JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Oct. 29, 2018) â€" Trailing by two with less than 30 minutes to go, the Milligan College women's soccer team pulled off an exhilarating come-from-behind effort to defeat Columbia College 3-2 Monday at Science Hill High School.
 
Senior Amy Olvera made it 2-1 in the 63rd minute, freshman Alex Thomas tied it 2-2 in the 83rd minute and junior Dharma Fawbush scored her second match-winning goal of the season to win it in the 85th minute. The victory secured fourth place for Milligan (9-6-1, 8-4 AAC) in the Appalachian Athletic Conference, and the Buffaloes will host an AAC tournament quarterfinal match Friday on Anglin Field.  
 
MILLIGAN DOMINATES BUT FALLS BEHIND
Milligan dominated the possession for nearly all 90 minutes, but the visiting Koalas made the most of a couple of their opportunities. The first came in the 20th minute when Ruby Hallam, the AAC's points leader, slipped through the Milligan defense and scored despite goalkeeper Eva Bower getting a hand on it in her diving effort to keep the match scoreless.
 
Coming out in the second half, the Buffaloes looked poised to turn the tide early on, dominating even more of the possession and producing numerous more chances, but Hallam capitalized on another rare Columbia opportunity and doubled the lead in the 52nd minute on a counterattack. It only helped set the stage for Milligan's thrilling comeback.
 
OLVERA, THOMAS, FAWBUSH CAP EXCITING FINISH
Following Hallam's second goal, the Buffaloes, resilient as ever, played with even more intensity. Olvera got the scoring going for Milligan in the 63rd minute after a pass from fellow senior Amy Long in the box. It marked Olvera's sixth goal of the season.
 
Roughly 20 minutes later, Milligan had the deficit erased entirely, as Thomas scored the first goal of her career on a shot she lofted over Columbia keeper Jennifer Angeles and into the side netting.
 
Fawbush had the assist on Thomas' goal before providing the match winner from a tough angle along the right side with less than six minutes left. Thomas and Fawbush scored their game-tying and go-ahead goals within two minutes of one another.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
Milligan outshot Columbia 13-6 in the match, including 11-4 on shots on goal. Milligan took five of the seven corner kicks. Bower made one save compared to Angeles (eight) whom Milligan peppered with shots on frame.

Fawbush's goal was her third of the season, and her assist was her team-leading fifth of the season. Both Fawbush and Olvera scored for the second time in as many games.
 
POSTSEASON PICTURE
With the regular season over, Milligan earned a spot as a host team for the quarterfinals of the AAC tournament, set for Friday, Nov. 2. As the No. 4 seed, Milligan will host No. 5 seed Point University. Game time and full tournament information will be announced later this week.
 
Milligan fell at Point 4-1 in September, immediately prior to the start of its final regular season push, which saw the Buffaloes win six of the last seven, including each of the last four.