CONWAY, Ark. - The Oglethorpe men's soccer team claimed the SAA championship Sunday afternoon in Conway, Ark., defeating Millsaps 3-1 for the title on the back of a hat-trick performance by senior forward Nick Williamson. The win marks the second conference championship in the program's history.

Williamson saved his best game of the year for a good time, scoring three goals and generally dominating the game, earning tournament MVP honors in the process. He put the Petrels ahead in the 28th minute when he ran onto the end of a low cross from freshman midfielder Gustavo Martinez and directed a shot past the Millsaps goalkeeper for a 1-0 lead. 

Both teams had chances in the first half, with the Petrels outshooting the Majors 9-8 over the course of the period, including 4-3 on goal. Freshman goalkeeper Vaughn Moore came up with three saves in the half to keep the Petrels ahead 1-0 at halftime. 

The second half did not start well for the Petrels, with Millsaps equalizing in the 47th minute off a cross in from the left flank. However, the game was about to turn back in favor of the Stormy Petrels during a five-minute stretch.

In the 49th minute, Millsaps conceded a penalty kick with a handball in the box. Williamson stepped up and blasted the penalty kick to the goalkeeper's left and into the back of the net. Though he guessed right, the Millsaps goalkeeper had no chance to stop the perfectly struck penalty, which immediately gave the Petrels their one-goal lead back.

Then, in the 54th minute, Williamson completed his hat trick when he headed a shot past the Millsaps goalkeeper. The ball was headed along by junior midfielder Aleks Tanjga for the assist, and the Petrels had a 3-1 lead.

From there, Oglethorpe had to hang on as Millsaps threw numbers forward. Moore had to come up with four saves in the second half and seven for the game, and sophomore Brock Marvin also made a save after Moore had to leave the game with an injury. The Majors outshot the Petrels 10-6 in the second half, including 5-4 on goal, but the Petrels defense endured and held on for the SAA championship.

For the game, Millsaps actually outshot the Petrels 18-15 and 9-8 on goal. They took eight corner kicks to Oglethorpe's three, as well, as they tried desperately to get back into the game toward the end.

Williamson's goals were his ninth, 10th and 11th of the year. He scored four goals over the course of the tournament, potting the game-winner Saturday against Berry in the 89th minute. He fired seven total shots during Sunday's game, including four on goal. Martinez's assist was his third of the year, while Tanjga's was his fifth.

Senior midfielder Sean King joined Williamson on the all-tournament team. He scored in Saturday's 3-2 victory over Berry, and was a stalwart in midfield all tournament long for the Petrels.

The Petrels are now 2-0 in their history in conference finals. They defeated Centre 1-0 in 2011 for the SCAC championship. 

The 11-3-3 Petrels have now gone unbeaten in 14 of their last 15 games after starting the season 0-2. As the SAA does not have an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament this year, the Petrels will have to wait to see if they can secure an at-large selection into the NCAA field. The NCAA Selection Committee will select one team out of Pool B, which features all independent schools and schools in conferences that don't have automatic bids, like the SAA. If the Petrels do not receive that bid, they might still get a Pool C bid, which features general at-large teams. 

Fans can watch the Division III selection show Monday afternoon at 1 p.m. by clicking here.