The Oglethorpe men's soccer team clinched the SAA regular season title Sunday with a 6-0 victory over Hendrix in Conway, Arkansas. The title marks the program's third conference championship of any type and its first-ever conference regular season championship. The Stormy Petrels will now enjoy home-field advantage throughout the SAA playoffs, as they'll host both a quarterfinal game in two weeks and, if they win that, the SAA Championship semifinals and final the following weekend.

Knowing coming into the day that a win would clinch the regular season title, the Petrels got off to a very fast start on Sunday. They picked up a pair of goals before 15 minutes were gone, with freshman midfielder Topher Marshall starting the scoring in the 11th minute. He fired a shot from the left side of the box after a deflection off a Hendrix defender. When the ball hit the back of the net, the Petrels had a 1-0 lead, and they expanded on that minutes later when senior midfielder Nick Muntean took a cross from Marshall and slammed the ball off the underside of the crossbar and into the net for his 10th goal of the year and a 2-0 lead. 

The Petrels continued to pour it on as the first half wore on. Marshall picked up his second goal of the game and his fourth of the season in the 26th minute when he collected the rebound off a saved Muntean shot and finished it. Muntean got the assist for his efforts and the Petrels had a 3-0 lead. That would extend to 4-0 before the end of the half when freshman forward Rodrigo Meade scored the first goal of his career in the 36th minute off an assist from sophomore defender Jonathan Guy. 

The 4-0 lead was more than the Petrels would need, but they added two more goals in the second half for good measure. Senior midfielder Martijn Edelman scored his sixth goal of the year in the 52nd minute when he headed a cross from Meade into the back of the net. Sophomore midfielder Devon Patterson and Meade both received assists on the play, which gave the Petrels a 5-0 lead. They finally rounded out the scoring in the 82nd minute when freshman forward Ekow Annan tallied the first goal of his career. 

For the game, the Petrels outshot the Warriors 29-11, including 20-4 on goal. They also took 15 corner kicks to their opponents' six over the course of the game and committed just four fouls. Senior goalkeeper Vaughn Moore posted his fourth clean sheet of the season and recorded four saves in the process. He now has the best goals-against average in the league at 0.67 goals allowed per 90 minutes of play. 

"We knew a championship was on the line today," said Head Coach Jon Akin, "and we came out really focused on the task at hand. I was really proud of our effort today. It was a comprehensive, 90-minute effort that allowed us to clinch the regular season championship. Anytime you win a conference championship, be it regular season or tournament, it's a special accomplishment. We'll now get the opportunity to host the conference tournament, which is something we've never done before. Three conference titles of any type in five years is also a significant feat and I'm proud of the way guys rose to the occasion today and have done so all year long."

The Petrels remain undefeated in SAA play with the victory, improving to 5-0-1 in conference and 10-2-2 overall. Before the postseason starts, the Petrels will celebrate Senior Day and go for an undefeated SAA season Friday night against Centre at the Oglethorpe Track and Field. That game will kick off at approximately 7:30 p.m. After that, the Petrels will host the No. 8 seed in the SAA quarterfinals Oct. 31.