Both Milligan University soccer teams walked off the field with a win against Bryan College in the first game of the season Tuesday night.
“The energy was high from the beginning,” said senior Kasey Moore, describing the atmosphere of the game. This energy led the women to a dominant win with a score of 3-0, with goals from junior Isabella Cranford, junior Ashlen Burch, and sophomore Hannah Chatterton.
“We have a good team chemistry so far,” added Annika Oiler, a senior on the team.“We had a new formation so we just had to wait and see how it would go against another team.”
Their practice paid off, and the team remains hopeful it can carry this momentum into future games.
“I think we came out really strong considering the circumstances,” added Megan Kent, a senior on the team. “I’m excited for the rest of the season!”
The men’s team carried Milligan’s momentum into their game with a win of 3-1 against Bryan. The men’s team at Milligan is ranked sixth in the Appalachian Athletic Conference, with Bryan leading with third.
“We knew Bryan would be a strong team to face. They’ve always been tough competition to play against,” commented junior Chase Farler. “This year we brought in a couple new faces that we were hoping would make a big impact for us right away.”
The new faces proved invaluable to Milligan, with two freshmen to thank for the three goals during the game. Victor Castel scored twice, and Alex Frances finalized Milligan’s victory with the final goal.
“It was a physically tough and exhausting game,” said Farler. “Both teams were fighting to put up another goal. Jan our goalie came up big last night in fencing off several attacks from the Bryan offense.”
Both teams hope to continue this momentum at a home game this weekend against Point College.
Headline photo: Women’s soccer team competes in a previous game.