is going to be putting a lot of hard work and focus into this week’s preparation,” Guzman said in regards to the playoffs.