Skip To Main Content

Berry College

Official Home of Berry College Athletics
wlax-taraska|sprayberry-23
Valentina Torres / Berry College
8
Berry BERRY 14-4
22
Winner Rhodes RHODES 14-5
Berry BERRY
14-4
8
Final
22
Rhodes RHODES
14-5
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Berry BERRY 4 2 1 1 8
Rhodes RHODES 4 5 8 5 22

Game Recap: Women's Lacrosse | | by Jason Hanes

Vikings Fall in SAA Championship

Playing for the Southern Athletic Association Women's Lacrosse Championship for just the second time in program history, Berry gave perennial power Rhodes all it could handle for 37 minutes, but a five-minute stretch to end the third quarter turned the game on its head as the Lynx defeated the Vikings 22-8 in Memphis, Tenn., Sunday afternoon.

Kristina Jones, Sophie Morris, and Dani Taraska were named to the All-Tournament Team following their performances in the final and in the semifinal win over Sewanee.

The Vikings scored the first goal of the game out of the stick of Jaden Russell less than three minutes into the contest. While Rhodes came back to take the lead, the Vikings went back-to-back to get the lead up to two. Taraska would score with 7:06 left in the quarter, then after a foul oon the draw control, Abby Sprayberry took the ball into the offensive zone. In the process of splitting a double team, the ball came out of Sprayberry's stick and ricocheted off of two Rhodes sticks and into the net to give Berry a 3-1 lead.

Rhodes would score the next three, but Chloe Pender tied the game up in the dying seconds of the first half, finishing a feed from Molley Cross for Cross' second assist of the quarter. After 15 minutes, the game was even 4-4.

The Lynx scored the first two of the second quarter to take the lead for good, but Berry kept the game close throughout the rest of the period. Cross made it a 6-5 game as she scored her first of the afternoon with 11:22 to go in the half. Pender would finish a Tarasaka pass off with a goal after a Rhodes tally, pulling BC back within one. Rhodes would score the last two of the half, making it 9-6 after 30 minutes.

Taraska got the Vikings on the board first in the third quarter to cut the deficit to two, 9-7. After Rhodes made it 10-7, the Vikings would have a chance with just over five minutes to go in the quarter to make it a two-goal game again, but the free-position attempt would be saved. Rhodes would then find a different level over the next five minutes, scoring seven consecutive goals to end the quarter and make it 17-7.

Sprayberry would score Berry's final goal of the season two minutes into the fourth quarter, but with the Vikings pressuring to try to try and get back into the game, Rhodes would take advantage and score five goals to put the game away.

The Vikings finish the best season in program history with a record of 14-4. The team received votes in the IWLCA Top 25 for the first time in program history during the year.
Print Friendly Version