Zips? Men?s Soccer Cruises to 3-0 Win

August 27 | Men's Soccer

AKRON – After claiming a 2-0 exhibition victory Friday night over Michigan State in Ft. Wayne, Ind., the University of Akron men's soccer team returned home Sunday afternoon for a final exhibition match and cruised to a 3-0 decision over Cleveland State at Lee Jackson Field.

Stefan Ostergren scored once and assisted on another goal which Michael Nanchoff tallied two assists. Adding to the scoring was Steve Zakuani with a goal, Pablo Moreira with a goal and Corey Sipos with an assist.

"We did some things very well both offensively and defensively," said head coach Caleb Porter. "We still have some fine tuning. I am very pleased with where we are at this point in the season. I want to thank the community, the students and the Rowdies for coming out today. They provided an excellent atmosphere."

The Zips, who out-shot the Vikings 22-5, set the tone early when Ostergren rocketed a shot off the crossbar less than five minutes into the match. A minute later, Cleveland State countered with a Roshard Gilbert shot, which sailed wide left. Zakuani responded with the first of his six shots on goal, which CSU keeper Dan Duric deflected. Ben Zamanski followed with a shot, which went wide after going off a CSU player for one of the Zips' seven first-half corner kicks.

Fourteen minutes into the first half, Cleveland State had its only other scoring opportunity when Marco DiFranco's shot missed.

From that point on, the first half was dominated by Akron. Over a four and a half minute span, Akron got off five shots and took four corner kicks. The Zips would break the scoreless tie eight minutes before halftime. Ostergren, from the left side, sent a ball into the box. Nanchoff headed the ball to the middle, where Zakuani gathered it and placed the ball in the lower right corner from six yards out.

The ball remained on Akron's side of the field over the final five minutes, leading to the Zips second goal of the match. With less than a minute. Nanchoff took a free kick, from near the same spot as his first assist, which found Sipos near the left side of the goal. Siops headed the ball down and Ostergren banged the ball home.

Akron kept the pressure on to start the second half as Zakuani and Nanchoff each had good looks on goal inside the first two minutes. Just over four minutes in, Akron got the ball on a turnover and pushed it up the right side. Steve Kalan found a streaking Moreira down the middle, who only had the keeper to beat. The senior would take advantage of the opportunity with a blast to the lower right to provide what proved to be the final score.

The Vikings did not go away easily. Just over a minute after Moreira's goal, Cleveland State got a free kick on a UA foul. Lined up in the middle of the field, just outside the box, DiFranco blasted the free kick to the right of Akron keeper Evan Bush. The junior was able to make the save, one of his two on the day.

The Zips regained momentum, taking three solid shots on goal. The last of those three came from the foot of Elliot Bradbrook which hit the crossbar.

Akron will open the 2007 regular-season this weekend, hosting the New Mexico on Friday (Aug. 31) at 7:30 pm and Alabama-Birmingham Sunday (Sept. 2) at 5:00 pm in the 2007 Westfield Cup. The annual soccer tournament at Lee Jackson Field will feature four matches Friday, including the UA women's team versus St. Francis at 5 pm, and four matches Sunday, including the UA women versus Binghamton at 7:30 pm.

"This week we need to get sharper in a few areas and get a little healthier," Porter said. "The preseason has laid the foundation for a successful fall campaign. Our first five matches will be a great measuring stick as all five (New Mexico, UAB, Wake Forest, North Carolina and Illinois-Chicago) played in last year's NCAA tournament."