The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Wake Forest
Quinn's First-Half Penalty Kick Downs No. 15 Wake Forest, 1-0
October 15 | Men's Soccer
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AKRON, Ohio – Behind a dominant first half and penalty kick by Aodhan Quinn in the 42nd minute, The No. 23 University of Akron men's soccer team knocked off No. 15 Wake Forest Tuesday night at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field.
It was a signature win for the Zips (9-3-0), who have gone 2-0 since their set back against Hartwick earlier this month. It was also their first positive result against a nationally-ranked opponent this fall.
Sophomore Matt Foldesy was tackled from behind in the box in the 42nd minute to set up Quinn's first penalty kick of the season. The senior, who returned to the Akron lineup last Wednesday after missing the previous four matches with an ankle injury, came through with his second game winner of the year.
With the loss, the Demon Deacons fell to 6-3-4.
"I thought it was really a game of two halves," said UA head coach Jared Embick. "In the first half, I thought we were excellent. In the second half, I thought Wake Forest pressed us. We turned the ball over and couldn't get much going but we were able to hold on.
"But against a good opponent, you're going to have those moments. In the end, our guys showed a lot of fight and how badly they wanted to win the game and that's what helped us pull it out."
Akron was in complete control in the first half, posting a shots advantage of 10-3. Moreover, UA generated a number of dangerous chances and pushed the Wake Forest defense to its limit.
In particular, Quinn had a pair of breakaway shots saved by the Demon Deacons' goalkeeper Alec Ferrell midway through the first half. Ferrell also made quality stops of a header by Louis Cross on an Akron corner kick and a straight-away shot by Reinaldo Brenes.
Possession was much more balanced in the second half but Wake Forest was the more threatening side as it pushed for the equalizer.
The Deacs best chance came in the 77th minute when Ross Tomaselli sent a direct free kick from straight on through the wall but Zips goalkeeper Fernando Pina sniffed it out and made the stop.
It was one of four saves in the second half for Pina, who recorded his sixth shutout of the season. The redshirt freshman recorded five stops overall Tuesday.
Akron will look to stay hot when it jumps back into Mid-American Conference play Friday night at Buffalo. The Zips and Bulls will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Zips Notebook: Akron improved to 8-1-0 when scoring first and 5-0-0 when leading at the half this fall ... UA is 3-2-1 all-time against Wake Forest in a series that dates back to 1981 ... Brenes was helped off the field with an injury late in the first half ... Robbie Derschang logged 68 minutes but also had to come off with an injury ... Quinn has recorded five game-winning goals in his three seasons at Akron ... Akron is 8-2 in one-goal games in 2013.
