CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – On Saturday afternoon, Milligan University's men's soccer squad faced non-conference Campbellsville University on the road in a match originally scheduled as a home contest before it was postponed due to weather. After the Tigers struck first in the eighth minute, the Buffs answered with two goals before halftime, then did what they have done all season long, controlling the second half and adding an insurance goal to earn a 3-1 road win.
Milligan had the game's first chance in the eighth minute, when
Grayson Hammond sent a shot on target that was stopped by the Campbellsville keeper. Less than a minute later, the Tigers found a golden opportunity off a rebound from a
Sergi Cruz save and capitalized for the game's first goal. From there, the Tigers looked to extend their lead, earning four corner kicks and firing four shots, two of which rang off the crossbar. In the midst of the Tiger pressure,
Freddie Zinn set up
Ilija Dordevic in the 33rd minute, and Dordevic scored his first career goal for the orange and black to even the score at 1-1. Less than five minutes later, Milligan took the lead in the 37th minute on a Campbellsville miscue, as the Tigers scored an own goal. The Buffs kept up the pressure late in the half, with
Felipe Magalhães sending a header on target in the 39th minute, but they couldn't extend the lead and went into halftime ahead 2-1.
Coming out of the break, Milligan looked to build on its lead, earning a corner in the 47th minute before
Marco Lattanzi sent a shot wide of the frame in the 48th.
Trotter Jones had a shot blocked in the 57th minute as the Buffs searched for an insurance goal. Campbellsville pushed for an equalizer and nearly found one in the 64th minute, when a shot rang off the crossbar for the third time in the match, and Jones sent another attempt wide a minute later. The Tigers came close again in the 74th minute, hitting the crossbar for a fourth time, but the Buffs made them pay just 28 seconds later, when Jones fired a shot into the back of the net in the 75th minute to extend the lead to 3-1. From there, Cruz stood tall in goal, turning away Campbellsville shots in the 76th and 78th minutes, and Jones nearly added a second goal in the 80th minute, but his shot was saved. Cruz came up with one final stop on a header in the 89th minute, and the Buffs closed out the 3-1 road win.
Overall, Campbellsville finished with a 17-8 shot advantage, including 11 in the second half, but Milligan held a 6-5 edge in shots on goal, and the Tigers had four shots hit off the crossbar. Jones led the Buffs with four shots, putting two on frame, including his insurance goal in the 75th minute. Dordevic made the most of his lone attempt, scoring his first career goal, while Zinn picked up the assist on the equalizer. Hammond and Magalhães each put their only shot on target, and Lattanzi added one attempt.
Cruz played all 90 minutes in goal and made four saves, three of them in the final 15 minutes, to improve his season record to 7-2-2.
After the win, the Buffaloes (8-2-2, 4-2-1 AAC) will now look to extend their win streak to three on Wednesday, Oct. 14, when they return home for Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) match with the Montreat College Cavaliers. First kick for that game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
