By Matthew D. Stokes

BerryVikings.com Staff Writer

ROME, Ga. – Facing it's first deficit this season, Berry (6-0) rallied to best Emory (2-4-1) by a final score of 2-1 in an early Saturday afternoon matchup at Ford Field.

Emory drew first blood with an unassisted goal by Andrew Natalino at 32:24 and carried that 1-0 lead into halftime. 

"We weren't playing bad, but we were a step off the pace of the game," said Berry head coach Richard Vardy. "They would get to the ball first, and all of the loose balls were bouncing to them."

Just when it appeared that Emory would walk away victorious, a yellow card was called against Emory goalkeeper Abe Hannigan near the goal. With a wall of players gathered in front of him, sophomore David Shaw smoked the free kick past Hannigan to tie the game up at 87:58, setting off a loud cheer from the home crowd.

"I just felt the whole second half we were playing a whole lot better," Vardy said. "We were putting them under pressure and had some shots. I don't know what the call was, but I just know it was a nice shot that David hit. He got a hold of it."

In the first overtime, junior Josh Hughes served up a pass to sophomore Christian Fulbright, who blasted home the decisive goal at 98:17 for his second consecutive game-winner. A sea of fans then swarmed the field in celebration.

"Christian got half a chance, and it was a great finish," Vardy said. "Very composed goal that he scored. He's making some good progress and playing really well right now."

In goal, it was a battle of freshmen keepers between Berry's Logan Hill and Emory's Hannigan. In spite of allowing his second goal this season, Hill continued his perfect record to start his college career after stopping five shots. Hannigan made seven saves in a losing effort. 

"He's been brilliant from day one," said Vardy of Hill. "I think that's helped the defense be confident."

Berry held a slight edge over Emory in the shots category at 21-17. Shaw and freshman Caleb Lucas paced Berry with four shots apiece while Emory's Michael Rheaume had four as well.

Berry will be back in action on Tuesday afternoon when it travels to play Reinhardt at 4 p.m.

-BerryVikings.com-