MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Oct. 10, 2018) â€"
Robell Habte netted a hat trick and the Milligan College men's soccer team held on for their first Appalachian Athletic Conference victory of the season against St. Andrews Wednesday night at Anglin Field. With the win, Milligan is now 5-5-1 overall and 1-4-1 in AAC play, while St. Andrews fell to 2-6-1 (1-3 AAC).
HABTE, BUFFS STRIKE LATE IN FIRST HALF
Milligan started strong and applied pressure to the Knights defense the entire first half, but were unable to finish early in the match. The Buffaloes would finally breakthrough in the 33rd and 34th minutes as they took control of the game with three goals in the two minute window.
Habte started off the scoring for Milligan as he controlled a deflection in the box and powered it past Knights goalkeeper, Valentino Parini, for his first of the match.
Roberto Fernandez Garrido notched his 10th goal of the season when
Harry Griffin found him cutting through the box 39 seconds after Habte's shot.
Griffin would record his second assist of the game less than a minute later when he found Habte on a cross as Milligan would increase their lead to 3-0 as the teams headed into the half.
MILLIGAN STAVES OFF SECOND HALF SURGE
The tide began to shift in the second half after it was all Milligan in the first. The Knights started to press the Buffs defense and as a result trimmed the deficit to 3-2 after two goals from Julio Rico in the 61st and 63rd minutes.
Milligan was able to add some insurance in the 84th as Griffin found Habte for his third assist on the night. Habte delivered a strike from the right side into the far left corner for the hat trick and helped Milligan stave off St. Andrews second half surge.
BY THE NUMBERS
In what was a fairly even game, Milligan outshot St. Andrews 15-13, but the Knights held the advantage in shots on goal with 10 to the Buffs nine. Habte posted a season-high eight shots with five on target, and Garrido followed with six and three on frame. This was the second match this season that Habte has recorded a hat trick, and he is now tied with Garrido for the team lead in goals with 10.
Keeper
Luke Dove tallied a season-high eight saves in the victory and picked up the win despite allowing both goals.
UP NEXT
The Buffs will be on the road for their next three contests, which begins Saturday, Oct. 13, at Truett-McConnell with kickoff set for 3 p.m. Milligan's next home match will be Wednesday, Oct. 24, when they host Union at 7 p.m.
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