Box Score By Stan Caldwell
stanmansportsfan.com
 
HATTIESBURG – It was an ugly end to the 2023 season in more ways than one for the William Carey University men's soccer team.
 
The Crusaders let too many opportunities slip away in the first half, then were outplayed in the second half, as Milligan (Tenn.) University walked away with a 2-0 victory in the second round of the NAIA Men's Soccer Tournament at Danny Owens Field.
 
The Buffaloes (17-2-3) extended their unbeaten streak to 18 games and advanced to the Men's National Championships at Wichita, Kan, beginning Nov. 27. Carey finished its season 16-5-1.
 
Not only was the outcome ugly on the scoreboard for Carey, but the game was marred by a near-brawl between the two teams along the far sideline in the game's final 30 seconds.
 
"We didn't take our chances in the first half," said Carey coach Barry Farrell. "As the game went on, the game started becoming ugly, that kind of game. And, of course, those scenes at the end. You never want to see that."
 
Milligan took advantage of intense pressure midway through the second half to break a scoreless tie, then added a clinching goal with less than three minutes remaining in the game.
 
Things were chippy from the start, as a combined seven fouls were called on the two teams in the game's first five minutes.
 
It looked like MU would get on the board early, when Kokoska was called for a foul on a hard diving tackle in the 18-yard box, resulting in yellow card for the Crusader goalkeeper and a penalty kick for the Buffaloes at 10:41.
 
But Kokoska read the kick off the foot of Milligan's Elies Simo, dove to his right and knocked the ball away. MU got nothing out of the subsequent corner kick and the crisis was averted.
 
"I thought the call was a bit unfair," said Kokoska. "But I was able to get on with it. It was just anticipation, I guess. He was nervous and I thought I could get to it."
 
That seemed to auger good things for the Crusaders, as they had a number of good scoring chances in the first half. Carey had 10 shots and three corners in the first half.
 
But only two of WCU's shots were on net. The first was a shot by sophomore Jamie Wynne just over five minutes into the game that was saved, followed immediately by a rebound shot by junior Caoimhin O'Connell that was blocked in front of the net.
 
O'Connell had the second shot on goal in the 24th minute that was saved by Buffaloes keeper Adria Alles.
 
"They were just packed in, to be honest, and we had trouble getting through," said Wynne. "It shows on the scoreboard, 2-nil. Not much else to say."
 
The tables were turned in the second half, as the Crusaders seemed to bog down on both ends of the field.
 
"The first half, we had a couple of chances off the crossbar," Farrell said. "The second half, we just couldn't get anything going. Obviously, when they got 1-nil up, it was difficult to break them down.
 
"But they're a good team. They won their league and conference tournament. And I think this is 18 straight unbeaten for them. So we knew it was going to be a difficult game."
 
Carey only got four shots in the final 45 minutes, just one on goal. By contrast, the Buffaloes had 10 shots, four on goal, including the two scores.
 
Milligan was the clear aggressor, and dictated play throughout the second half, and the Buffaloes were rewarded for their play midway through the half.
 
Beginning in the 66th minute, MU got four corner kicks within a five-minute span, and finally cashed in the fourth one at 70:24.
 
Millgan's Inaki Moreno blasted a corner kick into a crowded box in front of the net, and Simen Haraldstad found the back of the net off pass from Simo, whose assist atoned for the PK miss in the first half.
 
"It was a tight game," said Carey goalkeeper Andreas Kokoska. "They finished their chances and we didn't."
 
With their backs to the wall, the Crusaders finally came alive in the final 10 minutes of play, and had two good scoring chances on back-to-back free kicks from directly in front of the goal.
 
Senior Giovanni Soares banged a free kick from 20 yards out at 82:12 that found the chest of Alles. At 83:44, O'Connell smacked a free kick from 25 yards out off the crossbar, the closest the Crusaders would come to scoring.
 
"We had some chances, but we didn't seem to come out first today," said Wynne. "We were unfortunate, but what can we do."
 
With time running out, and the Crusaders pushing bodies forward, the Buffaloes got a quick counterattack with superior numbers and put the insurance score into the net. Kai Slinn got the goal on a pass from Boikaego Mbaakanyi at 87:19.
 
The game unraveled in the final two minutes. In the 89th minute, Carey was booked for two yellow cards and the Buffaloes one for rough play, and with under 30 seconds to play, several players got tangled up along the sideline and chaos ensued.
 
When it was all finally broken up, four players were booked with red cards for fighting, three for Carey. And that will hurt Milligan moving into the national tournament, as Mbaakanyi will miss the Buffaloes' next two games under suspension for his red card.
 
"I'm just disappointed for our guys," Farrell said. "They worked extremely hard all season, and our four seniors have been tremendous. We have to learn from this.
 
"It's disappointing to lose, but it's especially disappointing the way the game finished, for both teams."