Conway, Ark. - Two days after defeating Oglethorpe 11-5 in their 2024 Southern Athletic Association (SAA) opener, Hendrix suffered its first loss in the SAA with an 11-8 loss to Berry on Sunday afternoon at Young-Wise Memorial Stadium.
Bennett Davidson opened up the scoring with just over three minutes played in the first period.
Hendrix would then let in five unanswered as Berry raced out to a 5-1 lead.
Maximus LaMendola put a stop to the bleeding early in the second quarter with an unassisted goal. After two more Viking goals,
Nick Quarles took advantage of the man-up opportunity to make it 7-3.
Davidson and
Matthew Parsons netted the final two goals of the first half to cut Berry's lead to three heading into halftime.
Quarles scored halfway through the third quarter for his second goal of the afternoon, and
Austin Williams followed that up minutes later with his first to make it an 8-7 game.
Berry immediately responded with another goal and carried a 9-7 lead into the final quarter of play.
It took just over a minute into the fourth quarter for Williams to net his second of the contest and trim the Vikings' lead back down to one. However, Berry was able to hold on late and score the final two goals of the game to put the game to bed.
LaMendola led the Warriors with four points off a goal and three assists. Davidson, Quarles, and Williams each tallied two goals apiece.
In goal,
Ian Domeika made nine saves on twenty shots put on goal.
Michael DeCaro finished the afternoon 11-22 on face-offs.
Up next: Hendrix will remain in Conway to host Birmingham-Southern at Young-Wise Memorial Stadium on Saturday for its 2024 regular season home finale.
