No. 5 Akron Suffers Heartbreaking End To Their Season With 2-1 Double OT Loss To No. 4 Buffalo

Sunday, November 3

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University of Akron

8-10-2, 5-4-2

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No. 5 Akron Suffers Heartbreaking End To Their Season With 2-1 Double OT Loss To No. 4 Buffalo

November 03 | Women's Soccer

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BUFFALO, N.Y.– After 108 minutes of play in the quarterfinal round of the 2019 Mid-American Conference Tournament, the No. 5 Akron women's soccer team suffered a heartbreaking result as No. 4 Buffalo scored the game-winning golden goal with 1:30 left to play in double-overtime to hand the Bulls a 2-1 win over the Zips and advanced UB to the semifinals on Sunday afternoon at UB Stadium.

Despite not earning the result they desired, the Akron women's soccer program is in good hands moving forward with the young talent on the roster as the Zips have now played in back-to-back tournaments and made their third appearance in the last five seasons.

Akron and Buffalo played a scoreless match for 83-minutes before Buffalo claimed a 1-0 advantage (83:06) courtesy of a header by Kaitlyn Walsh off a UB corner kick.

Determined to tie the game up, the Zips aggressively pushed the ball forward as play resumed. Just 37 seconds following the Bulls goal, Akron answered with a goal at the 83:43 mark to tie the game back up at 1-1. Following a foul called on Buffalo, junior Ryley Watt (Irwin, Pa.) launched a free-kick into the right side of the box. Sophomore Hailey Clere (Oregon, Ohio) was on the receiving end of Watt's pass who headed the ball across the box to junior Abigail Brown (Batavia, Ohio) who headed the ball into the left corner of the goal for the game-tying score. The tally marked the first goal of the season for Brown, while Clere and Watt earned their second assists.

With under two minutes to play in double-overtime, the game seemed destined for penalty kicks but the Bulls had other plans earning the golden goal victory at the 108:22 mark.

The first half for the Zips was won by the Akron defense. The UA defensive backline turned in a stout defensive effort keeping UB off the scoreboard while freshman goalie Libby Harper (Hatfield, England) was a wall for the Zips in the net pulling in six saves.

Redshirt sophomore Aislinn Meaney (Ennis, Ireland) recorded the first shot of the match for the Zips in the 15^thminute of the match. Meaney moved down the field on the right side. From a tough angle ripped her shot attempt towards the middle of the goal that was pulled in for the save.

One minute later, Harper made two huge saves in the 16^thminute to keep UB off the scoreboard. Harper's first save was made near the crossbar followed by an immediate second save off the rebound.

Haprer made an exceptional save diving to her right in the 35^thminute of the match to again deny Buffalo the lead that hit off the post bounced back into play and was cleared out by Watt.

Akron made a few halftime adjustments in the locker room after the initial 45 minutes of play and the Zips began to find success in their half of the field.

At the 53:26 mark, Meaney garnered the first shot on goal for Akron in the second half. Meaney controlled the ball on the left side of the field just outside of the box and attempted a shot on goal that was pulled in for a save.

Six minutes later, Freshman Bailee Bowers (Dublin, Ohio) put another shot on goal for UA. The Zips midfielder battled with a UB defender down the right side of the field and into the box. With the keeper moving up in the box, Bowers attempted a shot but it was corralled by the UB keeper for the save.

As the clock struck 90:00 and the score deadlocked at 1-1, Akron and Buffalo headed into overtime.

Bowers nearly netted a golden goal for the Zips in the second overtime period, however, a spectacular save by Emily Kelly in net for Buffalo denied the Akron of the opportunity.

With the result, the 2019 season comes to an end for the Akron women's soccer team. The Zips turned in an 8-10-2 overall record while going 5-4-1 in MAC play to earn the fifth season in the postseason. UA won eight games for the second consecutive season and its five MAC wins are the fourth-most in program history.