By Matthew D. Stokes, BerryVikings.com Staff Writer

WASHINGTON, Pa. – Seventeenth-ranked Berry College fell victim to a late goal by Washington & Jefferson's Cody Peddicord as it dropped its first game of the season, 1-0, Saturday. Berry dropped to 7-1 and the Diplomats improved to 1-4-1.

Peddicord's score came on a rebound at 83:39 and accounted for the game's only offensive output. Brian Hanna earned the assist on the scoring play.

Berry freshman goalkeeper Logan Hill took the loss after making three saves. Washington & Jefferson keeper Jon Best earned the win and stopped seven shots.

The Vikings had 13 shots to nine for W&J. David Shaw managed three shots and two were on goal. Both clubs took four corner kicks.

"We didn't play particularly well in the first half of the game," said Berry Head Coach Richard Vardy. "We had some possessions and a couple of opportunities, but overall didn't play very aggressively when we had the ball. In the second half, we played a really good 30 minutes. We took it to them, had some chances, controlled the ball and didn't give up many chances. They scored a breakaway goal with six minutes to go, and there's not much we could do after that."

In spite of the defeat, Vardy said there are some takeaways from this loss.

"We need to be more consistent with our play, particularly shooting, finishing and passing in the final area of the field. We just need to play consistently for 90 minutes," Vardy said.

Berry will be back at it on Sunday afternoon when it faces Allegheny College in a neutral site game at W&J. Game time is noon.