The University of Akron Athletics
No. 1 Men's Soccer Blitzes By Penn State, 3-0
October 29 | Men's Soccer
Forward Teal Bunbury scored two
goals and goalkeeper David Meves turned in his
best performance of the season as the No. 1 University of Akron
men's soccer team defeated Penn State, 3-0, Wednesday night at Lee
Jackson Field.
Bunbury, who has scored at least one goal in nine of his last 11
games, found the net twice in the first half while Meves came up
with big play after big play with a season-high five saves to
preserve the Zips' 13th shutout in 16 games. With the win, Akron
(16-0-0) remained perfect on the season while running its
undefeated streak at home to 30 straight (28-0-2) regular-season
matches.
The Zips' attack was on full display early on as UA began the game
with a barrage of scoring opportunities, culminating in Bunbury's
13th goal of the year in the fifth minute. Kofi Sarkodie initiated
the play with a fine cross into the middle of the box where Bunbury
redirected it into the net from 12 yards out.
But the sophomore Bunbury, who has now recorded six multiple-goal
performances - including four in 2009 - during his young career,
wasn't finished there and added his 14th goal of the fall in grand
fashion in the 24th minute. The native of Prior Lake, Minn., took a
throw-in from Anthony Ampaipitakwong and
fired a laser from 30 yards into the right-hand corner of the net
to give UA a 2-0 lead.
"I thought we came out flying and jumped on them early but then
coasted a little," said UA head coach Caleb Porter. "We have not
played teams recently that have been able to punish us when we let
our guard down, but Penn State's that type of team. And from here
on out, all the teams we play are going to be that type of
team."
Despite the large opening margin, Penn State (9-5-2) did not back
down and played a fairly even first half with the Zips from that
moment on. Meves, who hasn't been challenged all that frequently
because of UA's constant defensive pressure, made several big plays
to keep Penn State from capitalizing on any scoring
opportunities.
"Penn State had some good chances - probably as good of chances as
anybody's has had - but David Meves was tremendous
tonight," Porter said. "He was up to the challenge and that's what
a good goalkeeper needs to do."
The true freshman thwarted PSU's first real scoring opportunity in
the 26th minute by gobbling up a short-range shot from Jason
Yeisley following a Penn State corner kick. Meves was up to the
task again in the 38th minute by denying a shot by Matheus Braga
before catching a break when Corey Hertzog rang the post just
before halftime.
Meves made two more saves - both from distance - in the first six
minutes of the second half, then momentum shifted heavily back in
Akron's favor the rest of the way. From there UA dominated the ball
and prevented the Nittany Lions from mounting any type of rally to
keep its perfect 6-0 mark at Lee Jackson Field this year
intact.
Forward Darlington Nagbe put the
game out of reach in the 62nd minute with his eighth goal of the
season. The play was initiated by an Akron free kick as Ben
Zemanski corralled a loose ball in front of the net and found
Nagbe, who banged it home for his fourth goal in three
contests.
For the game, UA out-shot PSU, 16-11, while improving to 4-0
against Big Ten schools this season after also defeating Indiana
(1-0), Ohio State (3-0) and Michigan (5-1).
"In the second half, we stayed on edge and controlled both sides of
the ball," Porter said. "When we play like that, it will be
difficult for even the best teams to create chances against us. Our
attack will always be tough to stop, but our edge down the stretch
will be our defending, belief and team chemistry. If we keep them
all going, it will take a good team to beat us. From here on out
every team we play is going to be good starting next week with
Michigan State."
The Zips will a have a week to prepare for their next opponent as
Michigan State comes to Lee Jackson Field next Wednesday night for
a 7:30 p.m. kick off. The game will be broadcast locally on 1350 AM
as well as streamed live on GoZips.com via the Zips Zone
subscription package.
Zips Notebook: UA has out-scored its Big Ten
opponents, 12-1, in 2009 ... Akron's defense has allowed just three
goals in 1,440:00 of play for a team goals-against-average of 0.19.
The NCAA's record for lowest GAA in a season is 0.24; set by
Evansville in 1990 ... The Zips have recorded 13 shutouts this fall
with two regular-season games and the postseason yet to go. The
school's record for most shutouts in a single season is 15 and was
set in 2005 ... UA has now gone 28 games since it last allowed a
goal in the first half and 52 games since it last trailed at the
intermission ... Porter's Zips are 8-1-3 versus teams from the Big
Ten since 2007 ... Meves has yet to allow a goal at Lee Jackson
Field this season.
