The University of Akron Athletics
Women?s Soccer Tops AC Sparta Prague, 3-2
July 05 | Women's Soccer
– The University of Akron women's soccer team scored a 3-2
victory over AC Sparta Prague on Wednesday, in its first of three
matches during its summer tour of Europe.
After UA goalkeeper Krystin Wilson (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson HS)
pulled off a pair of saves, Sparta managed to break through and
take a 1-0 lead with 20 minutes gone in the first half, but the
Zips quickly evened the contest on a well executed set play. Jessica
Fix (Irwin, Pa/Norwin HS) took the free kick and Kate
Ferrara (Baldwinsville, N.Y./Charles W. Baker HS) flicked the
ball to Heather Rains (Hamilton, Ohio/Stephan T. Badin
HS), who finished the sequence with a header.
Ten minutes into the second half, Akron took a 2-1 lead when Sarah
Richardson (Avon Lake, Ohio/Avon Lake HS) broke free on a
weak-side run, and then 15 minutes later the Zips extended the lead
to 3-1 when Donna Swift (Hartlepool, England/Malone College)
rocketed the ball off the crossbar and Adrienne
Knox (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington-Kilbourne HS) followed up to
provide the insurance score.
Sparta made it 3-2 late in the second period, finding the net
during a penalty kick opportunity.
"This was a very good game of soccer," Akron head coach Catherine
Byrne said. "Sparta was technically polished, quick and
tactically superior, but we were able to hold our own and played a
well executed game."
The win capped off a day of sightseeing in Prague, the capital city
of the Czech Republic. The team is scheduled to tour Konopiste
Castle, a medieval fort, on Thursday. The Zips' European tour
continues through July 12.
Check back to GoZips.com on Friday for the first installment of
senior goalkeeper Krystin Wilson's travel diary.
