No. 19 Men’s Soccer takes down No. 10 Williams Carey to advance to the NAIA National Championship Final Site

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (November 18, 2023) – The No. 19 Milligan University men's soccer team scored twice in the second half to take down No. 10 William Carey and advance to the NAIA National Championship Final Site on Saturday.

The Buffs run their unbeaten streak to 18-straight games and rise to 17-2-3 on the season. William Carey, the ninth seed in the national bracket concludes its season in 16-5-1.

The Crusaders had the first set of scoring opportunities around the five-minute mark of the contest as Adria Alles made a save on a well-struck shot from the right side. WCU centered the rebound and had another shot deflected wide.

Milligan earned a penalty kick in the game's 11th minute. Alles sent a free kick from Milligan's six-yard box beyond midfield, Santiago Corral collected the ball at the right sideline and sent a lead pass into the William Carey penalty area to Alex Panner. Panner beat the Crusaders goalkeeper to the ball and was contacted in the box to draw a whistle for a penalty kick. Elies Simo aimed the penalty kick to the bottom left corner but a diving save by the WCU goalie prevented an early tally.

The Crusaders nearly took the lead in the 24th minute as a Milligan giveaway allowed WCU to dribble into the penalty box and blast a shot that was tipped off the fingertips of Alles, hit the crossbar and then was cleared away.

After WCU controlled possession for much of the final 15 minutes of the first half, the Buffs had a scoring opportunity in the 45th minute. Inaki Moreno played a long ball up the right sideline to Boikaego Mbaakanyi who collected the ball, juked a defender and fired a shot past the Crusaders goalie but it rolled just wide of the right post.

WCU owned a 10-5 advantage in shots in the first half with both teams putting two attempts on goal.

The Buffs started the second half on the offensive with Asa Kai Blake ripping a shot on goal, Milligan earning a corner and a free kick in the offensive third of the field in the opening five minutes of the second half.

Milligan nearly capitalized on a takeaway in the 66th minute as the Buffs went up the right side with numbers but a cross attempt was deflected out of bounds to prevent a close-range attempt on frame.

Corral had a point-blank header at the right post off a cross by Moreno that was thwarted by a reaction save by the WCU goalie. On the ensuing corner kick, Corral had another header that was deflected away to win another corner. The Buffs finally broke through on the third corner kick of the sequence with Simen Haraldstad pounced on a bouncing ball in the box after a Simo header and poked in his sixth goal of the seven in the 71st minute.

The Buffs were able to stave over several attempts by WCU to push forwards and were able to control possession for the next 10 minutes of play. Moreno lined up a shot to give Milligan an insurance goal but had his attempt saved.

The Crusaders earned a free kick from about five-to-10 yards beyond the 18-yard box as the clock ticked under eight minutes. WCU fired the free kick on goal and Alles snatched the ball out of the air. The hosts earned another free kick in that area in the 84th and had the attempt hit the crossbar and go out of play.

Milligan diffused a long-range WCU free kick as the clock ticked under three minutes left and went on the counterattack. Albert Montragull found Moreno at midfield, who forwarded a pass to Mbaakanyi into the top-right of the 18-yard box. Mbaakanyi dropped a pass off for Kai Slinn who roofed a shot to push the game out of reach in the 88th minute.

Milligan ended up outshooting the Crusaders 15-14 (8-3 SOG). Alles made three saves as the Buffs logged their sxith-straight shutout victory.

The Buffs take on No. 6 Mobile on Nov. 27 in the NAIA National Championship Round of 16 at the NAIA National at Stryker Soccer Complex in Wichita, Kan. It marks Milligan's second final site appearance and first since 2006.