Akron Women's Soccer Set For Final Homestand of 2018 Regular Season

Thursday, October 18

Akron, Ohio

7 PM

University of Akron

Bowling Green

Tickets

Akron Women's Soccer Set For Final Homestand of 2018 Regular Season

October 17 | Women's Soccer

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Akron vs. Bowling Green Match Notes (PDF)

Akron (5-9-2, 2-5-1 MAC) vs. Bowling Green (10-3-2, 8-0-0 MAC)
Thursday, Oct. 18
FirstEnergy Stadium-Cub Cadet Field • 7 p.m.
Live Stats: GoZips.com
Watch: GoZips.com

Akron vs. Toledo Match Notes (PDF)

Akron (5-9-2, 2-5-1 MAC) vs. Toledo (8-6-2, 4-3-1 MAC)
Sunday, Oct. 21
FirstEnergy Stadium-Cub Cadet Field • 1 p.m.
Live Stats: GoZips.com
Watch: ESPN+

What's Ahead
The final homestand of the 2018 season awaits the Akron women's soccer team at FirstEnergy Stadium this week. On Thursday, Oct. 18, the Zips host Mid-American Conference-leading Bowling Green during its annual 'Kick For The Cure' at 7 p.m. The home finale and senior day are scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 21, as Akron welcomes in Toledo at 1 p.m. The contest between the Zips and Rockets can be seen on ESPN+ with Dave Bacon (play-by-play) and Otto Orf (Analyst).

Scouting the Falcons
The current top team in the MAC heads to Akron to take on the Zips with a perfect 8-0 record in league play while holding a 10-3-2 overall record. Coming into the contest, the Falcons have not lost a match since Sept. 9 against the 15th ranked Northwestern Wildcats.

Bowling Green is firing on all cylinders scoring 31 goals on offense while allowing just nine goals to the opposition. Erica Hubert and Chelsee Washington are tied for a team-best nine goals apiece and rank second in goal scorers inside the MAC. The Falcons third-leading scorer, Nikki Cox, ranks tied for ninth in the league with five goals.

In the net for the Falcons is Kathleen Duwve who in 15 starts has tallied five clean sheets. In 1,320 minutes of play, Duwve (10-3-2) owns a league-best 0.61 goals against average, an .868 save percentage, has corralled in 59 saves and allowed just nine goals.

Scouting the Rockets
The reigning Mid-American Conference tournament champions Toledo Rockets look to defend their 2017 title and currently own a 4-3-1 league ledger (8-6-2 overall). The Rockets have defeated Miami (2-1), Northern Illinois (5-1), Eastern Michigan (4-3), and Central Michigan (2-0), while falling to Ball State (0-2), Western Michigan (2-3), and Ohio (0-1).

The MAC leader in goals scored, Hannah Scafaria, is a member of the Toledo front line. Scafaria has tallied 13 goals on 76 shots, also a league-best, and 43 shots on goal. Sophia Lewis, Alex Troy, Elbony Rodriguez, and Natalie Knauf have each tallied multiple goals on the year, while six other Rockets have scored at least one goal.

Madison Perrin gets the nod in-between the posts for the Falcons and has made 14 starts en route to a 7-5-2 record. In 1,291 minutes of play, Perrin has made 53 saves and allowed 17 goals to total a 1.18 goals-against average and .757 save percentage.

Series History
Akron and Bowling Green have met on the pitch in 17 contests since the program's inception in 2001. Since then, the Falcon's own an 11-5-1 overall record against the Zips.

The Zips and Rockets are slated to square off for the 18th time in program history. In the 17 previous match-ups, Akron is just 2-13-2 against Toledo, however, the Zips are 1-1-1 in their last three tilts.

Coaches
Bowling Green: Matt Fannon, in his second season at the helm of the Bowling Green women's soccer program, has revived the Falcon's program since taking over. In his first season, Fannon lead BG to the second-most wins in program history and reached the MAC tournament for the first time since 2008;

Toledo: TJ Buckholz is amidst his fourth season as head coach of the Rockets. In 2017, Buckholz led the charge to Toledo's first MAC Tournament title since 2011. Buckholz currently owns a 37-36-6 overall record since taking over the Rockets program.

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 17-46-12 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 11 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 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.
12 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 freshmen 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).
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.
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 three Mid-American Conference games in regulation through its first seven 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.
The Zips offense matched their season assist total from the 2017 season (13 assists) after 16 games.
Erica Schrader has bumped up one spot in the all-time assist leader list and has registered the sixth most assists in a career (9). She is one assist away from moving to number five overall.
Despite the Zips eight losses, seven of the results have been determined by just one goal.
Through the first 16 games of the season, Akron tallied has 22 goals, which is just six goals away from tying the 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).
Angela Boyce scored her first career goal in an Akron uniform, including the first game-winning goal, when the sophomore midfielder gave Akron a 2-1 win over Miami in the 88'.
The Zips have notched seven multi-goal contests in 2018 with three matches remaining. Akron is 5-1-1 when scoring more than one goal in a match.

Up Next
The 2018 women's soccer regular season comes to a close on Thursday, Oct. 25, as the Akron Zips travel to Buffalo, N.Y. to take on Buffalo. The Zips and the Bulls are slated for a 3 p.m. kickoff at UB Stadium.