The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Michigan State
Men's Soccer Falls at #19 Michigan State, 1-0
October 07 | Men's Soccer
BOXSCORE IN PDF
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Akron men's soccer fell at No. 19 Michigan State, 1-0, on Tuesday afternoon at DeMartin Stadium.
The Spartans improved to 6-2-2, while the Zips fell to 5-4-1 overall.
"I felt like we played well overall," said Akron head coach Jared Embick. "We couldn't find the goal we needed to tie. But in the second half, we did everything right but find the goal. We still need to play with a little more intensity on the road in the first half."
The lone Spartan score came late in the first half. MSU's Adam Montague collected the ball just over midfield and sent a pass up the right side for Jason Stacy. As Stacy raced to the ball, junior goalkeeper Jake Fenlason (San Diego, Calif.) raced out to try to fall on it before Stacy could get there. Stacy launched it into the right upper corner to put MSU on the board in the 35th minute.
Akron's best chance to score came in the 56th minute. After a corner play, MSU tried to get the ball deep into the offensive third, but it was redirected by sophomore midfielder Victor Souto (Sao Paolo, Brazil), who sent it ahead for a breakaway at midfield by freshman midfielder Richie Laryea (Toronto, Ont.). Laryea raced down the field with Jimmy Fiscus in hot pursuit, and Laryea's shot was batted by the Spartan keeper.
"Akron is a good team, and we knew that they would challenge us," said MSU coach Damon Rensing. "I thought we did a nice job of limiting their great chances today, and when they did get a good look, [Zach Bennett] came up with the save for us."
The Zips pressured in an attempt to get an equalizer. With just over 11 minutes remaining, Zach Carroll blocked a shot by freshman forward Stuart Holthusen (Wellington, New Zealand) at the top of the box. Holthusen again found himself with the ball two minutes later and drove outside to try to get a better angle, but Fiscus overtook him just outside the box and cleared it away.
"Michigan State is a quality team, and they punished us on a mistake and defended well to keep the lead," Embick said. "We need to improve on the effort and find some quality in the final third."
Overall, Akron out-shot MSU, 12-9. The Spartans had three shots on goal compared to Akron's two. Both teams had three corner kicks.
Fenlason recorded two saves in his 90 minutes of action.
Akron opens Mid-American Conference play at Bowling Green on Saturday, Oct. 11.
