AUSTELL, Ga. – On Friday, the Milligan University men's soccer team went to battle against the No. 5-ranked Life University (Ga.) Running Eagles at Marathon Soccer Park in Austell, Ga. in the NAIA National Championship Second Round. Unfortunately, the Buffaloes were outplayed from the start, falling behind early in an eventual 4-0 loss to conclude their campaign.

Life got the scoring going early, tallying their first goal in just the fourth minute of the bout. They continued with that pressure and scored again in the 17th minute to put the Buffaloes behind 2-0 with more than half of the opening stanza left to be played. To make matters worse, Milligan was forced to play down a man starting in the 44th minute of the bout, after Johnny Salgado was shown a red card. There was just one shot taken in the half by the Buffs, while Life sent a barrage of 14 attempts toward goal.

An early second-half goal by the hosts made it 3-0 in the 51st minute, while the Buffs' chances were few and far between. Ultimately, the Running Eagles would add on to the lead in the 83rd minute on a Milligan own goal. At the final whistle, Life held a massive 27-5 shot lead and also boasted a 15-3 lead in shots on net. 

Of the five shots taken by Milligan, three were on goal. Freddie Zinn, Isaac Lizotte and Adria Alles were credited with shots on frame. Marco Lattanzi and Federico Confaloni took the other two shots.

Alles saved 11 shots in net, a season-high mark for a single game. He faced 15 total shots on frame, as the Running Eagles peppered the net all game long.

Back-to-back years for Milligan men's soccer have now ended in the same spot, the NAIA Second Round, as the Buffaloes will now look ahead to their 2026 campaign with their sights set on a trip to the NAIA Final Site.