The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Duquesne
Despite Defensive Efforts Women's Soccer Drops Final Non-Conference Game 2-0
September 16 | Women's Soccer
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Box Score
PITTSBURGH, Pa. --- Akron women's soccer was solid defensively but Duquesne scored a goal in each half en route to beating the Zips, 2-0, in their final non-conference game of the year on Friday night at Rooney Field.
Sophomores Shea O'Brien (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) and Erica Schrader (Blacklick, Ohio), along with freshmen Chloe Allen (Novi, Mich.), Julia Crowe (Ann Arbor, Mich.), and Ashley Amato (Pittsburgh, Pa.) paced the offensive efforts with one shot each.
Senior Annabelle Hegeman (Frostburg, Md.) made one save for the Zips in goal.
The first half of the contest was split in time of possession. The Dukes controlled the initial 15 minutes of the game with the ball in their offensive third before the Zips took control for the next 15 minutes. Akron possessed and moved the ball well inside their offensive end of the field but couldn't find the back of the net. Akron and Duquesne battled in the final minutes of the half to get anything going in either offensive ends.
The Zips trailed in the shot column, 4-to-5, after 45 minutes of play, but had the advantage in shots on goal 2-to-1.
The Dukes got on the scoreboard early in the contest for a 1-0 advantage in the 11' of play. Duquesne crossed a ball up into the box that went long. The Dukes won a 50/50 ball at top of the box and Malea Fabean sent a shot to the top right corner of the goal out of the reach of a diving Hegeman.
O'Brien registered the Zips first shot of the night in the 19' from 30 yards out. The midfielder ripped a shot from the middle of the pitch that was saved by the Dukes keeper Kyra Murphy
The Zips nearly tied the game up at one in the 21'. Schrader beat two defenders and struck a shot from 25 yards out that was deflected out of bounds by a diving Murphy. The Dukes sent away from the ensuing corner kick from the Zips.
Duquesne increased its lead to 2-0 at the 71:25 mark of the game. Katie O'Connor chipped a ball into the back after receiving a pass from Italia Biondi
Despite the result, the defensive back unit made it difficult for the Dukes to get a good look on net. Freshman Julia Crowe (Ann Arbor, Mich.) made a save in the 76th minute that would have resulted in a goal. Junior Sydney Schipani (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and freshmen Amy Rogozinski (Westlake, Ohio) and Amato were all over the field disrupting the Dukes offense.
Crowe almost put the Zips in the goal column at the 79:23 mark with time winding down. The defenseman found herself just outside the box on the left side of the field and ripped a shot that curled to the left side of the net but the Dukes keeper, Lexi Cooke, made a diving stop.
Akron begins Mid-American Conference play on Friday, Sept. 23. The Zips travel to Oxford, Ohio, for an afternoon showdown with Miami (Ohio). First kick is set for 4 p.m.
