The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Duquesne
Women's Soccer Ties in Home Exhibition Against Duquesne
August 15 | Women's Soccer
Follow Akron Women's Soccer on Twitter and Facebook
AKRON, Ohio - With 21 players seeing time in the team's lone fall exhibition match, the University of Akron women's soccer team played to a draw against Duquesne on Friday night at FirstEnergy Stadium - Cub Cadet Field.
A warmup for the regular season that certainly held the same intensity, the Zips came out swinging against the Dukes, taking the first three shots of the game. Duquesne had their share of opportunities early, however, taking seven corner kicks in the first 35 minutes. The Dukes took 10 total in the game compared to just three for Akron.
After out-shooting the Dukes in the first half 6-3, UA failed to win the shot battle in the remaining periods. The teams each took eight shots in the second half while Duquesne managed to out-shoot the Zips 7-3 between the two overtime periods.
Sophomore forward Karin Norman provided a moment toward the end of regulation that kept the crowd on its toes, 180 strong in the stands on a cool Friday evening. With eight seconds remaining, Norman took a pass up just to the front of the left post and squeezed the ball by her defender before just missing wide of the goal, sending the game to overtime.
While the Dukes seemingly controlled the possession game in the second half, neither team could find the back of the net as the two ten-minute periods passed through. Senior goalkeeper Alex Luevano-Harden made four critical saves in overtime and eight overall after starting the second half between the posts and sticking in that spot for the remainder of the game.
Senior forward Lani Smith led the team in both shots and shots on goal with six and three respectively. Norman and sophomore forward Sarah Sivic each contributed three shots while junior midfielder Holly Ohradzansky added two off the bench.
The Zips take to the road next weekend as they will face both Pittsburgh (Aug. 22) and Robert Morris (Aug. 24) in the Pittsurgh Tournament, while they return to Akron for their regular season home opener on Aug. 29 against the preseason ranked No. 5 Hokies of Virginia Tech.
