MILLIGAN, Tenn. – On Wednesday night at Anglin Field, Milligan University's men's soccer squad hosted Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) foe Montreat College. The match marked the beginning of a three-game home stand for the Buffs. Milligan got off to a fast start in the contest, scoring two goals in the first half before securing their third shutout victory of the year, 2-0, behind stellar second-half defense.
Milligan's offense wasted no time getting started, as the Buffs created two scoring chances in the first three minutes. Both attempts came off the boot of
Marco Lattanzi, who received two through balls from
Luiz Pereira, but neither strike found the mark. Lattanzi's golden chance came in the 16th minute, when
Freddie Zinn played him the ball, and this time he sent a shot that could not be saved. The goal gave Milligan a 1-0 lead and marked Lattanzi's 12th goal of the season, bettering his previous season high of 11 set during his junior year. The Buffs continued to apply pressure offensively, and
Trotter Jones nearly doubled the advantage with a laser, but the Cavs goalie came up with a diving save. The pressure paid off in the 32nd minute, though, as an aggressive play in the box led to a penalty kick. Zinn was tasked with taking the penalty and promptly extended the lead to 2-0 after beating the Cavs keeper. From there, the Buffs controlled the pace of the game and took their advantage into the halftime break.
The second half was played at a much different pace than the first, as the Buffs settled in defensively to protect their lead. Lattanzi found a pair of chances in the 54th and 62nd minutes, but neither attempt hit the target. Milligan's backline made crucial plays throughout the second half to help preserve the clean sheet, and Lattanzi's attempt in the 62nd minute proved to be the Buffs' final opportunity to extend the lead.
In the end, the Cavaliers ended up with a 15-12 shot advantage, with 12 of those 15 attempts coming in the second half. The Buffs led in quality opportunities with a 4-2 advantage in shots on goal. Zinn led the Buffs with a goal on one of his three attempts, as well as an assist on the second goal. Lattanzi ended with the most attempts at six, with one ending in a goal. Luiz Pereirra put his lone attempt on net.
Sergi Cruz played all 90 minutes in goal and made two saves to pick up his second clean sheet of the year and improve his season record to 8-2-2.
After the win, the Buffaloes (9-2-2, 5-2-1 AAC) will look to extend their win streak to four on Saturday, Oct. 17, when they continue the home stand with an AAC match against Columbia International University. First kick for that game is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
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