Akron Women's Soccer Prepares For Two Game Road Swing

Friday, October 12

Muncie, IN

4 PM

University of Akron

Ball State University

Akron Women's Soccer Prepares For Two Game Road Swing

October 11 | Women's Soccer

Follow Akron Women's Soccer on Twitter and Facebook

Akron vs. Ball State Match Notes (PDF)

Akron (4-8-2, 1-4-1 MAC) vs. Ball State (7-3-2, 3-2-1 MAC)
Friday, Oct. 12
Muncie, Ind. • 4 p.m.
Live Stats: GoZips.com
Listen: GoZips.com

Akron vs. Miami Match Notes (PDF)

Akron (4-8-2, 1-4-1 MAC) vs. Miami (3-9-1, 1-5-0 MAC)
Sunday, Oct. 14
Oxford, Ohio • 1 p.m.
Live Stats: GoZips.com

What's Ahead
Akron hits the road for a two-game road trip where the Zips head to Muncie, Ind., and Oxford, Ohio for the fourth weekend of Mid-American Conference play. On Friday, Oct. 12, Akron squares off against Ball State at 4 p.m., followed by a contest with Miami on Sunday, Oct. 14, at 1 p.m.

Scouting the Cardinals
The 2017 MAC West Divisional Champions, Ball State, sits at 7-3-2 overall through 12 games and owns a 3-2-1 record inside league action heading into the weekend. The Cardinals turned in a 4-1-1 record in the non-conference season with wins against Morehead State (1-0), College of Charleston (3-0), Fort Wayne (2-1) and Omaha (3-1). Since MAC play began, Ball State has topped Toledo (2-0), Northern Illinois (2-1), and Western Michigan (3-0).

As an offense, the Cardinals have scored 18 goals on the season in 150 shots. Ball State has had nine different players score at least one goal in 2018 including a team-high four scores by Tatiana Mason. Mason has posted four goals, one assist, nine points, 18 shots, and 12 shots on goal. Six other Cardinal's have all tallied two goals on the season.

Tristen Stuteville has started all 12 matches in-between the posts for Ball State. In 1,114 minutes of work, Stuteville has registered a 0.81 goals against average, notched a .815 save percentage, made 44 saves, and allowed just 10 goals. The netminder has posted three clean sheets en route to a 7-3-2 record.

Scouting the RedHawks
Miami picked up its first win inside MAC play this past weekend with a 4-0 win over NIU to improve to 1-5-0 in the league. Prior to its win, the RedHawks had dropped seven straight contests dating back to non-conference play. Miami owns a 3-9-1 overall record.

Eight of the 14 goals scored in 2018 by Miami have come courtesy of Lyda Bogdanovtich and Olivia Winnett. Bogdanovitch has tallied a team-high five goals, 10 points, 31 shots, and 16 shots on goal, while Winnet has posted three goals, three assists, nine points, and 20 shots.

Patricia Koutoulas has seen a majority of the work in the net for Miami with 11 starts and 962 minutes of work, while Lauren Parker picked up her first career win in just her second start. Koutoulas owns a 1.59 GAA, made 55 saves, and allowed 17 goals en route to a 2-6-1 record. In limited action, Parker has garnered a 2.19 GAA, made 27 saves, and surrendered six goals.

Series History
Akron and Ball State have met on the pitch in 18 contests since the program's inception in 2001. Since then, the Cardinals own an 11-2-5 overall record against the Zips. In two of the previous three matches between the two squads, the match has ended in a draw.

The Zips and RedHawks are slated to square off for the 21st time in program history. In the 20 previous match-ups, Akron is just 6-11-3 against Miami, however, the Zips are 1-0-1 in their last two tilts

Coaches
Ball State: Craig Roberts, in his ninth season at the helm of the Ball State women's soccer program. In his eight years, Roberts led the Cardinals to three straight MAC West titles and two MAC regular season crowns. Since taking over the program, Roberts owns a 92-56-27 record.

Miami: Courtney Sirmans is amidst her first season running the RedHawks women's soccer program and is the third head coach in program history. Sirmans comes to Miami after spending the past three seasons as an assistant coach at Rice.

Akron: Noreen Herlihy is in her fourth season on the sidelines as the head coach of The University of Akron's women's soccer program. She owns a 16-45-12 record leading the Zips since taking over the program. In her first year in charge, 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 first time in program history. Herlihy has coached four All-MAC honorees, 21 student-athletes have been named to the Academic All-MAC team, and her team has been recognized as a Collegiate Team Academic Award winner by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) for three straight seasons.

Zips Tidbits

Ashley Amato played her freshman season as a defender before making the switch to forward as a sophomore. In the contest against Morehead State, the junior saw time at both positions.
Freyja Murray is the first student-athlete from Australia to compete on the Akron women's soccer team in program history. Murray is currently one-of-three student-athletes competing for UA that hail from "Down Under".
The Zips roster consists of two student-athletes who are dual-citizens; Angela Boyce (England) and Kat Costa (Germany).
Lexie Kolano competed for The University of Cincinnati in her freshman season before transferring to Akron for a fresh start. Kolano scored one goal in 14 games for UC.
Senior's Rachel Baughman, Shea O'Brien, Sydney Sleek, Erica Schrader, and Samara Yurchak have played in a combined 212 games over the span of the last three seasons entering 2018.
The Zips roster consists of 12 players from Ohio, eight from Pennsylvania, two from Michigan, one from Illinois, one from Missouri, and one national player from Australia.
Sophomore Lexie Kolano along with freshmen Erin McKinney, Bella Henderson, Kayleigh Penton, Sydney Worthy, Hailey Clere, Carly Pcholinsky, and Sydney Ward all made their Akron debuts against Morehead State, while Pcholinsky, McKinney, Penton, Worthy, Clere, and Ward all earned their first collegiate starts.
Rachel Baughman notched the first goal of the 2018 season for the Zips against Morehead State (8/17). It was the fifth of her career and first goal in a season opener.
Carly Pcholinsky notched her first career assist in the contest against the Eagles (8/17).
The Zips 11 shots against Morehead State are the third-most shots taken by an Akron team in a season opener in the last seven seasons.
Freyja Murray competed in her first collegiate match against Charlotte.
A trio of Zips scored their first goal of the 2018 season against Wofford; Ashley Amato, Eliese LaCourt, and Ryley Watt.
Bella Henderson earned her first collegiate victory and combined shutout against the Terriers.
Sydney Worthy is just the fifth player in program history to score three goals in a single contest.
The Zips five goals in the second half against YSU is tied for the most goals scored in a single half in program history.
The six goals scored by Akron are the most tallied in a single-game by the Zips squad since it was last done in 2008 against Pittsburgh.
Erica Schrader and Lexie Kolano registered their first goals of the 2018 season against YSU. Kolano's tally was the first of her Akron career and second of her college career, while Schrader netted her third
Ryley Watt's two assists against Youngstown State is just the fifth time in program history that a player has notched a pair of assists in a contest.
Akron's set a program record in assists in a single-half against YSU registering five helpers in the second half of play. The six total assists in the contests are second-most in a single match.
The Zips tallied the second-most points in a contest against the Penguins totaling 18 (6 goals/6 assists) on the afternoon. The 15 points recorded in the second half of the match are the most points recorded in one half in program history.
Akron's 12 goals through their first five games were the most scored by the team to start a season since 2008 when the Zips scored 15.
With its two goals against Robert Morris, the Zips surpassed their goal total (14) from 2017 just eight games into the 2018 campaign.
The Zips offense is two assists away from matching their season totals from the 2017 season (13 assists).
11 different players on the Akron roster have scored a goal in 2018. The Zips had just eight goal scorers all of 2017. Ashley Amato, Rachel Baughman, Shea O'Brien, Carly Pcholinsky, and Sydney Worthy have all scored multiple goals this season compared to two total players in 2017.
The Zips 11 goal scorers are tied for the fourth-most individual goal scorers across the NCAA. Akron is tied with Fairfield, Illinois, North Dakota, and North Florida. Mercer leads the nation with 14.
At one point, Akron started six freshmen a contest this season. That is tied for the third-most newcomers to start a match in the NCAA. The Zips are tied with Georgia, while Purdue leads the nation with eight freshman in the starting XI.
Ashley Amato is now ranked sixth in program history for most goals scored (12) and ninth overall in points earned in a career. She is three goals away from moving up to fifth overall (15) and one point away from being tied for eighth (25).
Erica Schrader has bumped up one spot in the all-time assist leader list and has registered the sixth most assists in a career (8). She is two assists away from moving to number five overall.
Against Robert Morris, Carly Pcholinsky scored her first and second career goal, notched her first multi-goal contest, and tallied her first game-winning score.
Lauren Lambert scored the third goal of the contest against Robert Morris which was the first score of her career.
Team Game Highs: Points (18), Goals (6), Assists (6), Shots (20), Shot% (.300), Shots On Goal (11), SOG% (.857), Saves (10), Corner Kicks (10).
Individual Game Highs: Points (6, Sydney Worthy), Goals (3, Sydney Worthy), Assists (2, Ryley Watt), Shots (5, Ashley Amato), Shots on Goal (4, Sydney Worthy), Saves (10, Erin McKinney).
Akron scored a minimum of three goals in a contest for the fourth time this season. All four earned the Zips a victory.
Despite the Zips five losses, four of the results have been determined by just one goal.
Heading into the contests against Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan, Akron is 1-1-1 at FirstEnergy Stadium-Cub Cadet Field.
Through the first ten games of the season, Akron has tallied 20 goals, which is just eight goals away from tying most scores in a single season in Akron history. Since 2006, only five Akron teams have scored over 20 goals; 2006 (21g), 2008 (23g), 2010 (22g), 2012 (23g), 2013 (22g), and 2015 (21g).
Shea O'Brien is a perfect 2-for-2 in penalty kicks in 2018, improving the Zips team attempts to 4-for-4.
Akron has ended just two Mid-American Conference games in regulation through its first six contests. In that time span, the Zips have played a combined 579:57 minutes of play.
Over its opponents, Akron holds a 68-to-59 advantage in corner kicks.

Up Next
The Zips close out the home portion of its 2018 regular season schedule next weekend as Akron welcomes in Bowling Green and Toledo. The Zips are scheduled for a 7 p.m. match-up against the Falcons on Friday, Oct. 18, before the home finale against the Rockets on Sunday, Oct. 21, at 1 p.m. The contest between Akron and Bowling Green will represent the Zips annual 'Kick For The Cure' game.