Season Preview: 2022 Men’s Soccer

MILLIGAN, Tenn. (August 19, 2022) – The Milligan University men's soccer team looks to maintain its competitive level as one of the premier programs in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) and NAIA in the 2022 season. 

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Under first-year head coach Joe Barber, Milligan looks to maintain the good work and competitive levels established by the previous staff and players whilst the transitional phase moves from the off season into the competitive fall season. The No. 20 Buffs begin their 2022 campaign at Anglin Field on Aug. 22 against WVU Tech.

"Pre-season has been full of challenges but ultimately it has taught us how to deal with and overcome adversity," said Barber. "We have taken part in three extremely competitive exhibition games, all against teams from the South Atlantic Conference, and all away from home. The SAC is one of the strongest conferences in NCAA DII and competing against these teams will put us in good standing heading in our non-conference schedule beginning this coming Monday."

2021 Season Review: Milligan men's soccer earned its first-ever at-large berth in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round as the Buffs went 15-2 during the regular season with four victories over teams receiving votes in the national rankings.

Milligan was ranked in every NAIA Top 25 poll, peaking at No. 9 in the nation. The Buffs set single season records for winning percentage (.816), goals (76), assists (65) and shutouts (11). A league-high nine players were named All-AAC as Milligan finished second overall in the AAC standings. Nationally, Milligan ranked No. 2 in the NAIA in goals per game (4.00) and top 10 in goals, assists, shutouts and goals against average (0.65).

In the postseason, the Buffs were eliminated by Montreat in the AAC Tournament quarterfinals by way of penalty kick shootout. Milligan earned the No. 2 seed at the NAIA National Championship Opening Round Fort Wayne Bracket. The Buffs' season ended with a 3-1 defeat to William Penn in the opening game. Milligan concluded the season as the No. 21 team in the nation.

Head coach David Lilly was hired as the head coach at East Tennessee State University in December. On Jan. 17, Barber was announced as Milligan's next men's soccer head coach. He comes after successful assistant coaching stops at Auburn Montgomery, Georgia Southern, Temple, Eastern Florida State & NAIA Powerhouse The University of Mobile.

"Last spring was the beginning of the transition under the new coaching staff, it gave everyone a couple of months to get used to new relationships, new culture and a slightly different way of playing," said Barber. "The group of players even from the spring looks very different to this fall so it's going to take a little time for this new group to gel together."

2022 AAC Preseason Poll: The AAC sent four teams to the NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship in 2021 with two teams collecting automatic bids and the Buffs grabbing one of two at-large bids. Milligan was one of four squads to receive a first-place vote in the 2022 Preseason Poll.

2022 AAC Men's Soccer Coaches' Preseason Poll
School (First-Place Votes) - Total Voting Points
1. Columbia International (6) - 180
2. Reinhardt (6) - 177
3. Milligan (1) - 162
4. Tennessee Wesleyan (1) - 160
5. Union - 142
6. Point - 134
7. Montreat - 103
8. St. Andrews - 95
9. Bryan - 93
10. Truett McConnell - 83
11. Bluefield - 48
12. Johnson - 39
13. Columbia - 35
14. Kentucky Christian - 19

Team Captains: Luke Bennett, Marius Grytdal, Simen Haraldstad

Key Returners: The Buffs welcome back key contributors in a variety of different roles for 2022.

"The returning group of players are used to winning and that is obviously a habit that we want to continue," said Barber. "We know that their experiences over the last two or three seasons will be invaluable to showing the new players the right way of doing things and how to find ways to win games in different situations."

Junior forward Jett Carter returns after an All-AAC Second Team campaign last year. He led the Buffs with 14 goals and tied for the team lead with 28 points. Carter finished second in the AAC in goals and tied for fifth in points and 10th in shots (47). In his first two seasons with the Buffs, Carter has scored 19 goals in 34 games as a substitute. He scored game-winning goals in key AAC wins at Montreat and Reinhardt.

"Jett has returned to pre-season looking his normal self," said Barber. "He has formed a formidable reputation as being an impact "super sub" over the last two seasons. But his current levels will mean that we may see him playing a little more the start this Fall."

Senior midfielder Luke Bennett will wear the captain's armband in 2022 after starting 35 games for the Buffs over the last three seasons and earning All-AAC First Team honors last fall. He scored two goals and recorded four assists last season.

"Luke will continue to be one of our most important players and leaders," said Barber. "He has already made a big positive impact on pre-season already and he will look to continue his good form into the early part of the season."

Sophomore Alexsander Krogh emerged as one of the Buffs' top offensive threats off the bench last fall. Krogh finished second on the roster and tied for fifth in the AAC with 10 assists. He scored four goals in wins over Union, Pikeville, Columbia (S.C.) and St. Andrews and finished with 18 points. Krogh had four games with multiple assists, including a three assist day against Bluefield.

Senior forward Inaki Moreno looks to return to action after suffering a season-ending in 2021. Moreno had one goal and a pair of assists over the first five games of 2021. In the 2020 season, he collected NAIA All-America Honorable Mention, AAC Offensive Player of the Year and All-AAC First Team honors. During that season, he led the Buffs in points (23) and the AAC in assists (11).

Junior midfielder Simen Haraldstad earned All-AAC Second Team laurels last year after stepping into a starting role over the final 13 games of 2022. He totaled one goal and four assists last fall.

Milligan returns a defensive unit with multiple returning starters. The Buffs logged 11 shutouts and allowed 13 goals in 19 games last fall.

Junior Marius Grytdal made 32 starts over his first two seasons as a Buffs. He collected All-AAC Second Team status in 2020 and scored his first career goal last year.

Sophomore Elies Simo started every game in his debut season at Milligan. He scored in the Buffs' wins over No. 11 Dalton State and Bryan.

Senior Ethan Bishop brings three years of playing experience and provides the Buffs with a long throw-in. He scored his first collegiate goal against Truett McConnell and had four assists last fall.

Junior Albert Montragull returns to action after his 2021 season ended after seven games due to injury after starting 12 games as a freshman and six of seven games last fall.

"These returning defenders are used to keeping clean sheets so that is something that this team will strive to continue to do after keeping two clean sheets in pre-season exhibitions," said Barber.

Sophomore Ludvig Wille looks to carry the Buffs' goalkeeping torch after the graduation of two-time All-AAC First Team and CoSIDA Academic All-America Team Member of the Year Jan Kuepper. Willie made five saves in a 3-1 win over No. 11 Dalton State in his collegiate debut last fall.

Newcomers: The Buffs reload with a nine-man freshman class and five transfers.

"Key newcomers will come in the form of transfers Greg Anderson, Mate Lengyel, Edward Burgos and Brian Garcia and freshmen Asa Blake, Ethan Hayes and Henry McMurphy," said Barber.

Looking at the Schedule: The 2022 schedule features several high-profile nonconference matchups before a rigorous AAC slate.

Milligan opens its season against perennial River States Conference power WVU Tech at Anglin Field on Aug. 22.

The Buffs have road dates at No. 23 Georgia Gwinnett (Aug. 30) and No. 15 Dalton State (Sept. 3). Milligan won at Georgia Gwinnett 3-2 in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round in the 2020 season and downed Dalton State 3-1 last fall.

"The non-conference schedule will test the team rigorously especially playing two top 25 teams away from home," said Barber. "It will prepare us well heading into the AAC games and make us battle ready."

AAC play begins Sept. 9 with a trip to Tennessee Wesleyan. The Buffs look to avenge their two AAC defeats against defending AAC Tournament champions Point on Sept. 17 and regular season champs CIU on Oct. 8.

The regular season concludes on homecoming against Johnson (Tenn.) on Oct. 29.

The AAC sponsors an eight-team conference tournament. The top four seeds will host the quarterfinal games and the highest seed will host the remaining semifinal and final games. The AAC has two automatic bids to the NAIA Men's Soccer Championship. The regular season champion and the tournament champion receive automatic berths to the NAIA Men's Soccer Opening Round.

Last Word: "The goal this year is to remain competitive during this first transitional competitive season," said Barber. "There has been a turnover of staff and turnover of a large number of players that made this program successful over the past three or four seasons. So we want to first and foremost be in the running to compete for the regular season AAC conference title."