The Oglethorpe men's soccer team posted a comprehensive 2-0 victory over the in-state, SAA rival Berry Vikings on a rainy evening in Atlanta Saturday to open the conference season. The Stormy Petrels outshot the Vikings 26-2 on a wet Oglethorpe Track and Field en route to the win, which improves them to 6-2-1, 1-0 in SAA play.

The Petrels dominated possession and the shot count throughout the first half, as they fired 14 shots and put six on target over the course of the period. However, Berry goalkeeper Zachary Wroblewski was able to make five saves to keep the game scoreless. That ended in the 38th minute, though, as sophomore defender Stefan Williams ran onto the end of a pinpoint cross from sophomore midfielder Jonathan Guy and hammered the ball into the back of the net. 

The Petrels maintained their 1-0 lead into the second half and continued controlling the run-of-play as they went in search of their second goal. They found it in the 69th minute when sophomore forwardWill Keegan broke loose on a one-on-one breakaway with Wroblewski. Keegan's initial shot was saved, but he collected the rebound and fired it into the back of the net to give Oglethorpe the two-goal lead. From there, the Petrels played lockdown defense, preventing Berry from getting a shot on goal over the course of the contest and allowing just a single corner kick to the Vikings. 

Senior goalkeeper Vaughn Moore recorded his second 90-minute clean sheet en route to the victory. In the process, he reduced his goals-against average to 0.60, putting him third in the league in that category.

Senior midfielder Nick Muntean fired six shots and put three of them on goal while Keegan blasted four shots and also put three on goal. As a team, the Petrels put 11 shots on goal over the course of the game.

"I thought we played well tonight," said Head Coach Jon Akin. "We took it to them from the opening whistle and never let up. We created lots of chances and we didn't allow very many, which is the recipe for a win. We'll look to build on this performance as we head into the rest of SAA play, but this was certainly a good start."

The Petrels will next be in action next Saturday, when they'll travel to Tennessee to take on Sewanee. That game will get started at 3:30 p.m. Eastern. After that, they'll return home for a big SAA weekend against Birmingham-Southern and Millsaps

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