MOUNT BERRY, Ga. -- Shannon Hackett's second-half goal was enough to give the Berry women's soccer team a 1-0 win over Auburn-Montgomery on Tues. at Ford Field, putting the the team through to the Southern States Athletic Conference Championship match. The Lady Vikings, who moved up to No. 15 in the NAIA National Poll, are now 12-6-1 for the season. The Lady Senators finish the year 6-12-1.

"It was a great win against an inspired AUM team," said Berry coach Lorenzo Canalis. "We are excited to get the win and head on to the [SSAC] Championship game."

Hackett scored in the 78th minute on a counter-attack goal. Viktoria Frost took the ball down the left sideline and sent a pass in to Courtney Weber. Weber then sent a pass which, although deflected by an AUM defender, still reached Hackett who finished far-post on her one-on-one attempt.

After the goal, Berry had to endure a flurry of activity late to hold on for the win. Amber Elam nearly broke through the Berry back line late in the game, but Sarah Capati had a saving tackle. The last-gasp effort for AUM came on a shot by Candace Meeks, on a shot that was cleared by Berry defender Lindsey Caldwell.

The two teams played to a scoreless draw in the first half. Berry dominated with seven shots to just three for the Lady Senators, however, the Vikings could not put any shots on target and did not put a shot on target in the first half.

AUM had the best opportunity of the first half, when Erica Padula struck a shot that deflected off a Berry defender and was headed goal-ward until a clearing save by Caldwell.

Despite enjoying a 19-6 edge in shots for the duration of the game, Berry and AUM both finished with three shots on goal. The Berry defensive line, which in addition to Caldwell and Capati, included Mary Brugh, Frost and Kristen Brooks held strong to deny AUM for most of the match. Keeper Vanessa Zimmermann made just one save in the win to record a shutout for the seventh time this season.

Berry will now play in the conference final on Fri. against the winner of the other semifinal between No. 3-seed Shorter and No. 1-seed Lee. that match is being played at 7 p.m. Tues. night. The championship match will be hosted by the higher tournament seed on Fri., Nov. 14th.