Milligan men race past King on pitch, 5-1

ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. (WJHL) – The Buffs’ men’s soccer squad battled past local foe, King University, on Saturday evening, 5-1.

Milligan netted three goals in the first half to create a cushion over the Tornado, starting in the third minute. Elies Simo settled a corner kick rebound and curled a ball back into the box, finding the head of Kai Slinn for the match’s first tally.

In the 30th minute, James Bakou, who played for the Bristol Rhythm this past summer, curled a low shot with his left foot that just snuck inside the far post. Just about five minutes later, the Buffs extended the lead with a tally from Simen Haraldstad, making it a 3-0 lead at half.

At the start of the half, King’s Kirk Rahill earned a red card and was sent off in the 54th minute.

Quickly, goals in the 55th and 66th minutes from Slinn and Marco Lattanzi, respectively, boosted Milligan to a 5-0 advantage.

The Tornado never relented, however, finally breaking through in the 81st minute with a strike from Renan Caruso, rounding out the scoring.

A second red card was given to King’s Campbell Moore in the 85th minute.

The home squad out-shot King, 19-4, and put ten shots on goal to the visitors’ three.

Ludwig Wille made a pair of saves for Milligan in the victory, while Francisco Alvarez stopped five shots in defeat.

Milligan (2-0-0) will next host WVU Tech on Thursday at 5 p.m., while King (1-1-0) continues its season Thursday with a 7:30 p.m. match at Mars Hill.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather.