Oglethorpe hosts SAA soccer tournament, opens against Berry

Oglethorpe University will host the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) men's soccer championship tournament beginning Thursday, Nov. 5, bringing three days of postseason play to the Brookhaven campus.

The Stormy Petrels earned the No. 6 seed after finishing the regular season 7-6-4 overall and 2-4-2 in conference play, according to Oglethorpe's athletics department. Six teams qualified for the tournament.

Oglethorpe opens against No. 3 Berry at 6 p.m. Thursday. The matchup is a rematch of the two teams' SAA opener in September, when Berry won 1-0 on a 55th-minute goal. The Petrels outshot the Vikings 12-10 in that loss.

The other quarterfinal pits No. 4 Rhodes against No. 5 Sewanee at 3 p.m. Thursday.

Semifinal games follow on Friday, Nov. 6. No. 1 Southwestern faces the Rhodes-Sewanee winner at 3 p.m., and No. 2 Trinity takes on the Oglethorpe-Berry winner at 6 p.m. The championship game is set for Sunday, Nov. 8, at noon.

A program with postseason pedigree

Oglethorpe has won the SAA tournament four times, including back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024. Those four championships are tied for the most in the conference's 14-year history, according to the university.

The Petrels enter the bracket after splitting their final two regular-season games. On Oct. 30, Nick Krull and Nathan Leveque each scored in a 2-1 home win over Maryville that kept Oglethorpe's tournament hopes alive. Goalkeeper Sebastian Lewis made six saves in that match and leads the SAA with 65 saves on the season.

The regular season ended Nov. 1 with a 1-0 loss to Sewanee on senior day. Sewanee's Thomas McGowan headed in a corner kick in the 34th minute for the game's only goal, according to Oglethorpe's game recap. Oglethorpe was outshot 10-7.