MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Sept. 24, 2014) â€" Bruce Olivier and the Milligan College men's soccer team ensured an exciting finish for their home crowd, but the Buffaloes were dealt a 2-1 loss to Tusculum College in a nonconference match Wednesday night.
 
Milligan (2-3-2, 0-2 Appalachian Athletic Conference), after falling behind 2-0 midway through the second half, still looked to be destined for its fifth overtime game of the season but fell short in regulation. The final push started when Olivier cut the lead in half in the 75th minute with a goal he scored off his head on a Lewis Grant free kick crossed in from near midfield. It was Olivier's third career goal and first of the 2014 season.
 
Following the goal which made the score 2-1, Lucas Maia turned one loose from the top of the 18 which sailed just high in the 76th minute. Two and a half minutes later, Maia had another open look at net but pushed it wide to the right. Anthony Matekenya then had his own chance with a free kick a few yards outside of the penalty area but missed it high. In all, Milligan outshot Tusculum 5-1 over the last 16 minutes despite being outshot 11-7 in the contest.
 
"I thought we came out a little bit flat which is kind of out of character for us," Head Coach Adam Laney said during a postgame interview. "We've scored a lot of goals early in most games, and this game, we gave up one early. But we came back out in the second half and did exactly what we talked about. We executed and put in some good effort and were right back in it."
 
Milligan fell behind in the third minute as Juan Avendano sent a pass to the far post that was headed into the back of the net by Jonathan Spicher for the early lead. Tusculum added to that lead 18 minutes into the second half when Guillem Giro came up with a loose ball inside the penalty area to double the lead.
 
"We had a lot more possession in the second half than we did in the first half which was what our intent was," Laney said.
 
Senior goalkeeper Dan Ball faced seven shots on goal and made five saves.
 
Milligan will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 24 for a conference match against Bryan College (3-3-2, 0-1 AAC) before returning back home to Anglin Field for a match against Southern Wesleyan University on Wednesday, Oct. 1.