Army's Comeback Bid Falls Short at Holy Cross

Sunday, October 28

Worcester, MA

3 PM

Army West Point

6-9-1, 3-5-0PL

Holy Cross

3-9-4, 2-5-1PL

ARMY

Holy Cross

Army's Comeback Bid Falls Short at Holy Cross

October 28, 2018 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

WORCESTER, Mass. – Despite two goals by Sam Millikan in the final 15 minutes, the Army West Point men's soccer team was unable to complete the comeback and ultimately fell, 3-2, to Holy Cross on Sunday afternoon at Linda Johnson Smith Stadium.

"It took time for us to settle down," head coach Russell Payne said. "We finished our chances a little too late and we ran out of time."

There was plenty of offense between the Black Knights (6-9-1, 3-5 Patriot League) and the Crusaders (3-9-4, 2-5-1 Patriot League) as the two sides combined for five goals on 32 shots. Army held the slight edge in shots, 18-14, while generating seven corners to the Crusaders' five.

Millikan was the primary goal scorer opposite Holy Cross, netting a pair of scores late in the second half in a heroic effort.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

Millikan recorded his first career multi-goal game.
He is the third Cadet this season to post a multi-goal outing.
He became the first freshman to net two goals in a game since Nick Williams did against VMI on Aug. 30, 2013.
The two scores put Millikan at three for the season.
Tyler Mitchiner notched his second assist of the year and the fifth of his career.
Army's 18 shots and seven corners in the game were both season-highs.
It was the seventh time this season that the Black Knights outshot the opposition.
Stoll made four of his six saves in the opening half.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Black Knights committed a foul on their own end of the field awarding Holy Cross a free kick. The Army defense was unable to successfully clear the ball and it resulted in a pair of passes from Owen Azrak and Luka Milidragovic to set up R.J. Place for the score in front of the net.
The Crusaders had an opportunity to add an insurance score in the 44th minute when they were awarded a penalty kick, but Stoll came up with the diving denial to keep the deficit at one.
Less than a minute into the second half, Simon Becher took the ball and nearly went the entire length of the field before finding enough space to score, extending the Crusaders' lead to two.
Holy Cross pushed their advantage to three, 3-0, in the 70th minute after Becher sent a through ball to Milidragovic and he floated a shot into the back of the net.
Trailing 3-0, Millikan made a run at a ball that was on its way into the hands of the Holy Cross goalkeeper. However, the freshman got the first touch on the ball and sent it into an open net for Army's first score of the afternoon.
In the 84th minute, Mitchiner sent a cross in from the left side of the field to the far post. Millikan was awaiting the pass as it trickled past several Holy Cross defenders and he scored to make it a one-goal game.

UP NEXT
Army will close out the regular season on Friday when American treks to West Point for a 7 p.m. Patriot League meeting at Malek Stadium at Clinton Field. The Black Knights will honor seniors Ibrahim Seye and Grayson Naquin prior to the match.