DEMOREST, Ga. (Nov. 6, 2018) â€" Juniors Bekah Cundiff and Dharma Fawbush provided the scoring, and the Milligan College women's soccer team put forth a team effort to upend top seeded Truett McConnell University, 2-0, Tuesday afternoon in the semifinals of the Appalachian Athletic Conference tournament. With the victory, Milligan snapped Truett's 15-game winning streak and became the first team to score on the Lady Bears since Sept. 12.
 
The match was played on turf on the campus of Piedmont College due to unfavorable playing conditions at Truett McConnell.
 
In the midst of snapping Truett's lengthy streak of domination, Milligan won its sixth straight and eighth in its last nine to improve to 11-6-1 (8-4 AAC). The win also helped the Buffs avenge a 1-0 double overtime loss at Truett McConnell (16-2, 12-0 AAC) during the regular season, midway through the Bears' streak.
 
CUNDIFF PUTS BUFFS ON TOP EARLY
Cundiff, who was named All-AAC first team Monday afternoon, scored her team leading eighth goal of the season to put Milligan out front in just the sixth minute. She outran two Truett defenders on a counterattack, gathered possession near the 18-yard line, then buried her shot into the left side, near post, despite TMU goalkeeper Jessica Hale diving and getting a hand on it at the goal line. Senior Amy Long was credited the assist on a nice through ball that found Cundiff on the counterattack.
 
The goal marked the first time in 13 matches a team scored on Truett McConnell. The Lady Bears, with Hale ranking No. 2 nationally with 0.18 goals allowed per game, had gone 12 straight games with clean sheets.
 
FAWBUSH PUTS GAME AWAY LATE
Fawbush doubled the lead and put the game out of reach with her fourth goal of the season midway through the second half. After a free kick by Long in Milligan's attacking third, Truett managed to clear the pass away from the box, but Fawbush was there to gather it on the left side, then scored from long range to make it 2-0. Cundiff was credited the assist.
 
Fawbush's goal came in the 74th minute and was her third goal in the last four games.
 
With the second goal, Milligan was the first conference team to score more than one goal on the Bears this season. Truett went undefeated through the regular season and first round of the tournament only conceding one goal in AAC play.
 
DEFENSE KEY IN BIG VICTORY
One of the most prominent storylines entering the day focused on the defense of Truett, which had shut out its last 12 opponents, but it was Milligan's defense which stepped up in a big way. The Buffs limited Truett's top scoring threats, Megan McCall and Lydia Williams, to a combined three shots on goal. McCall, the AAC offensive co-player of the year, and Williams, the AAC freshman of the year, both ranked in the AAC's top five in points per game.
 
Milligan goalkeeper Eva Bower, an AAC All-Conference first team selection, faced 31 shots in all, nine on goal, and made eight saves to produce her fifth shutout of the year.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
Truett outshot Milligan 31-16 overall and 9-8 on shots on goal. Little did that matter, though, as Cundiff (three shots, one on goal) and Fawbush (three shots, two on goal) performed with efficiency. Each paced the Buffs on the offensive end.
 
Hale made six saves for the Bears, who were eliminated from the AAC tournament but will continue their season at the national tournament having won the automatic bid for winning the regular season.
 
UP NEXT
Milligan will qualify for the national tournament with one more win, in the conference tournament title match scheduled for Friday, Nov. 9. Milligan will face either Reinhardt or Tennessee Wesleyan at a time and location to be determined. Reinhardt and Tennessee Wesleyan, which play their semifinal Wednesday at 2 p.m., both defeated Milligan in overtime by scores of 2-1 during the regular season.