The University of Akron Athletics
2018, A Big Step Into A Bright Future For Akron Women's Soccer
December 11 | Women's Soccer
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Complete Season Review (PDF)
A Look Back
The 2018 Akron women's soccer team etched its name into the history books of the 18-year old program as just the fifth Zips team to qualify for the Mid-American Conference Tournament after one of the most exciting final stretches of a season winning four consecutive games and securing their spot in the postseason.
Akron finished the season with an 8-10-2 overall record while going 5-5-1 in league play. The Zips eight wins in the 2018 season are the most wins since 2009 and their overall record ended as the fourth-best record in program history. The five MAC wins are also the most conference wins in a season since 2010. The 2018 Zips are one of just three teams to surpass five or more MAC wins in a single-season.Â
"It was a good season overall. When 20 of your 25-player squad are freshmen and sophomores, there is always a lot of learning and understanding that needs to take place to know what it truly takes to compete at this level. There was a point in the season when we instantly became a better team and I have no doubt this group of young players are excited for next season already," said head coach Noreen Herlihy. "So overall, we are very proud of what the team achieved this year, and we are pleased for the four seniors to finish their careers making it to the postseason again."
Prior to the start of the season, outside expectations for the Zips were low coming off the 2017 season and fielding one of the youngest teams in the conference. On Aug. 15, 2018, the annual MAC women's soccer preseason coaches' poll was released by the league's office that predicted Akron to finish 10th overall. Despite being predicted to finish outside of the top-eight teams and miss the postseason, the Zips expectations were higher than ever and they were prepared to prove everyone wrong. They succeeded.Â
We knew going into the season, we had to work harder than anyone else to make us competitive in such a demanding conference. Despite our record in 2017, the MAC knew we were one of the youngest teams in the country, and so coming into 2018 still relatively young, we knew that they would no longer take Akron lightly," stated Herlihy. "With that in mind, we had to hit the ground running and ensure everyone was on board ready to go right away."
As the three-month season moved along and Akron's 19 game regular season came to a close, the Zips won four-straight MAC contests and accomplished what they set out to do, make the postseason and show the conference that the Zips program is on the rise.Â
Heading into the final stretch of the year, the Zips were on the outside looking in with four matches remaining against quality foes. As Akron sat 4-9-2, three of its next four opponents included the eventual 2018 MAC champions, Bowling Green, the defending MAC Tournament champions, Toledo, and Buffalo, a perennial powerhouse in the MAC.Â
In their five prior contests, the Zips did not receive the results they were looking for going 0-4-1. However, Akron's four losses were all determined by one goal, three were decided in overtime, two ended in double OT, and the Zips had multiple chances to win each contest.Â
"As coaches, you can only keep reminding the players to keep working, as the performances were good but we still maybe lacked some experience to close out games. Developing a winning mentality only comes by being resilient and trying to find a way to win games," said Herlihy. "What I am most proud of was we never just sat in and defended for our lives. We were brave and always went out looking to win games. Even when we were on the road at Ohio, we went for it and didn't want to settle for a draw. The players knew they were playing well, but when you play well and still don't get something from the game, it can be deflating, especially losing those games in OT. So, the key was to simply stay the course and keep playing to the best of our abilities."
Fueled by the want and desire to win, Akron went into its final stretch of the season with a fearless mindset. The Zips would not fear any of their next four opponents no matter the difference in record, the difference in statistics, or the difference in who was favored in the match.Â
"It was simple for us, look to get forward and keep having the positive mindset in how we look to play and don't be afraid to take risks," said Herlihy. "It was all about the performances for us, and from there, hope that something will fall for us at some point because in all fairness to the players, we were quite unlucky in some games."
As each game passed, the Zips found ways to win and received help from a wealth of players on the roster.Â
On Oct. 14, sophomore Angela Boyce (Farmington Hills, Ohio) scored her first career goal against Miami that pushed the Zips past the RedHawks. With a minute and a half left to play in the match and the score tied 1-1, Boyce connected on the game-winning goal for the Akron to defeat Miami, 2-1, for win number one.Â
Four days later, in the 88th minute of a scoreless match between the Zips and Bowling Green, senior captain Shea O'Brien (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) connected on a shot from 24 yards out for the eventual game-winning goal to upset the Falcons in stunning fashion on Oct. 18. She didn't know it just yet, but that score would turn out to be the biggest of O'Brien's four-year career.Â
In their final game at FirstEnergy Stadium-Cub Cadet field for the 2018 season, the Akron women's soccer team sent its four seniors out in winning style as the Zips took down the defending Mid-American Conference tournament champions, Toledo, 1-0, on Oct. 21 courtesy of a game-winning goal by freshman Sydney Worthy (Groveport, Ohio). Akron's three-game win streak inside league play was the first since 2010 when the Zips posted four straight MAC victories.Â
With 2018 season hanging in the balance, Akron's postseason chances all came down to the season finale against Buffalo. Win and the Zips were in, lose or draw, and they would have needed some help. With that in mind, Akron took matters into their own hands to determine its fate and that destiny was to defeat Buffalo, 3-2, thanks to a game-winning goal in the 75' from sophomore Lexie Kolano (Trafford, Pa.).Â
The Zips headed to its second postseason appearance in four years under Herlihy and traveled to Kalamazoo, Mich., for their quarterfinal match-up against Western Michigan. Akron's magical late-season run would come to an end against the Bronco's as WMU defeated the Zips, 1-0, despite Akron outshooting the Bronco's 6-to-1 in the second half.Â
"To have your backs against the wall, we give all the credit to the players because they never quit. It was a great run that started with beating Miami at their place scoring the winner late in the game. That result was well needed, especially after we were coming off some back-to-back OT losses," stated Herlihy. "You could see the belief in the players at that time. The excitement came with the last game of the season, having to go on the road vs. Buffalo with a win and you're in scenario, and winning in spectacular fashion 3-2! It was a superb team effort."
After struggling to find the back of the net over the course of the last two seasons, the Zips offense exploded in 2018 which played a large part into the team's success. After scoring just 14 goals in 2017, Akron nearly doubled its goal count one year later, 27, that came courtesy of 12 different Zips. The Zips 12 goal scorers were tied for the third-most individual goal scorers across the NCAA. Akron ended the season tied with Auburn, Florida State, Stanford, TCU, Texas A&M, and Virginia. Not only did the Zips have several players tally a goal on the year, but six student-athletes posted multi-goal seasons for the Akron offense.Â
The Akron offensive efforts were led by Worthy who turned in a spectacular rookie campaign up front for the Zips. The freshman garnered a team-best six points and 14 points to go along with 27 shots, 18 shots on goal, one game-winning goal, and is just the fifth player in program history to tally a hat trick with three goals against Youngstown State.Â
"It is always important to have a well-balanced team, and it was great to see so many players chip in for the goals this year to help the team," said Herlihy.
Four additional players garnered multi-goal seasons for the Zips including freshman Carly Pcholinsky (4), sophomore Lexie Kolano (3), junior Ashley Amato (3), and senior Shea O'Brien (3). Combined, the quartet notched five assists, 31 points, 103 shots, and 56 shots on goal. Another six Zips all scored one goal on the season to bring the Zips goal total to 27, which stands as the second-most goals scored in a single-season behind the 28 scored in 2003.Â
The Zips played phenomenal defense all season long with much credit due to freshman goalkeeper Erin McKinney (Belvidere, Ill.), Amato, sophomores Ryley Watt (Irwin, Pa.), Abigail Brown (Batavia, Ohio), and freshman Kayleigh Penton (Vermilion, Ohio).Â
McKinney was a standout goalkeeper in her first season in an Akron uniform. In 18 starts and over 1,652 minutes of play inside the net, McKinney garnered 101 saves, a 1.20 goals against average, an .821 save percentage, and allowed just 22 goals. The freshman netminder picked up six wins while shutting out three opponents. McKinney is just the second freshman to ever turn in a 100-save season, is tied for first in single-season saves (101), sits eighth overall in single-season shutouts (3), and ranks ninth in goals-against average in a single-season (1.20).Â
The defensive backline made up of Amato, Brown, Penton, and Watt started a combined 76 games for the Zips out of a possible 80 matches totaling 6,774 minutes of play. The four defenders helped lead the defense to five shutouts and allowed just one goal or less for the opposition on 12 different occasions, despite some of the results. While holding down the back of the field, Amato and Watt also impacted the offensive third for the Zips scoring a combined 4 goals and registering two assists for 10 points. All four defenders notched 54 combined shots, respectively.Â
Our defensive group did a fantastic job this season. We moved Ashley Amato back there to give us that bit of experience and it showed with her All-Conference selection. She and sophomores Ryley and Abby, and freshman Kayleigh Penton made up our back four. Erin McKinney also did a fantastic job and with no college experience, she stepped up for the team in a big way," said Herlihy. "We knew she was technically sound and had consistency to her game, but to be able to meet the demands of the game tactically is always the biggest challenge for an inexperienced goalkeeper, especially knowing how relentless the MAC is and where we finished last year. Collectively they were all very good and consistent throughout the season. To see the growth of Ryley and Abby as sophomores was especially rewarding."
