CENTRAL, S.C. – An early goal seemed to be a sign of things to come for No. 21 Southern Wesleyan but the Warriors had to hold on in the end for a 2-1 win over Milligan on Saturday night.

The Warriors got on the board first in the 4th minute as Bruno Liozzi knocked home his first goal of the season off a pass from Richie Barbetty.  At that point it looked as if the Warriors might cruise to victory but Milligan's defense tightened down the rest of the half.

In the second half Joao Oliveira got his first goal of the season in the 63rd minute.  Oliveira scored after a beautiful setup by his teammates as both Bruno Liozzi and Juan Agudelo built up the attack on the left side before finding Oliveira open in front of the net.  That goal gave the Warriors some breathing room but that all changed in the 84th minute.

SWU was whistled for a foul in the box, one of 10 fouls against the Warriors in the second half after just one whistle in the first half.  Andre Ottoni stepped up and put the ball past Ruben Rodriguez to pull the Buffaloes (1-3) to within one.  A foul on SWU gave Milligan a free kick from 25 yards out and as all 11 players descended on the goal trying to desperately record the equalizer the final horn sounded and the Warriors notched their third victory of the season.

A very physical game as both sides had several players subbed off after injuries.  Twenty-two fouls were called in the match – 11 each way – and several more could have been called.  Ruben Rodriguez made three saves in goal for SWU and Claudio Sanches cleared a ball destined for the back of the net as well.  Dan Ball made two stops for Milligan.

The Warriors will be off until the weekend as they travel to Thomas University (Ga.) to take part in a classic, playing the hosts on Friday and then taking on Southeastern on Saturday.