MILLIGAN, Tenn. – On Saturday morning at Anglin Field, the Milligan University women's soccer team opened Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play against Spartanburg Methodist College. In the end, the Buffs cruised to victory in the second half with an 8-2 trouncing of the visitors.

Milligan is now back over .500 for the season, reaching 2-1-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play.

In the first half the Buffaloes struck first when Lauren Hawkley found herself open, after she rebounded her own shot, and put the ball into the back of the net to give Milligan a 1-0 advantage. Following the goal, the Buffs had five straight shots, two of which were saved, but the momentum would halt there as Spartanburg Methodist would score two goals less than a minute apart to take a 2-1 lead. Just before the end of the half, Bianca Vacirca found Natalie Roper open for a goal to knot the score at 2 heading into the second period.

The Buffs put their foot on the gas in the second half, as they scored six unanswered goals. Halle Steele scored the first with an assist from Natalie Roper, while Alara Tyrer scored the second off an assist from Kelsey Miller. Then, Natalie Roper scored her second goal of the day, assisted by Halle Steele. Freshman Bianca Vacirca continued her great day with a pair of goals, and Lauren Hawkley tallied her second as well.

A grand total of 33 shots were taken by Milligan, while 18 of those were shots on net. In comparison, Spartanburg Methodist took 14 shots, with seven being on goal.

Emily Robinson played all 90 minutes between the pipes to pick up the win and move her record on the season to 2-1-1.

With the triumph, the Buffs look to continue to play well as AAC play continues with a matchup against Tennessee Wesleyan University on Wednesday, Sept. 10 at 7:30 p.m. back at Anglin Field.