Bluefield, Va. (Sept. 17, 2011) --- The Milligan College women's soccer team kicked off AAC play with a 3-1 victory over Bluefield College on Saturday afternoon in Bluefield, Va.

The Buffaloes opened the scoring early as Rachel Martin (Blountville, Tenn.) scored in the game's third minute with the assist of Jacklyn Orange (Bagdad, Ky.). Milligan struck again in the seventh minute when Grace Shawley (Mineral Springs, N.C.) took advantage on a free kick to put Milligan up 2-0, an advantage the Buffaloes held at the half.

In the second half, Martin struck again in the 50th minute off of a pass from Hannah Kellogg (Louisville, Ky.). The Milligan defense kept the Lady Rams off the board until the game's final minutes when Braley Freire scored in the 88th minute.

Defensively, Lauren McInturff (Kingsport, Tenn.) recorded three saves.

“It was nice to get our first conference win,” Head Coach Lisa Buckley said. “We got a lot of people playing time today, and it was a great team win.”

With the win, Milligan improves to 3-2-1 and 1-0 in the AAC.

The Buffaloes return to action on Thursday, Sept. 22, when they travel to Beckley, W.V., for a nonconference game with Mountain State. Game time is set for 4 p.m.