The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Butler
Women's Soccer Drops 2-0 Decision to Butler
August 28 | Women's Soccer
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Box Score
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Akron women's soccer team went into Indianapolis, Ind., for a battle with the defending Big East champions, Butler, but saw the Bulldogs come out on top over the Zips, 2-0, on Sunday afternoon.
"We worked hard today in the tough heat conditions. Butler is the defending Big East Champions so we knew it was going to be a big test for us," said head coach Noreen Herlihy. "Having said that, we were unlucky with the first goal as the ball took a massive deflection off of our defenders. But give credit to the freshman defense as they gave it their all and the team as a whole gave it their best effort."
Sophomore Erica Schrader (Blacklick, Ohio) tried to get the Zips an early lead in the 18' of play. The midfielder ripped a shot on goal but Butler's Hannah Luedtke was there to make the play.
The Bulldogs claimed a 1-0 advantage at the 28:42 mark of the first period. Maeve Burger headed the ball from the middle of the box that beat the Zips keeper senior Annabelle Hegeman (Frostburg, Md.) to the right side of the goal.
Akron strung together a pair of shots in the 58' of the second half. Junior Sydney Schipani (Pittsburgh, Pa.) sent a shot that was blocked by a Butler defender. Freshman Julia Crowe (Ann Arbor, Mich.) corralled the rebound and tallied a shot that strayed wide of the net.
Butler increased its lead to 2-0 in the 59' of play courtesy of a sliding effort by Serina Kashimoto from ten yards out.
Seniors Sarah Sivic (Broadview Heights, Ohio) and Hannah Werth (Bloomington, Minn.) each recorded a shot on goal in the final 30 minutes of play but could not sneak it past the Bulldogs keeper, Madison Card, who took over for Luedtke in the second half.
Werth led the way for the Zips with a pair of shots, while Sivic, Schrader, Schipani, and Crowe all recorded one each.
On the defensive side of the ball, Hegeman made a season-high eight saves in the contest in between the posts for Akron, while the defensive back line was solid all day making Butler work for an open look.
Akron returns to the pitch on Sunday, Sept. 4, as the Zips take on the Vikings from Cleveland State. The game is set to begin at 1 p.m. in Cleveland, Ohio.
