The University of Akron Athletics
Akron Drops MAC Contest at Northern Illinois, 1-0
October 14 | Men's Soccer
Akron (8-4-1, 2-1 MAC), could not come up with the equalizer as
Northern Illinois (11-3-0, 4-0 MAC) used a goal in the 77th minute
to record a 1-0 victory over the Zips Saturday afternoon at Huskie
Soccer Field.
This is just the second win for the Huskies in the all-time series
as the Zips hold an 11-2 advantage and are 5-1 in games at Huskie
Soccer Field. The loss is the first for Akron in MAC play since a
1-0 loss to Western Michigan on Oct. 15, 2004. The Huskies are now
in the driver's seat for the No. 1 seed in the MAC Tournament with
just one league game remaining. The No. 1 seed with host the
semifinal and final matches on Nov. 3 and 5. The winner of the
tournament gains the MAC's automatic bid to the NCAA
Tournament.
Akron finished with 16 shots to the Huskies' 14, with nine of
Akron's attempts on frame. NIU had eight shots on goal as
goalkeeper
Evan Bush (Concord,
Ohio/Lake Catholic) recorded a season-high seven saves.
Northern Illinois came up with the only score of the game at 76:04
when Marcus McCarty connected on his eighth goal of the season.
Coming off a long throw in, the ball was headed over to McCarty who
used a strong kick off his right leg to power the ball past
Bush.
"Besides the long throw ins and set pieces, they didn't really
generate much from the run of play," said head coach
Caleb Porter. "But you have
to give credit to them, they are effective at what they do and they
got it done today."
Akron had a dangerous chance in the 31st minute when NIU keeper
Joe Zimka had to dive to his left to stop Elliot Bradbrook's
(Kent, England/Leigh City Technology/Ashland) free kick as it
curled toward the back post. Bradbrook had another golden
opportunity in the 78th minute with the Zips trailing 1-0 as his
header off Ashley Kozicki's
(Kresgeville, Pa./Pleasant Valley/St. John's) corner kick bounced
off the crossbar and back into play where the Huskies were able to
clear it out.
"We were a bit unlucky with those shots off the bar as we were all
over them in the second half," Porter said. "I though we outplayed
them in the second half, but that doesn't always mean you are going
to get the win."
The teams were knotted at the half with seven shots each. Akron
had three shots on goal while the Huskies were credited with
five.
Sinisa Ubiparipovic
(Mentor, Ohio/Mentor/UIC) nearly snuck one into the top of the net
in the 52nd minute as his free kick bounced off the crossbar and
back into the field of play. The Zips set up a beautiful play at
57:23 when Kozicki found himself with an open shot that went into
the net, but the Zips were called offsides on the play.
Ubiparipovic was injured on a foul just outside the penalty box in
the 65th minute and did not return to the game.
"Losing Sinisa definitely changed the momentum for us," Porter
said. "But our guys were able to regroup and kept fighting."
Akron is back in action this Wednesday at home as it takes on the
Michigan Wolverines at 7:30 p.m. at Lee Jackson Field. Fans will
have an opportunity to win $30,000 in the "Kicks for Ka$h"
promotion.
