PIKEVILLE, Ky. – Milligan University's men's soccer team continued their 2025 campaign on the road in Pikeville Ky., against the University of Pikeville Bears. It was a tightly contested match that saw the score tied at halftime, but after conceding a goal early in the second half the Buffs were unable to overcome the deficit and eventually fell by a final score of 1-2 to drop to 8-3-0 in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) contests.
To begin the first half
Kerim Akpinar put the Buffs on the board with a goal assisted by
Marco Lattanzi. The goal came on the first shot attempt of the game. Pikeville responded less than five minutes later with a goal of their own. The goals scored by each side in the first ten minutes of the game would be the only scoring action in the stanza, as the rest of the period was evenly matched with neither side able to put another tally on the board. Milligan held a slight 6-4 shot advantage in the opening half but were significantly more accurate with their shots as all six shots were on frame while only two were on target for Pikeville.
The scoring continued early in the second half when Pikeville pushed a goal across in the 57th minute. Following the goal, in the 71st minute, Milligan had a promising chance courtesy of
Emir Basar who sent a shot that was headed for the back of the net but was saved by the final defender from the Bears. Ten minutes later, Akpinar had a shot hit the crossbar. Akpinar's attempt that struck the woodwork proved to be the Buffs last chance at a draw, as despite late pressure, they were unable to muster up another shot attempt.
A total of nine shots were taken by the Buffaloes, with a staggering seven of those being on frame. The Bears had 11 total attempts with four of them being on goal. Akpinar led the attack for MU with three shots and two on goal, while Basar and Lattanzi each put their two shot attempts on goal.
Federico Confaloni concluded the seven shots on goal taken in the matchup by Milligan, with one.
Adria Alles returned as the goalie after a two-game absence and saved fifty percent of the shots on goal from the Bears. His record moves to 7-3-1 on the season.
Milligan returns to Anglin Field on Saturday, Oct. 18 for their final home game of the regular season against Union Commonwealth University (Ky.) at 4:30 p.m.
