Akron Hosts Ohio on Senior Day

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AKRON, Ohio - The University of Akron women's soccer team closes out its 2021 spring home campaign on Sunday, April 4, as the Zips welcome Ohio to FirstEnergy Stadium for 4 p.m. tilt.

April 4 vs. Ohio | 4 p.m. | FirstEnergy Stadium | Akron, Ohio
Live Stats: www.GoZips.com; Live Stream: www.GoZips.com

ZIPS HONOR THREE SENIORS:
Akron will honor a trio of players in seniors Annamarie Alfery (Cheswick, Pa.), Anya Donelan (Warrington, England) and Ryley Watt (Irwin, Pa.), who are competing in their final home games as a Zip at FirstEnergy Stadium, against the Bobcats on Sunday, April 4.

SCOUTING AKRON:
On the heels of a 1-0 victory over rival Kent State on March 28, Akron eyes back-to-back triumphs as the Zips host Ohio on Sunday, April 4.

Junior Sydney Worthy (Groveport, Ohio) leads Akron in goals (1), points (2) and game-winners (1), while ranking second in shots (6) and shots on goal (2). Redshirt junior Aislinn Meaney (Ennis, Ireland) owns a team-best eight shots. Sophomore GK Libby Harper (Hatfield, England) has started each of Akron's last three games and has posted 11 saves and owns a pair of shutouts on the strength of a 0.31 goals against average.

Akron is led by sixth-year head coach Noreen Herlihy, who maintains a 29-62-14 ledger at the helm of the Zips' program, and a 279-175-44 mark in 26 campaigns overall as a head coach.

SCOUTING OHIO:
Ohio enters play against the Zips owning a 2-5 record having dropped its last three matches following a 2-1 setback at Miami on Thursday, April 1.

Freshman Shae Robertson paces the Bobcats with team-high marks in goals (2), assists (1), points (5) and shots on goal (6) while ranking third in shots (8). Senior goalkeeper Sydney Malham has amassed 17 saves on the campaign for Ohio.

The Bobcats are led by eighth-year head coach Aaron Rodgers, who maintains a 52-78-13 ledger at the helm of the Ohio program.

	OHIO	AKRON
Overall Record	2-5-0	1-4-1
Conference Record	2-5-0	1-4-1
Goals	8	1
Goals-Shot Attempts	8-75	1-44
Goals Per Game	1.14	0.17
Assists	4	1
Shots	75	44
Shot on Goal	35	16
Shots Percentage	.107	.023
Shots on Goal Per Game	.467	.364
Shots Per Game	10.8	7.3
Corner Kicks	27	24
Opponent Corner Kicks	27	18
Penalty Kicks	0-0	0-1
Opponent Penalty Kicks	0-0	0-0

SERIES HISTORY:
The Zips will square off against Ohio for the 20th time in program history with Bobcats leading the all-time series 12-4-3. Ohio earned a 3-0 triumph past Akron on March 14, 2021 in Athens, Ohio.

LAST GAME:
A first-half goal from Sydney Worthy and a stout defensive effort propelled the University of Akron women's soccer team to a 1-0 triumph over rival Kent State in Mid-American Conference action on March 28 at wind-swept FirstEnergy Stadium.

Akron cracked the scoring column at the 14:34 mark on the first goal of the year for Worthy, who headed home a ball served into the center of the box off a corner kick from freshman Sarah Nguyen (Irwin, Pa.). The assist was the first collegiate point for Nguyen.

In only her third start of the campaign, GK Libby Harper earned her second clean sheet of the season for Akron, registering four saves. Sarah Melen recorded a trio of stops in net for the Golden Flashes.

Each side garnered 10 shots in the affair, while matching one another with four strikes on goal each.

Junior Sydney Ward (Connellsville, Pa.) led the Zips with a game-high four shots, while Aislinn Meaney and Worthy added three and two shots, respectively. Yasmine Hall paced the Kent State attack with a team-high three shots.

The Zips scored their goal on the initial shot of the game in the 15th minute (14:34).

Ward added a shot on goal at the 19:19 mark that Melen corralled for a save.

The Zips held a 1-0 advantage at the intermission posting a 4-2 edge in first-half shots, including a 2-0 margin in shots on goal.

Akron garnered the first five shots of the second half, including a shot on net from junior Carly Pcholinsky (South Park, Pa.) in the 47th minute (46:38).

Harper posted her first save of the night at the 56:46 mark off a shot by Hall before adding another in the 75th minute (74:38).

Meaney delivered a strike on frame at the 75:11 mark, a shot that was saved by Melen.

Harper denied shots in the 82nd (81:29) and 83rd (82:25) minutes, respectively, to preserve the shutout.

IN OUR LAST MEETING OHIO (March 14, 2021 - Athens, Ohio):
A pair of first-half goals proved too much for the University of Akron women's soccer team to overcome as Ohio registered a 3-0 triumph past the Zips on March 14 at Peden Stadium in Athens, Ohio.

The Zips were outshot in the affair, 18-1, including Ohio owning a 7-0 edge in shots on goal.

Sophomore GK Vanessa Berlin (Gau-Odernheim, Germany) notched four saves for Akron in net, while her counterpart Sydney Malham, earned a clean-sheet victory without making a stop.

HARPER NAMED MAC EAST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
University of Akron women's GK Libby Harper was recognized by the Mid-American Conference as its East Division Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week, the league announced on Wednesday, March 31.

Harper was stout in goal for the Zips registering four saves, all in the second half, in a 1-0 victory over rival Kent State on Sunday, March 28.

In only her third start and appearance of the season, Harper garnered her second clean sheet of the year denying all four strikes on frame by the Golden Flashes in the affair, while making several other key defensive plays that didn't go down in the final statistics as saves.

On the year, she owns a 0.31 goals against average on the strength of 11 saves and a pair of shutouts.

UP NEXT:
Akron is scheduled to travel to Buffalo, N.Y. for a 7 p.m. tilt at Buffalo on Thursday, April 8.

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Players Mentioned

Annamarie Alfery

Vanessa Berlin

Anya Donelan

Libby Harper

Aislinn Meaney

Sarah Nguyen

Carly Pcholinsky

Sydney Ward

Ryley Watt

Sydney Worthy

The University of Akron Athletics