Akron Set to Battle Reigning NCAA Champion Marshall in Mid-Week Clash

Tuesday, September 21

Huntington, W.Va.

7:00 PM

University of Akron

Marshall

Akron Set to Battle Reigning NCAA Champion Marshall in Mid-Week Clash

September 20 | Men's Soccer

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No. 7 Akron (4-1-1) at No. 5 Marshall (3-1-2)
Tuesday, Sept. 21
Hoops Family Field
Huntington, W.Va. • 7 p.m.

Series History: Akron leads 8-2-2
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WHAT'S AHEAD
The seventh-ranked University of Akron men's soccer team tests its early-season success against defending national champion Marshall as the Zips travel to Huntington, W.Va., to battle the fifth-rated Thundering Herd on Tuesday, Sept. 21. The 7 p.m. showdown with Marshall will be broadcast on ESPN+.

HEAD COACHES
Marshall: Chris Grassie (Alderson Broaddus, 2002), Overall Record: 147-45-20 (11th Season)/Marshall Record: 48-25-12 (Fifth Season)
Akron: Jared Embick (Indiana Wesleyan, 2000), Overall Record: 155-66-26 (15th Season)/Akron Record: 108-45-18 (Ninth Season)

SCOUTING MARSHALL
Akron returns to the road this Tuesday as the Zips travel to Huntington, W.Va., for a showdown with Marshall, the 2020 NCAA National Champions. The Thundering Herd enter their contest with Akron unbeaten in their last four games after garnering a 2-2 double-overtime draw with No. 4 West Virginia on Friday, Sept. 17.

Marshall is led offensively by seniors Vinicius Fernandes and Vitor Dias, who own four and three goals, respectively. Fernandes paces the Thundering Herd in goals (4) and points (11), while Dias directs Marshall in assists (4). Senior goalkeeper Oliver Semmle has recorded the majority of minutes in net for the Thundering Herd having registered 17 saves en route to posting a 1.88 goals against average.

As a team, Marshall is ranked third in the NCAA in scoring offense (3.00), fourth in assists per game (2.83), points per contest (8.83) and total goals (18), sixth in total points (53), ninth in total assists (17), 18th in goal differential (8), 23rd in shot accuracy (.500) and 39th in shots on goal per game (6.33). Individually, Fernandes is 16th in points per tilt (1.83), 19th in total points (11), 25th in total goals (4), 31st in goals per outing (0.67) and 43rd in total assists (3).

SERIES HISTORY
Akron and Marshall are playing for the 13th time in program history with the Zips owning a 8-2-2 series advantage. In the last meeting between the two schools, Akron registered a 2-1 double-overtime home triumph past the ninth-rated Thundering Herd on March 2, 2021 at FirstEnergy Stadium.

IN OUR LAST MEETING (MARCH 2, 2021 - AKRON, OHIO)
A golden goal in the 99th minute (98:05) from freshman Jason Shokalook (Erie, Pa.) propelled the seventh-ranked University of Akron men's soccer team to dramatic 2-1 overtime victory past No. 9 Marshall in the Zips' home opener on March 2, 2021 at FirstEnergy Stadium.

Shokalook headed home his first collegiate goal from 12 yards out to off a stellar serve into the box from Federico Serra, who earned the assist on the tally.

The Zips outshot the Thundering Herd on the afternoon, 12-4, including a 4-2 edge in shots on goal. Senior Diogo Pacheco (Lisbon, Portugal), who scored Akron's first goal at the 13:35 mark off an assist from Colin Biros, directed the Zips' offensive attack with a game-high three shots, including two on frame. Freshman Ryan Combe (York, Maine) also recorded three shots, while Shokalook finished the contests with two shots. Vitor Dias, who netted Marshall's lone goal in the affair in the 20th minute (19:01), led the Thundering Herd with a team-high two shots.

Senior GK Will Meyer (Solon, Ohio) recorded one save for the Zips in net, while his counterpart, Oliver Semmle, made two stops for Marshall.

Pacheco got the scoring started for the Zips connecting on his second goal of the season at the 13:35 mark of the first half off a ball served in from the corner by Biros.

Shokalook followed with a shot on goal in the 18th minute (17:54) that was pulled in for a save by Semmle.

The Thundering Herd netted the equalizer at the 19:01 mark as Dias scored off an assist from Milo Yosef.

The Zips registered a 3-2 edge in first half shots.

Pacheco nearly gave Akron the lead in the 65th minute (64:19) as only a diving save from Semmle prevented the acrobatic strike from finding the back of the net.

Meyer notched the save on a shot by Vinicus Fernandes at the 81:52 mark.

The game-winner was set up by trademark Akron passing in the midfield as Biros passed a ball to Serra, who delivered a strike to a diving Shokalook for the golden goal.

AKRON VERSUS CONFERENCE USA
• The Zips are meeting a team from Conference USA for the first time this season and 52nd time overall.
• Akron owns a 28-14-9 (.637) all-time record versus the current nine members Conference USA.
• In their last encounter with a school from Conference USA, the Zips earned a 2-1 double-overtime victory over Marshall on March 2, 2021.

FIRST-HALF GOAL LIFTS OHIO STATE PAST AKRON, 1-0
The sixth-rated Akron men's soccer team dropped a hard-fought 1-0 decision at Ohio State on Wednesday, Sept. 15, at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.

The Zips outshot the Buckeyes on the evening, 10-7, including a 4-2 edge in shots on goal.

Diogo Pacheco directed Akron with a game-high three shots, while senior Samuel George (Dagenham, England) added two shots in reserve duty. Xavier Green and Joakim Jahnsen led Ohio State with two shots each.

Will Meyer made one stop in goal for the Zips, while Keagan McLaughlin recorded four saves for Ohio State.

• The Buckeyes assumed the lead at the 34:31 mark when Joakim Jahnsen headed home a goal off assists from Xavier Green and Anthony Samways.
• Akron was outshot in the opening half, 5-3, including 2-0 on frame. Three different Zips posted a shot in the opening stanza.
• George had back-to-back shots in the opening two minutes of the second half, the first denied by an Ohio State save.
• The Zips registered the first five shots in the second half, including three on goal.
• Akron outshot the Buckeyes in the second half, 7-2, with four shots falling on frame.

A LEGACY OF SUCCESS
Since 2007, the Akron men's soccer program has posted the highest winning percentage in the nation (as of games on Sept. 19) (.758), with an overall record of 218-58-34. The Zips are followed by Wake Forest, 198-62-37 (.729), Maryland, 205-64-42 (.727), North Carolina, 197-67-45 (.710) and Creighton, 191-76-29 (.694). Akron made 12 straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament (2007-18), earning a first-round bye in eight seasons. The Zips have advanced to the NCAA's Round of 16 in eight of the last 13 years. Since 1961, the Zips have advanced to the NCAA postseason 33 times, including 17 of the past 20 seasons.

ZIPS TIDBITS
• Five of the 12 matches between Akron and Marshall, have resulted in a shutout, including three of the last five, with the Zips owning a 3-1-1 mark in those contests.
• The Zips have registered 14 goals all-time versus Marshall in home games, while only surrendering five to the Thundering Herd in eight games. In four road contests against Marshall, the Zips own a 1-2-1 ledger on the strength of four goals.
• Akron has scored two or more goals in seven all-time meetings with Marshall.
• Diogo Pacheco has now scored a point in five of Akron's six games this season.
• Junior Carlo Ritaccio (Westbury, N.Y.) made his 2021 debut for the Zips at Ohio State following offseason surgery.
• The Zips set season-high marks in goals (7), assists (8), points (22) and shots on goal in a 7-1 win over Wright State on Aug. 26, while establishing top marks in shots (24) and corner kicks (18) in a 3-0 triumph past Robert Morris on Sept. 3.
• Ten different Zips have scored a goal this season.
• With tallies against Wright State and Michigan State freshman Wan Kuzri Wan Kamal (Carbondale, Ill.) became the first Zip to score goals in back-to-back games since Diogo Pacheco did so last season at Kentucky and versus Marshall.
• Diogo Pacheco's along with Dyson Clapier and Johnny Fitzgerald have registered multiple assists in a game for Akron this season.
• Led by a two-goal effort from Ryan Kingsford, three Akron newcomers scored goals in the Zips' 7-1 win over Wright State on Aug. 26. Joining Kingsford was Wan Kuzri Wan Kamal and junior Renato Kauzlaric (Zagreb, Croatia).
• Dyson Clapier and Johnny Fitzgerald each registered a pair of assists for Akron against Wright State.
• Garnering their first collegiate points in the Zips' 7-1 victory over Wright State on Aug. 26 was Renato Kauzlaric (one goal and two assists), Ryan Kingsford (two goals), redshirt sophomore Ivan Nikolic (Toronto, Ontario) (one goal) and Wan Kuzri Wan Kamal (one goal and one assist).
• Daniel Strachan is rated first among all players in men's Division I in games played having appeared in 81 games.
• Sixteen Zips have registered a shot this season, including seven newcomers.
• Akron ranks third in the NCAA in assists (20) and assists per game (3.33), while rating sixth in points per game (8.33), eighth in goal differential (10), 12th in points (50), 13th in corner kicks (7.33), 17th in scoring offense (2.50), 19th in goals (15), 31st in shots per contest (15.00), 34th in winning percentage (.750) and 40th in goals against average (.804).
• Diogo Pacheco is ranked 18th in the NCAA in assists (4), 24th in assists per game (0.670), 29th in total points (10) and 34th in points per tilt (1.67), while Johnny Fitzgerald is rated 43rd in total assists (3).
• The Zips are 1-0-1 versus ranked teams this season having best No. 3 Pitt, 2-1, on Sept. 6 and garnering a 1-1 double-overtime draw with No. 3 Indiana on Sept. 10.
• Since the start of the 2015 campaign, the Zips own a 28-17-5 mark against ranked opponents.
• The Zips own a 13-13-3 mark in their last 29 matches away from home on the strength of six and three goals, respectively, from Diogo Pacheco and Carlo Ritaccio. The Zips have also posted a 186-137 margin in corner kicks and a 362-330 edge in total shots.
• Diogo Pacheco is Akron's active career leaders in goals (13), points (34), shots (85) and shots on goal (36). Will Jackson paces the team in game-winning goals (3), while Daniel Strachan has appeared in a team-high 81 games.
• The Zips own a 108-45-18 mark over the last nine seasons under head coach Jared Embick. Akron's 108 wins are ranked seventh in all of Division I.
• Under head coach Jared Embick, Akron's record following a loss is 24-10-4.
• The Zips have scored two or more goals in 76 of the squad's last 134 matches.

UP NEXT
Akron returns to FirstEnergy Stadium to host Yale in a 7 p.m. game on Saturday, Sept. 25.