CLEVELAND, Ga. – On Saturday morning, Milligan University's men's soccer program battled for positioning in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) standings, as it traveled to face the Truett McConnell University Bears, who sit atop the AAC table. After a penalty kick gave TMU a first-half lead, the Bears added an early goal in the second half to round out the scoring, handing Milligan a 2-0 road loss.
The first half was a physical battle, with three yellow cards and a red card.
Marco Lattanzi had the first opportunity for either side, sending a shot toward the TMU goal in the third minute. The Bears forced the first save of the game in the 22nd minute, when a header off a corner kick put Buffs goalkeeper
Sergi Cruz to work. From there, both sides settled into the match and fought for space, with just four shots over the next 10 minutes, three of them from TMU. The turning point of the half came in the 34th minute, when the Bears were awarded a penalty kick and converted it to take a 1-0 lead into halftime.
Milligan was looking for the second-half momentum it had grown accustomed to throughout the season. However, less than a minute into the half, Truett McConnell scored an unassisted goal to keep the momentum on its side.
Noé Bandi looked for an immediate answer, putting Milligan's first shot on target in the 47th minute, but the Truett McConnell keeper made the save. The Buffs continued to create chances, including three shots on target from
Youseff Heggy in the 53rd, 62nd and 64th minutes, but the TMU keeper stood tall to protect the 2-0 lead. Down the stretch, despite late attempts from
Connor Mast and
Louis Folly-Castay, the Golden Bears took care of business defensively to secure the shutout win at home to remain unbeaten in the AAC.
Milligan held a 12-11 edge in shots, and both sides put six shots on target, with all six of the Buffs' shots on goal coming in the second half. Heggy led Milligan's attack with three shots, all on target. Folly-Castay added two shots, one on goal, while Lattanzi and
Trotter Jones each attempted two. Mast and Bandi each put their lone attempt on frame, and
Enol Morán rounded out the shooting with one attempt.
Cruz played all 90 minutes in goal for the Buffs, making four saves. His record moves to 5-2-2 on the season.
With the loss, Milligan (6-2-2, 3-2-1 AAC) moves to fifth place in the AAC standings and will look to improve that record when they host (RV) Johnson University on Wednesday, Oct. 7, at Anglin Field. First kick for that AAC matchup is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
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