Season Preview: 2023 Men’s Soccer

MILLIGAN, Tenn. (August 14, 2023) – The Milligan University men's soccer team looks to make its fourth consecutive trip to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round in the 2023 season under first-year head coach Patrick Sweeney.

Visual Preview

The Buffs open the season at Anglin Field against Bethel (Tenn.) on Monday, Aug. 21 at 7:00 p.m.

2022 Season Review: Milligan claimed its second Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) regular season title in the last three season last fall as the Buffs bounced back from an 0-2-3 start to finish the year atop the conference standings with a 9-1-3 league record.

After suffering a defeat in the conference opener, the Buffs went unbeaten in 15-straight games before falling to No. 21 Warner Pacific in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round.

In the AAC Tournament, the Buffs advanced past Truett McConnell in penalty kicks before falling in PKs to Union in the conference semifinals.

The Buffs outscored opponents 68-19 in 20 games and led the conference in goals against average (0.93) and shutouts (8). Milligan ranked 10th in the nation in goals, eighth in assists (56) and third in corner kicks (162) and shots per game (20.1).

The Buffs had three players named to the all-conference team and December 2022 graduate Luke Bennett was tabbed as the AAC Player of the Year and as an NAIA All-American Honorable Mention.

Head coach Joe Barber accepted a position as associate head coach at Gardner-Webb University in January 2023. Sweeney announced as Milligan's head coach in February after a distinguished coaching career at the international, professional, collegiate and club ranks.

"It is very special for our family to be given the opportunity to come back to Milligan after so many years," said Sweeney. "I was fortunate enough to work with the boys for some of the spring season. They are a great group, very respectful and hard working."

2023 Preseason Poll: The Buffs earned the top spot in the AAC Preseason Coaches Poll with a league-high six first-place votes.

2023 AAC Men's Soccer Coaches' Preseason Poll
School (First-Place Votes) - Total Voting Points
1. Milligan (6) - 172
2. Columbia International (5) - 164
3. Tennessee Wesleyan (1) - 161
4. Union - 137
5. Reinhardt (1) - 136
6. Bryan - 117
7. St. Andrews - 107
8. Truett McConnell - 88
9. Montreat - 86
10. Pikeville - 51
11. Bluefield - 49
12. Johnson - 45
13. Columbia - 34
14. Kentucky Christian – 18

Key Returners: The Buffs return plenty of firepower as 10 of Milligan's top 11 scorers return for the 2023 campaign.

"There is a lot of experience in the team," said Sweeney. "Many players that have been here for a number of years. I think that will be valuable moving forward, both on and off the field."

Senior forward Greg Anderson earned All-AAC Second Team laurels in his debut season for the Buffs last fall. He scored nine goals and had two assists as he ranked in the top 20 in the AAC in goals, points, shots (38) and game-winning goals (2). The Buffs went 6-0-2 in games in which he found the back of the net and had two goals and one assist in the AAC championship-clinching win over Johnson (Tenn.) in the Buffs' regular season finale.

Graduate forward Inaki Moreno returns for a fifth season. One of the most decorated players in program history, Moreno returned to the pitch in 2022 after suffering a season-ending injury in 2021. The 2020 AAC Offensive Player of the Year and NAIA All-American Honorable Mention is tied for Milligan's all-time record for career assists (27). Last fall, he scored four goals and dished out eight assists to third in the conference in assists.

Sophomore midfielder Asa Kai Blake led the Buffs in goals (12) and points (27) as a freshman. A four-goal outing in the regular season finale against Fisk powered him to the No. 4 spot in the conference goals leaderboard and No. 7 in the AAC in points. Blake added multi-goal outings against Kentucky Christian and Columbia (S.C.).

Junior center back Elies Simo made 35 starts as an underclassman along the Buffs' back line. He emerged as one of the conference's top set piece threats as he totaled seven goals and one assist. Simo scored in a stretch of six out of eight games, including twice at Bryan.

Senior forward Edward Burgos totaled 14 points on five goals and four assists. He scored the game-winning goal in the Buffs' win over Montreat and scored twice against Columbia. Senior midfielder Mate Lengyel posted four goals and five assists. He scored game-winning goals in conference wins over Truett McConnell, Columbia and Johnson.

Graduate outside back Ethan Bishop started 17 games last fall. He bolsters the Buffs' offensive output with his long throw-in ability. He notched a pair of goals and six assists last fall, including two throw-in assists in a win at Truett McConnell.

Senior midfielder and 2021 All-AAC Second Team honoree Jett Carter had three goals and one assist in 2022. He led the Buffs in scoring with 14 goals as a super-sub in 2021.

Sophomore forward Ethan Hayes scored four goals and had two assists in 14 games last season. Junior forward Alexsander Krogh scored two goals and had two assists.

Senior midfielder Hayden Grubb worked his way into Milligan's starting lineup in the final weeks of the season and finished the year with two assists.

Seniors Albert Montragull, Marius Grytdal and Clay Gallant all started double-digit games as defenders last season. Senior defensive midfielder Simen Haraldstad served as a team captain has started 42 matches over the last three seasons.

Junior goalkeeper Ludvig Wille earned All-AAC Second Team honors last fall. He allowed 17 goals in 18 games to rank second in the conference with a 0.96 goals against average. He posted five shutouts and maintained a scoreless streak of 437:50 of game time over the AAC Tournament and preceding two regular season games.

Senior Brian Garcia played in a dozen games as a defensive midfielder. Sophomore Forward Henry McMurphy made 10 appearances and scored twice last fall.

Newcomers: The Buffs' roster was bolstered with 17 incoming freshmen and several transfers.

Argentinian graduate transfer Santiago Corral joins the Buffs after gradating from Mercy and Incarnate Word. In 2019, Corral helped Mercy to its first East Coast Conference title since 2004.

International juniors Kai Slinn (England), Boikaego Mbaakanyi (Botswana) and Reshano Hasselbank (Netherlands) join the 2023 squad from the junior college ranks. Alex Panner (Austria) made 29 starts as an underclassman at Emmanuel.

"I am very excited about the players we have managed to bring in," said Sweeney .They have come from near and far and they have brought a lot of enthusiasm to the team."

Looking at the Schedule: The Buffs have five nonconference games before a 13-game AAC schedule.

Two nonconference opponents received votes in the final 2022 NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll. The Buffs travel to Cumberland on Aug. 25 and WVU Tech on Sept. 7.

Milligan begins its conference schedule on Sept. 13 against Truett McConnell at Anglin Field. The Buffs play 2022 AAC Tournament champions CIU in South Carolina on Sept. 16.

The Buffs host Tennessee Wesleyan on Oct. 21, looking to avenge Milligan's only conference defeat last fall.

The AAC Tournament features the top eight teams in the conference standings and include quarterfinals, semifinals and championship game. Each postseason game is played at the highest remaining seed. The conference has two automatic bids to the NAIA National Championship, with one going to the regular season champion and another to the tournament champion.

Last Word: "There is massive potential with this group," said Sweeney. "We are just going to take the season one game at a time, and when it's all said and done we will be where we are supposed to be."