MOUNT BERRY, Ga. ­— Sophomore Tobias Andreasson's second goal of the year off a penalty kick shot the Averett University men's soccer team out to an early lead, but the Cougars were unable to hang on, losing to Berry College 3-1 on the first day of the Berry College Invitational.

After a Berry foul in the box gave Andreasson a shot on the six-yard line, he buried his attempt past the Vikings' Zachary Wroblewski to give Averett (1-3) a 1-0 lead over Berry (2-1-1) just under 10 minutes into the game. Fighting back, Berry's Jeremy Beam took a pass from Connor Garrett and found the back of the net to knot the score at 1-1 at the 11:00 mark. 
 
Andreasson nearly put the Cougars ahead in the 15th minute, but his attempt went high, keeping the score tied at 1-1. Senior Brian Benitez had a good look on goal in the 42nd minute. However, Wroblewski denied Bentiez to keep the game tied at 1-1 going into the break.
 
Averett and Berry battled each other in the midfield for the first 14 minutes of the second half as neither team allowed the other side any good looks.  The contest remained tied until the 59th minute when the Vikings' Caleb Ford found Anu Campbell and Campbell converted his attempt to put Berry ahead 2-1. Not wasting any time, J.T. Kieffer doubled the Vikings' lead when he took a pass off a combination play and snuck in a shot, giving Berry a 3-1 advantage.
 
As they have all season, the Cougars created several chances late in the game. Senior Justin Lloyd nearly added his second goal of the campaign in the 80th minute, but his shot went just high of the goal. Seven minutes later, junior Leed Petit-Frere came close to getting the Cougars within one. Once again though, Wroblewski was there to make the save, effictively ending Averett's chances of a comeback. 

Senior John Matrisciano was solid between the sticks on the afternoon, adding 11 saves for the Cougars. Despite the loss, Averett had another impressive game on offense, recording 11 shots on the afternoon.
 
The Cougars return to action on Saturday as they battle Ogelthorpe University at 3 p.m. in the conclusion of the Berry College Invitational.