No. 18 Men’s Soccer wins back-and-forth affair against Bryan, 3-2

MILLIGAN, Tenn. (October 13, 2021) – The Milligan University men's soccer won a back-and-forth Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) matchup over Bryan 3-2 on Wednesday night at Anglin Field.

The No. 18-ranked Buffs rise to 10-2 on the year and 6-2 in AAC play. Bryan falls to 4-7, 3-4 AAC.

The Buffs sent a barrage at the Bryan goal in the game's first 20 minutes with eight shots and six corner kicks, but came up empty on each attempt.

Jan Kuepper made a spectacular save in the 28th minute, but the rebound was collected and fired in by the Lions to hand the visitors a 1-0 lead.

The Buffs logged four more shots and four corner kicks the rest of the half but stayed off the scoreboard.

At the half, Milligan trailed 1-0 despite outshooting Bryan 12-6 in the first half.

Victor Castel scored the game-tying goal four minutes into the second half off a feed from Simen Haraldstad.

Three minutes later, Charlie Betts nearly put the Buffs ahead with a header off a Castel corner that just landed with left.

Castel's hustle won the Buffs a corner kick in the 64th minute and Raphael Sefriou delivered a beautiful ball to the back post where Elies Simo headed in his second goal of the season to give Milligan a 2-1 lead.

A Bryan player went down in the penalty area with the ball, drawing a penalty kick for the visitors in the 71st minute. The game-tying attempt sailed well high of the net to preserve Milligan's one-goal advantage.

Bryan tied the game in the 77th minute with a nifty give-and-go sequence to set up a dramatic final 13 minutes of regulation.

With just under seven minutes to go, what looked to be a clear handball went uncalled and a well-struck ball from Betts ricocheted away towards the right sideline. Elies Sebbouh tracked the ball down and tucked in the eventual game-winner into the lower right corner of the net.

In the final five minutes, Bryan made several desperate runs at a game-tying goal but could not covert and the Buffs held on for a dramatic 3-2 win.

Milligan outshot Bryan 28-9 (9-4 SOG) on the evening and took 15 corner kicks, compared to just two for the Lions.

The Buffs travel to Columbia (S.C.) on Saturday for their first-ever meeting with the Koalas.