Zips Turn The Page To MAC Play

Friday, September 22

Akron, OH

7 pm

University of Akron

Northern Illinois

Photo by: Jeff Harwell

September 21 | Women's Soccer

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Match Notes (PDF)

Akron (1-6-1, 0-0-0 MAC) vs. Northern Illinois (3-3-1, 0-0-0 MAC)
Friday, Sept. 22
First Energy Stadium - Cub Cadet Field
Akron, Ohio • 7 p.m.
Live Stats: GoZips.com

Akron (1-6-1, 0-0-0 MAC) vs. Western Michigan (5-2-0, 0-0-0 MAC)
Sunday, Sept. 24
FirstEnergy Stadium - Cub Cadet Field
Akron, Ohio • 3 p.m.
Live Stats: GoZips.com
Watch: ESPN3 (Sept. 24)

Whats Ahead

The University of Akron women's soccer team turns the page to the Mid-American Conference portion of its schedule, as the Zips open MAC play this weekend against Northern Illinois on Sept. 22, at 7 p.m., before squaring off with Western Michigan on Sept. 24, at 3 p.m.

ESPN3

Akron's contest against Western Michigan on Sunday, Sept. 24, at 3 p.m., will be aired live on ESPN3 with Dave Bacon calling the play-by-play, and Otto Orf providing color commentary.

Scouting the Huskies

Northern Illinois enters MAC play owning a 3-3-1 record and have lost its last two contests to close out its non-conference schedule. The Huskies defeated Green Bay (3-0), UIC (2-1), and Western Illinois (1-0), but fell to Northern Iowa (2-3), Milwaukee (0-2), and Wisconsin (0-2), as well as a 0-0 double-overtime draw with New Mexico State. NIU was predicted to finish fifth in the West Division and received one first-place vote as the tournament champion in the MAC preseason poll.

Of the Huskies' eight team goals in 2017, Taylor Server leads NIU in scoring with five points, two goals and one assist, off of seven shots. Lauren Gierman has assisted on three of NIU 'seight goals, while six other Huskies have tallied a goal, respectively.

In her third year as the Huskies' primary keeper, Amy Annala has made all seven starts for Northern Illinois in the net. In 645 minutes of action, Annala owns a 1.12 goals against average, has allowed 8 goals, pulled in 28 saves, posted a .778 save percentage, and has recorded a clean sheet in all three wins.

Scouting the Broncos

Western Michigan currently sits in first place in the MAC West division after posting a 5-2 record in its non-conference schedule. The Broncos two losses came courtesy of a pair of Big Ten Conference opponents, Ohio State and Indiana. WMU was predicted to finish third in the MAC West division in the preseason poll, while receiving one first-place vote.

Grace Labadie and Tiffany Buckler lead the offensive charge for the Broncos tallying a combined five scores and 11 points through seven contests. Labadie owns three goals and an assist on 16 shots, while Buckler has totaled eight shots resulting in two goals. The pair have scored the game-winning tally in four of the five WMU victories.

The fourth year primary goalie for Western Michigan, Stephanie Heber, has started 62 games in her career as a Bronco. In her senior season, Heber has logged 650 minutes, surrendered seven goals, garnered a 0.97 goals against average, made 33 saves, and recorded a .825 save percentage. In four of the five WMU wins, the keeper has posted four clean sheets.

Series History

Akron and Northern Illinois meet on the pitch for the 17th time in program history, with the Huskies holding the advantage over the Zips, 8-6-2. In 12 contests against the Broncos, Akron is 1-9-2. Last year, UA played both NIU and WMU to a double-overtime, 0-0, draws on Oct. 14 and Oct. 16.

Coaches

Northern Illinois: John Ross is in his sixth season at the helm of the Huskies program. In his five years in DeKalb, Ill., Ross has posted a 28-43-17 overall record.

Western Michigan: Lauren Sinacola took over the WMU program in 2016 after spending three seasons as an assistant coach with the Broncos. In her first year as head coach, Sinacola led Western Michigan to a 18-12-1 record.

Akron: Noreen Herlihy is in her third season on the sidelines as the head coach of The University of Akron's women's soccer program. She owns an 11-29-7 record leading the Zips since taking over the program. In her first year in charge of the program, Herlihy and her staff led the 2015 Akron Zips to the Mid-American Conference tournament for the first time since 2009 and advanced to the semi-final round for the initial time in program history.

2017 Zips Tidbits

Akron predicted to place fifth in the MAC East in the 2017 preseason poll
Eight freshmen earned their first career start in the Zips 2017 season opener; Amani Jiu, Abigail Brown, Erin Babcock, Annamarie Alfery, Angela Boyce, Ryley Watt, Rylie Howman, Ally Brown
Amani Jiu notched her first career clean sheet against Milwaukee, 0-0, and her first career victory with a 3-0 shutout over Green Bay.
Erin Babcock notched her first career goal and first game-winning goal against Green Bay with a header off a corner kick.
Eliese LaCourt tallied her first collegiate assist against Milwaukee and scored her first career goal against Loyola.
Rachel Baughman and Catie Corrigan each scored their first goal of the 2017 campaign against Green Bay with each tallying their second career goal.
Erica Schrader assist to Babcock against Green Bay off a cornerkick was the juniors first of the season and second career assist.
Akron has been called for two yellow cards in 2017
Ashley Amato made her first start of the season after reutnring from a preseason injury. In her first start, the sophomore quickly impacted the game scoring her first two goals of the season and her first multi-goal game of her career.
The Zips have outshot their last four opponents, 45-43, and hold the advnantage in corner kicks, 18-15, in 360 minutes of play.

Fountain of Youth

The Zips welcomed in 13 freshmen to the 2017 roster. Akron is tied for the second largest incoming class in the nation with 13. Only New Mexico State has a larger freshman class with 15 freshmen.

Seeing Double

Freshmen Abigail and Ally Brown (Batavia, Ohio) are the first pair of twin sisters to play together in an Akron uniform. The sisters play on opposite ends of the field, Ally, a forward, and Abigail, a defender, will use their experience playing together to help make an impact on the field for the Zips.

Jiu Earns First MAC Defensive Player of the week

Freshman goalkeeper Amani Jiu (Brooklyn, N.Y.) was named the first Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the 2017 season, on Aug. 21.

Additionally, Jiu earned the first Summa Health Student-Athlete of the Week honor for the 2017-18 academic year, from Akron Athletics.

In the opening weekend of play, Jiu (pronounced Joo) helped Akron women's soccer to an undefeated 1-0-1 record. Earning the starting goalkeeper position, the true freshman recorded a shutout and nine saves in the double-overtime 0-0 draw against defending Horizon League champion Milwaukee in her first career start.

Two days later, Jiu defended the goal against Green Bay, helping the Zips to a 3-0 victory. UA held the Phoenix scoreless through 90 minutes of play, giving Jiu her first collegiate victory and her second straight shutout to start her career.

The back-to-back clean sheets in the opening weekend of play are the first consecutive shutouts to start the season by an Akron goalie since 2006, and just the third in program history.

Women's Soccer Hangs Tough in 1-0 Setback To Duquesne

On the final night of non-conference play for the 2017 campaign, the Akron women's soccer team hung tough against the 2016 Atlantic-10 tournament champion, Duquesne, but ultimately fell short, 1-0, at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field on Sept. 15.

The Zips would post nine shots in the contest against the Dukes with five coming on goal. Akron also outshot Duquesne, 6-4, in the second stanza.

Zips Go Toe-to-Toe with A-10 Champion Dayton

The Akron women's soccer team went toe-to-toe with the reigning Atlantic-10 champions, Dayton, for a full 90 minutes but fell just short of a result falling, 3-2, at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field on Sept. 8.

Akron took the offensive advantage in the match by outshooting the Flyers, 13-11, on the night, along with the edge in corner kicks, 5-3. Ashley Amato (Pittsburgh, Pa.) in her second game back on the year and first start of the season paced the Akron attack with five shots, including a pair of goals in the 35th and 47th minutes.

Zips Offensive Surge Not Enough in 1-0 Loss to Niagara

The Akron women's soccer team blitzed Niagara offensively with 16 shots, including outshooting the Purple Eagles, 11-1, in the second half, but the Zips conceded an early goal as Niagara defeated Akron, 1-0, on Sept. 3.

Zips Lose Heartbreaker In Closing Minutes

The Akron women's soccer team played Cleveland State into the 107' of a double-overtime match with the possession in favor of the Zips, before losing a heartbreaker to the Vikings in the closing minutes of the match, 1-0, courtesy of a golden goal, on Aug. 31.

Zips Frist Win Secured Undefeated Opening Weekend

An offensive outpouring by the Zips earned Akron its first win of the 2017 season with a 3-0 victory over Green Bay to secure an undefeated opening weekend at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet field on Aug. 20.

Akron used a combination of attacking offense, including 13 shots, 11 on goal, and a stout defensive effort to earn the win over the Phoenix.

A flurry of goals from the Zips came courtesy of freshman Erin Babcock (Liberty Township, Ohio), sophomore Catie Corrigan (Avon Lake, Ohio), and junior Rachel Baughman (Alliance, Ohio). Babcock, who scored the first goal of the season for the Zips, also notched her first collegiate goal in her second start.

On the defensive side of the ball, freshman goalkeeper Amani Jiu was once again phenomenal in the goal as she recorded her second consecutive clean sheet in her first college starts along with the help of her defensive line made up of four freshmen. In the contest, the Akron goalie made four saves.

2017 Preseason Prediction

The 2017 Mid-American Conference women's soccer preseason poll was announced by the league on Aug. 14 and the Akron Zips were predicted to finish fifth overall in the Eastern Division, by a vote of the leagues head coaches.

Out of the East, Kent State was chosen to come out atop the standings and received 10 first-place votes, followed by Buffalo with two first place votes, and Miami (Ohio).

In the West, Ball State was selected to take the division title for the second straight year. Central Michigan and Western Michigan round out the top three spots in the West.

The 2016 MAC regular season champions, Ball State, are predicted to win the 2017 MAC Tournament receiving four votes, while Central Michigan garnered three votes, and Kent State earned two.

A Look Back at 2016

The Zips', guided by Herlihy, ended the year with a record of 4-11-4, and went 1-6-4 in Mid-American Conference play. Ashley Amato is the Zips returning leading goal scorer from 2016 with four goals. Three of her goals came in MAC play with each leading a crucial role in all three contests. Amato was named to the 2017 MAC All-Freshman team for her performance throughout league play. Akron's defensive unit and keepers combined to complete three shutouts on the season. The Zips 111 total saves were the second-most in the MAC and their 75 saves in conference play were a league-best.

Zips in the Pros

Two Akron alumnae are currently playing professional soccer overseas. Lani Smith (2013-14) is currently competing in Sweden with the Vasteras BK 30 and Sydney Blomquist (2013-14) is competing in Finland with Aland United.

In Smith's two seasons with the Zips, she was named to the 2014 All-MAC first team and Smith currently ranks first in shots (135), fifth in points (33), goals (15), t-6 in game-winning goals (4) in Akron program history.

Blomquist played for the Zips for two season after transferring to Akron from Louisville. In her career with the Zips, Blomquist appeared in 27 games with 23 starts, scored one goal, tallied one assist, and posted 24 shots with 12 on goal.