No. 19 Men’s Soccer claims AAC Tournament title

MILLIGAN, Tenn. (November 11, 2023) – The No. 19 Milligan University men's soccer team captured the 2023 Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) tournament title with a 4-0 victory over (RV) Tennessee Wesleyan in the AAC Tournament final at Anglin Field on Saturday afternoon.

The Buffs head into the NAIA National Championship Opening Round with a 17-game unbeaten streak. After a 2-2 start, Milligan won the AAC regular season crown with a 10-0-3 league record and owns a 16-2-3 mark after three AAC Tournament shutout wins. Tennessee Wesleyan heads to the national tournament with an 11-4-5 record.

TWU had a scoring chance after a corner kick in the fifth minute but Adria Alles made a diving stop in the bottom left corner.

Albert Montragull and Elies Simo both diffused potential one-on-one opportunities by the Bulldogs in the opening 15 minutes.

Santiago Corral put the Buffs on the scoreboard in the 18th minute with a grounded shot into the bottom-right corner off a feed from Alex Panner.

The Buffs staved off several TWU free kicks inside Milligan's defensive third of the field with Alles making several plays on the ball to prevent scoring opportunities as the Buffs carried their 1-0 into halftime.

Corral had a close-range attempt in the 48th minute thwarted by a sprawling save by the TWU keeper as the rebound trickled out of reach for another attempt.

The Bulldogs managed a head off a free kick in the 59th minute that Alles snatched out of the air. Corral got his head on a cross from Montragull in the 62nd that sailed just right.

Corral cashed in again in the 68th minute as he found Boikaego Mbaakanyi with a through ball up the right side in the penalty area and Mbaakanyi dropped a pass back to Corral, who blasted a shot into the upper-90 to push the Buffs ahead 2-0.

Jett Carter scored five minutes later to make the margin 3-0. Hayden Grubb played a cross into the box and Carter chested it towards the right post and beat the TWU with a volley into the opposite corner.

Alexsander Krogh turned the title game into a rout with a header in the 86th minute. Clay Gallant played a cross beyond the left post where Ethan Bishop centered the ball with a header and Krogh punched in his first tally of the season.

Alles and the Milligan defense notched its third shutout victory of the conference tournament. He finished with three saves as Milligan had a 7-3 edge in shots on goal. TWU had a 109 advantage in shots and a 4-2 edge in corner kicks.

Corral was honored as the AAC Tournament MVP. Carter, Inaki Moreno and Simen Haraldstad were named to the AAC All-Tournament Team alongside Corral. Milligan's AAC Tournament title is the Buffs' first since 2006 and second all-time.

The Buffs learn their NAIA National Championship Opening Round matchup on Monday.