BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C.— The Montreat women's soccer program slid past the Milligan University Buffaloes on Saturday in an AAC Tournament quarterfinal matchup, 1-0. The victory moved the Cavaliers to 13-3 on the season and advanced the squad into the conference semifinals next week.
 
The first half featured plenty of ebbing and flowing between the battling teams. Milligan controlled most of the possession in the opening 15 minutes of play, followed by a Montreat-dominated 15-minute sequence. Both sides created shots, but neither troubled the other's keeper beyond relatively routine saves.
 
Milligan did start to dictate the pace of play again over the final 15 minutes of the first half. Ellie Cachiaras produced three shots on target over the final six minutes of the frame, but Payton Landy stepped up time after time, working toward her sixth clean sheet this season, including her third in the last four matches.
 
Coming out of the halftime break scoreless, it didn't take long for Montreat to break the deadlock. In the 46^th minute, Isabel Aguilar chipped a pass from central midfield toward Jackie Montes. Montes won a footrace against both a closing Milligan defender and goalkeeper, chipped a shot from inside the left corner of the penalty area over the goalie and watched it bounce into the netting for her 13^th tally of the year.
 
"[Aguilar] sent in a great chip, and the defender was going to go get it, but the goalie said, 'I got it, I got it,'" Montes noted. "You can never stop trying, so I saw the little space in-between them, and I just stuck my foot in, and it just went over the keeper."
 
Trailing so suddenly out of halftime, Milligan had to fend off Montreat's sudden surge of possession and pressure. Against the run of play, Ashlen Burch thought she had an answer. Cachiaras charged up the right side of the attacking third and sent in a cross toward Burch's the central run. Burch was all alone for an attempted volley near the penalty spot, but the ball bounced high off the cold, hard turf, and Burch couldn't direct the volley on frame.
 
The golden opportunity seemed to give Milligan new life as the Buffaloes started to push for the needed goal. Landy and the Cavalier defense, especially with the standout work on the back line by Maria Camilo, held the Buffaloes at bay. It wasn't until the 87^th minute—the same minute in which Milligan leveled the match at Montreat back on Sept. 25—that Milligan nearly broke through again.
 
Cachiaras broke down the right side of the Montreat attacking third and, with defenders closing in, cut back to the left and dribbled inside the 18-yard box. From a difficult angle in space, Cachiaras curled a shot toward the back post. Fortunately for Montreat, the shot didn't tuck in enough and wrapped around the outside of the far post. 
 
Montreat held off Milligan and limited the opportunities down the stretch, sealing the 1-0 win to advance to the semifinal round of the AAC Tournament.
 
"I am exceedingly proud of this group," said head coach Kristin Eggert. "It is always tough to beat a team twice, and come tournament time, everybody is going to battle until the end. We found a way to get it in the back of the net and close the match out with a clean sheet."
 
Shots were fairly even over 90 minutes of game action, with the Cavs holding just a slight edge (15-14). Both sides mustered six total shots on frame. Landy made six saves to seal her sixth shutout, and Montes tallied her third game-winning goal of the season, including her second in consecutive 1-0 wins.
 
Montreat women's soccer now advances to the AAC Tournament semifinals where Truett McConnell University awaits. The 21^st-ranked Bears will host the Cavaliers on Wednesday at a time yet to be determined.