The University of Akron Athletics
No. 1 Men's Soccer Locks Down No. 3 Wake Forest, 2-0
September 05 | Men's Soccer
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The No. 1 University of Akron men's soccer team improved to 2-0 on the young season with a dominating 2-0 victory at No. 3 Wake Forest Sunday night at Spry Stadium.
With the win, the Zips completed their two-game sweep of the Atlantic Coast Conference before 4,583 fans; representing the largest regular-season crowd in the history of Spry Stadium. UA shut out No. 4 North Carolina, 3-0, in the season opener Friday night.
"Back in 2007 when Anthony (Ampaipitakwong) and Michael (Nanchoff) - two guys from my first recruiting class - were freshmen, we came to North Carolina on this same trip and were defeated by Wake Forest, 3-1, and North Carolina, 3-0," said Akron head coach Caleb Porter. "So to come back and get two results against two of the best and well-coached programs in the country three years later is very special."
The Zips received goals from true freshman Darren Mattocks and junior Hermann Trophy candidate Darlington Nagbe and the defense took care of the rest with a suffocating performance of one of the nation's premiere programs. UA held Wake Forest to just four shots for the game though none were on goal. For the weekend, the Zips out-scored No. 4 North Carolina and No. 3 Wake Forest, 5-0.
Nagbe hooked up with Mattocks to give the Zips a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute against the Demon Deacons. Mattocks, who had slipped behind the Wake Forest back line, received a well-struck chip pass from Nagbe, raced down the field on the left wing and fired just inside the near post for his first collegiate goal.
"I thought Darlington and Darren had really good chemistry up top and I was happy to see Darren get his first goal; his first of what I think wil be many," Porter said.
The Zips pinned the Demon Deacons in their territory for much of the game's first 45 minutes and posted advantages in shots (4-1) and corner kicks (7-0) during that time. In fact, Wake Forest was held without a shot until a header by Kyle Emerson went wide in the game's 40th minute.
In contrast, the Zips attack was sharp with four different players attempting shots in a fluid first half that kept the pressure on the Wake Forest defense from start to finish.
Michael Nanchoff nearly made it 2-0 in the 22nd minute but the junior's direct free kick from 30 yards banged off the cross bar. Nanchoff was involved in another opportunity before the half when he momentarily found himself one-on-one with the keeper in the box after receiving a pass from Nagbe. But the Demon Deacons' defense responded quickly and Nanchoff was unable to get off a shot.
The Zips were just as focused in the second half.
Nagbe made it 2-0 lead in 53rd minute with his second goal in as many games this season. After taking a cross from Kofi Sarkodie, Nagbe put a beautiful touch on the ball, lofting it into the far corner of the net from 16 yards out.
The Zips will next travel to Bowling Green Saturday to start Mid-American Conference play. UA and BGSU will kick off at 1 p.m. ET
Zips Notebook: Akron improved to 9-3-2 against top 25 teams under Porter and 7-0-1 since 2008 ... The Zips also extended their regular-season road win streak to 14 games and its regular-season road unbeaten streak to 18 games (16-0-2) ... UA improved to 2-2 all-time versus Wake Forest ... The Zips are 47-0-0 when leading at halftime under Porter, who is in his fifth season at UA.
