MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Nov. 4, 2014) -- Bryan forward Alex Kuh scored on a direct free kick with less than two minutes left in regulation to send the Milligan College women's soccer team to a 1-0 loss on Tuesday evening at Anglin Field in the opening round of the Appalachian Athletic Conference tournament.
 
Milligan ended the season with a record of 4-10-2 (3-5-2 AAC) while Bryan improved to 7-10 (3-7 AAC). The Lady Lions will face top-seeded St. Andrews University in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
 
Milligan was outshot 11-9 in the loss but had several golden opportunities in the first half to break the scoreless deadlock. One such opportunity came in the 21st minute when freshman Brittany Davis sailed a shot just high over the crossbar after a diving save by Ariel Greene left the Bryan goalkeeper on the ground and the Lions with an empty net. Davis, who scored one of her three goals of the season in a 3-1 victory at Bryan back in September, realized too late that the Bryan goal was untended and pushed her shot high.
 
Just over 10 minutes later, Ansley Ferguson found herself behind the Bryan defense on a breakaway with only the goalkeeper to beat. Greene was there this time, though, and the Bryan goalkeeper made a sliding stop to keep the score even.
 
"(Bryan) was smart in the back today," Head Coach Lisa Buckley said. "We weren't as clinical as we would have liked to have been going forward which has kind of been the story of our season."
 
Greene made seven total saves in the match which was equaled by Milligan keeper Charlotte Stephens. One of Stephens' saves came in the 51st minute, on the first real goal-scoring opportunity for Bryan, when Haha Mizoguchi took a shot from close range that Stephens made a diving effort to stop, pushing it wide and out of play for one of Bryan's seven corner kicks in the match.
 
Although it wasn't a corner kick, a set play with 1:49 left on the clock was what proved to be the Buffaloes demise. Following a foul roughly 25 yards out at the top-center portion of the penalty area, Bryan was granted a direct free kick which Kuh, a junior, buried into the back of the net for the match winner. It was Kuh's third goal of the season.
 
Kuh took three shots in the contest, two of which she put on frame, while Mizoguchi led the Lady Lions with five shots (three on goal). Along with outshooting Milligan 11-9 in the game, Bryan outshot the Buffs 7-4 in the second half.
 
"I think (Bryan) did a great job tonight of playing to their strengths," Buckley said. "(Mizoguchi) showed up big in the second half for them. She has got some real pace, and she kept pressing our back and was causing us some issues for sure."
 
Among Milligan's other goal-scoring chances, Callie West and Christine Hardin took similar, well-struck shots in the first and second half, respectively. West's shot came in the 30th minute from the right side, and Hardin's came in the 60th minute from the left side. Both looked labeled for the back corner of the net, but both were met by the saving hands of Greene.
 
West accounted for two of Milligan's nine shots while Davis paced the offense with three. For Stephens, her seven saves matched her season high among conference matches.