Buffs looking to build from preseason momentum

MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (August 27, 2019) – Soccer season is just around the corner, and the Buffaloes of the Milligan College men's team will look to continue their strong offseason and preseason as they begin the 2019 campaign Friday night at home.

Following a stint of three challenging road exhibition games earlier this month, the Buffs begin Friday in a nonconference matchup with Midway University at Anglin Field. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Senior midfielder Luis De La Torre noted how the Buffs have looked this preseason and how they feel heading into the new season. "Preseason has gone great," he said. "Most of our players showed up fit and ready to go, which allowed us to work on what we needed to work on right away. We had good (preseason) challenges, and we are starting to work much better as a team. This has definitely been a positive preseason overall as we head to our first home game."

2019 Schedule

The 2019 schedule will be a tough one. The Buffs open with a four-game stretch of strong nonconference opponents before beginning the Appalachian Athletic Conference slate at 2018 regular season champion Point University.

Among their first four games, the Buffs face Tusculum University and Cumberland University, who combined for 23 wins last season. The Pioneers of Tusculum (13-7-1) won the SAC tournament championship and made it to the second round of the 2018 NCAA Division II tournament. The Phoenix of Cumberland (10-5-4) lost in the final of the Mid-South Conference tournament.

While this nonconference stretch will be tough, it should be a good precursor for the conference schedule, and it is a challenge de la Torre thinks the Buffs are ready for. "As a team, I think that we are ready for any challenge that might come. We have worked very hard physically and mentally. I believe that even if we might be broken at times, or something might be off, we have the right attitude to wrestle through it and come out with something positive about it. That is something key that we have been working on: always getting better."

Once the AAC schedule begins, Milligan has the two toughest challenges of the season on the road early, facing Point Saturday, Sept. 14, and last year's AAC tournament champion Reinhardt Saturday, Sept. 21. The Buffs will continue through the AAC calendar for the remainder of September and all of October, minus one final nonconference match Oct. 19 at West Virginia Tech.

The regular season finale is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 26, against Bryan over homecoming weekend, and the AAC tournament will begin the following week.

Key returners | top newcomers

To combat the tough schedule, the Buffs have a long list of newcomers and returners who will contribute to the depth and versatility of the squad. Roberto Fernandez Garrido highlights the list of returners as the Buffs' leading goal scorer (13) and point getter (29) from 2018. Milligan also returns Robell Habte (10 goals), Harry Griffin (nine assists), Joel Dominguez (five assists), and Andre Levarity, de la Torre and Isiah Goddard-Joseph, who combined for three goals and one assist last season. All seven Buffs have plenty of experience from 2018, having played in 14 or more matches.

Levarity is already off to a great start in 2019 with goals in two of Milligan's three preseason matches. Levarity netted a go-ahead goal in the match at UAB before netting the eventual game-winning goal against Brevard.

Levarity is the lone Buff with multiple goals this preseason, a positive as versatility will be one of the keys for the Buffs this season. So far, the Buffs have seen six goals come from five players this preseason, including goals from midfielders and defenders.

Among the newcomers, the Buffs bring in Jan Kuepper, a goalkeeper who looks to be a big addition on the defensive side. Luke Bennett, Odin Solheim and Inaki Moreno all were expected to stand out, and have stood out, in preseason. Raphael Sefriou should bring stability and positivity to the left back position, and Ethan Bishop has been another bright spot, scoring in the Buffs' preseason win over Brevard.

One of the common themes among this season's Buffs, returners and newcomers, has been their attitude, noted de la Torre as he discussed the team's strengths. "I believe that a team is nothing without the right attitude, which we have this year. I also believe that having a greater amount of players, and of high quality, increases the competition within the team and provides more depth in games."