The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Ohio State
Men's Soccer Shuts Out Ohio State, 1-0
September 24 | Men's Soccer
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AKRON, Ohio – The No. 10 University of Akron men's soccer team dominated early and held on late in a 1-0 victory over Ohio State in front of 3,328 fans Tuesday night at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field.
Zac Portillos scored the match's lone goal in the seventh minute and Robbie Derschang made a key defensive play late to preserve the win for the Zips, who improved to 6-2-0 on the year.
For the second consecutive match, Akron jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first half. Adam Najem initiated the play with a rocket that banged off the right cross bar and fell perfectly at the feet of Portillos, who cashed in from straight away with a shot that sailed over the keeper and into the back of the net.
UA was in complete control in the first half, out-shooting OSU 7-1 overall and putting three shots on frame, but a second goal did not come.
The Zips' pressure continued after the break and UA nearly broke through in the 56th minute when Najem sent a corner in from the left side of the field. Portillos squared it up and fired from 12 yards out, but the Ohio State keeper, Alex Ivanov, who finished the night with five stops, got a hand up to deflect it off the cross bar and out of harm's way.
Chasing the equalizer, the Buckeyes (2-3-2) threw numbers forward late and created a few frantic moments in the final 20 minutes.
One particularly dangerous moment came in the 86th minute when Alec Lowell whipped an OSU corner kick in that skipped across the goal and found the foot of Zach Mason. But Derchang crashed across the box and and blocked the shot to neutralize the threat.
The superb play of Zips goalkeeper Fernando Pina was also crucial in the final moments as the redshirt freshman did a commendable job managing his box on potentially dangerous Ohio State set pieces to earn his second consecutive clean sheet.
For the match, Akron out-shot Ohio State 15-6 and allowed just one shot on goal.
The Zips will next jump back into Mid-American Conference play this Sunday when they travel to West Virginia for a 7 p.m. kick off.
Zips Notebook: UA was forced to play without starters Saad Abdul-Salaam, Aodhan Quinn and Louis Cross due to injuries ... Akron improved to 27-6-3 all-time against Ohio State and is unbeaten in its last 11 matches (10-0-1) on its home field versus the Buckeyes since the 1981 season ... Pina has now recorded four shutouts in eight matches this fall ... the last seven (5-2) UA matches have been decided by one goal ... the Zips had six matches (6-0) decided by one goal in all of 2012 ... Akron is 23-4-4 versus teams from the Big Ten Conference since 2007.
