By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media
WALESKA, Ga. - A pair of scores in the first half gave the Eagles the winning recipe against Milligan (Tenn.) on Saturday evening, as Reinhardt claimed back-to-back Appalachian Athletic Conference wins with a 3-1 outcome over the Buffaloes.
The hometown team is now one game away from being back to .500 at 3-4 on the season with a 2-1 record inside league action.
"It was a hard-fought AAC battle tonight against a well-coached side in Milligan," head coach Joey Johnson said. "Credit to Coach Lilly and his players for making tactical adjustments in the second half that created additional challenges for us to overcome. With each additional game of experience for our young group, we are developing a better understanding of how much commitment, effort, discipline and continual focus is necessary to be successful at this level. I am pleased with our guys for their resilience and the work they put in today."
Aaron Whitten opened the scoring at 22:37 and then Eric Weixlbaumer joined the party with a netted shot a few minutes later in the 29th minute. Halftime would come and go before Milligan would make some offensive changes and have multiple attempts at scoring knocked away by goalie Niko Tzevelekos (four saves).
The Buffaloes finally broke through into the scoresheet after multiple shots came close to going in before cutting their deficit in half at 72:17. Eleven minutes later, however, Whitten put the contest to rest with his second goal of the night and a two-score victory.
Reinhardt led in shots, 15-9, as Whitten owned seven of them.
The club goes for three-consecutive triumphs next week when No. 21 Tennessee Wesleyan comes to town on Sept. 25 for a matchup under the lights at 7 p.m.
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