No. 15 Men’s Soccer defeats Reinhardt 1-0 for critical AAC win

WALESKA, Ga. (October 23, 2021) – Jett Carter scored late in the first half and Jan Kuepper made two critical saves in the final 10 minutes as the No. 15 Milligan University men's soccer team downed Reinhardt 1-0 for a critical Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) win in Georgia on Saturday night.

The victory puts Milligan (13-2, 9-2 AAC) in the driver's seat to secure the No. 2 seed in the AAC Tournament. With Reinhardt (113, 8-3 AAC) and Tennessee Wesleyan falling on Saturday, the Buffs move into sole possession of second place with two games to play. Milligan owns every relevant tiebreaker concerning the second seed after securing wins over the Eagles, TWU, Union and St. Andrews this year.

After nearly 20 minutes of back-and-forth play with no substantial scoring opportunities, Victor Castel was freed up for a close-range shot that was thwarted by an acrobatic save. The long rebound bounced to the top of the box where Luke Bennett blasted a shot just high of the crossbar. '

In the 25th minute, Reinhardt found an opportunity on a counterattack. Entering the penalty area from the left side with pace, the Eagles' Sergio Cristaldo ripped a shot toward the right post, but was denied by Buffs goalie Kuepper. The rebound trickled beyond the box where it was blasted well high of the frame by Reinhardt to end the threat.

Reinhardt hit the crossbar in the 33rd minute, but the Buffs again escaped unscathed.

Carter gave Milligan a 1-0 late in the first half off with his 11th goal of the season off a ball from Charlie Betts in the 41st minute.

With just under three minutes left in the first half, Reinhardt controlled the ball within the Buffs' 18-yard box and had one shot blocked by the Buffs' defense and a second attempt corralled by Kuepper.

Milligan carried its 1-0 advantage into the halftime break. Both teams attempted five shots in the first half with Reinhardt holding a slight 3-2 edge in shots on goal.

Early in the second half, Reinhardt had a point-blank header attempt off a beautiful cross that traveled high of the crossbar.

Bennett stepped into a shot from about 30 yards out that had to be tipped over the crossbar in the 52nd minute.

Several second-half fouls resulted in free kicks that led shots by Betts in the 68th minute and a header that was saved by Elies Simo the next minute.

With five minutes remaining in regulation, Kuepper made a running one-handed save to keep the Eagles off the board and preserve Milligan's 1-0 lead. A minute later, Reinhardt lined up a loose ball inside the box following a free kick into the box, but the shot went right into a waiting Kuepper.

In the 87th minute, the Buffs had a chance to put the game away with a three-on-two transition opportunity, but the Eagles' keeper rushed off his line and stopped Alex Frances' attempt from just inside the penalty area.

The Buffs kept Reinhardt from attempting a shot in the final four minutes and held on for the 1-0 victory.

Milligan outshot Reinhardt 12-9 and both teams attempted five shots on goal.

Kuepper made five saves in his eighth shutout win of the season. He made a pair of saves in the final six minutes to uphold the 1-0 margin.

Milligan wraps up its home regular season slate against Bluefield on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. The Buffs are 8-0 at Anglin Field and have won 15-consecutive home games dating back last season.