The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
West Virginia
Men's Soccer Improves to 2-0 in MAC Play with 3-2 Win over West Virginia
October 17 | Men's Soccer
BOXSCORE IN PDF | PHOTO GALLERY | HIGHLIGHTS
AKRON, Ohio — Akron men's soccer battled West Virginia for a 3-2 come-from-behind win in Mid-American Conference play on Friday night at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field.
The Zips improved to 8-4-1 overall and 2-0 in MAC play, while the Mountaineers fell to 6-6-1 overall and 0-1-1 in the conference.
"This was a big win for us," said Akron head coach Jared Embick. "We grinded it out."
In the 12th minute, WVU's Andy Bevin scored on an open net as UA goalkeeper Jake Fenlason (San Diego, Calif.) was defending at the top of the box.
Fenlason came up with a huge save in the 19th minute as midfielder Mike Desiderio had a shot across the box.
In the 23rd minute, the Zips had the game's first corner kick, but could not convert. One minute later, UA had another corner, sophomore Victor Souto (Sao Paolo, Brazil) had a shot on goal that was stopped by WVU goalie Lee Johnston.
In the 25th minute, the Mountaineers went ahead 2-0 on another goal by Bevin.
Two minutes later, freshman forward Stuart Holthusen (Auckland, New Zealand) found the back of the net for the Zips, bringing Akron within one, 2-1.
Sophomore midfielder Adam Najem (Clifton, N.J.) tied the game up with a free kick in the 28th minute.
Two minutes later on a corner, redshirt freshman forward Sam Gainford (Whitehaven, England) had shot to take the lead, but Johnston came up with the stop.
In the 34th minute, WVU had it first corner kick of the game and came up empty.
In the 40th minute, the Zips had another chance to take the lead. Senior forward Saad Abdul-Salaam (Gahanna, Ohio) paddled a shot from right to left through the box, out of the reach of Najem and Holthusen.
Gainford had a shot in the 44th minute that led to a corner kick.
With 15 seconds to go in the half, Holthusen took a free kick that lobbed over the net.
The game was tied 2-2 at intermission.
In the 52nd minute, Akron took its first lead with a goal by freshman forward Nate Shultz (Cleveland, Ohio), assisted by redshirt freshman midfielder Robby Dambrot (Akron, Ohio). The goal was the first in Shultz's collegiate career and turned out to be the game-winner.
"We had momentum after we tied it 2-2," Shultz said. "Robby played a beautiful ball. I just slid it in. It's the best feeling ever, scoring for Akron."
In the 57th minute, WVU forward Jamie Merriam received his second yellow card (red) and was ejected from the game. The Mountaineers played down a man the rest of the game.
In the 75th minute, the Zips had a corner kick.
With 75 seconds left to play, WVU had a shot to tie the game and freshman midfielder Jesse Garcia-Aguilar (Portland, Ore.) helped Fenlason with a huge defensive save to preserve the win.
"This was a big step for us after being down 2-0," Embick said. "You start to see signs of a championship team when you come back from being behind. It shows our growth and belief."
Overall, WVU had 12 shots to UA's 11. The Zips had seven shots on goal, compared to the Mountaineers' four. Akron had seven corner kicks; West Virginia had two.
Fenlason recorded two saves in his 90 minutes of action. Lee had four saves for the Mountaineers.
Akron continues its four-game homestand on Saturday, Oct. 25 when the Zips host Western Michigan at 7 p.m. in Mid-American Conference play at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field.
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