The University of Akron Athletics
Men's Soccer Falls at South Florida in Double Overtime, 2-1
September 04 | Men's Soccer
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TAMPA, Fla. - After battling with South Florida to double overtime in search of its first victory of the 2014 campaign, the University of Akron men's soccer team dropped its second straight match to the Bulls to open the season on Thursday, 2-1.
South Florida (1-1) opened up the game with a spread of weak shot attempts, taking two from deep outside of the box and having multiple blocked by Zips defenders.
Lucas Baldin connected for the Bulls in the 40th minute from the top right corner of the box to give USF a 1-0 lead heading into the half.
After making no substitutions in the first period, the Zips came out of the half with four new players on the pitch and took two shots on goal in the first seven minutes, one by freshman Anthony Macchione and the second by sophomore Adam Najem.
Freshman Stuart Holthusen, who entered the game in the 66th minute to replace Macchione, took a penalty shot after being fouled in the box in the 72nd minute that passed by the right side of South Florida goalkeeper Spasoje Stefanovic to tie the game up at one a piece.
Neither team came through with a go-ahead goal in the second half of play as both teams took five shots a piece and committed nine fouls in the period.
While each team took one shot in the first overtime period, neither found the back of the net until the second overtime. Despite starting the period with three straight corner kicks, Akron (0-2) conceded the winning goal to the Bulls with just 30 seconds remaining in the match when Baldin took a loose ball at the top of the box box off of a scrambled header and turned to put it past junior goalkeeper Jake Fenlason.
"We should have managed the final minute better to make sure we at least get a tie out of it," noted head coach Jared Embick. "But we panicked and lost our composure and paid the price. At this time, this young team is learning what it takes to win. We still make too many mistakes but there has been improvement on both sides of the ball."
Fenlason played all 109 minutes and 30 seconds in net for Akron, totalling four saves.
"We are getting closer to putting it together and going on a streak," Embick continued. "We played two very good opponents on the road in tough environments. We played to win both but didn't These experiences will speed up the learning curve and help us prepare for a run into the postseason."
The Zips return to action in Florida in less than 48 hours as they will take on Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday evening beginning at 7 p.m.
Video highlights courtesy of USF Athletics
