By Matthew D. Stokes

BerryVikings.com Staff Writer

ROME, Ga. – After one half of tight soccer, Berry (3-0) broke away from Guilford (2-2) with three second-half goals on its way to a 4-0 victory in Berry's 2012 home opener at Ford Field on a cloudy Saturday afternoon.

To begin the scoring, senior Kartee Johnson tacked on his first career goal at 24:46.  "Even in pregame warmups, I thought we were looking pretty sharp and intense," said Berry head coach Richard Vardy. "I thought we started the game very well. Our defense looked solid. I think on a different day we could've had three or four goals in the first half so I was actually disappointed at halftime that we hadn't scored as many. It was really nice that Kartee scored the goal. He was excited to do so."

After leaving the field at halftime with a narrow 1-0 advantage, Berry made a statement less than three minutes into the second half. With a crowd of players struggling to take possession of a loose ball in front of Guilford's goal, sophomore Christian Fulbright capitalized with a score at 47:46. Fulbright would later add his second goal of the game at 74:39. Fellow sophomore David Shaw would complete the day's scoring at 78:09 on an assist by Fulbright.

"We made a lot of changes and got some good time for our bench guys," said Vardy of the second half. "There were a few moments where we looked a little bit tired, but toward the end we looked sharper. We took care of our business."

Freshman goalkeeper Logan Hill remained undefeated for Berry as he stopped three shots on the day. Guilford's Marko Mandalinic suffered the loss after making five saves.

Berry edged Guilford in the shots department by 27-11 margin. Shaw and freshman Caleb Lucas had six shots apiece while Guilford's Matthew Poling led the way with three shots.

Berry will be back in action on Sunday against Averett University at 1 p.m.

-BerryVikings.com-