Akron Falls to Pittsburgh in Second Round of NCAA Tournament

Sunday, November 20

Akron, Ohio

1:00 PM

University of Akron

11-4-5, 5-0-3

Pittsburgh

10-4-5, 3-2-3

Pittsburgh

Akron

Akron Falls to Pittsburgh in Second Round of NCAA Tournament

November 20 | Men's Soccer

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BOXSCORE | PHOTO GALLERY

AKRON, Ohio – A first-half penalty kick goal proved too much for the University of Akron men's soccer team to overcome as Pittsburgh (10-4-5) registered a 3-0 victory past the Zips in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, Nov. 20 at FirstEnergy Stadium.

Akron concludes a prolific offensive campaign in which the Zips posted an 11-4-5 ledger en route to capturing the Mid-American Conference regular season title and ranking among the top-five in the NCAA in total assists (58), assists per game (2.90), total goals (48), total points (154) and points per outing (7.70).

The Panthers tallied the only goal they needed in the match after being awarded a penalty kick in the ninth minute (8:30), one which Noel Valentin converted for a 1-0 Pittsburgh lead.

The Panthers led at the intermission, 1-0, despite Akron owning a 5-3 edge in first-half shots.

The Zips were again whistled for a penalty in the box at the 47:52 mark that resulted in a successful penalty kick by Noel to extend Pittsburgh's lead to 2-0.

Akron appeared to garner a penalty kick of their own in the 64th minute (63:13), but foul was called just outside the box resulting in a free kick.

The Panthers capped the scoring in the affair when Luis Sahmkow found the back of the net at the 65:49 mark off assists from Bertin Jacquesson and Jackson Gilman.

The Zips garnered a 19-10 edge in shots on the afternoon led by a game-high five shots from junior Will Jackson (Hudson, Ohio), while junior Johnny Fitzgerald (Tallahassee, Fla.), sophomore Malik Henry (Hamilton, Ontario) and junior Ryan Kingsford (Herne Bay, England) added three, two and two shots, respectively.

Redshirt freshman GK Mitch Budler (Lincoln, Neb.) capped a successful debut season making a trio of saves for Akron.

ABOUT ZIPS ATHLETICS
Founded in 1870, The University of Akron (UA) is one of Ohio's most influential public urban research universities, conducting high-quality research in focused areas of excellence, contributing to the vitality of the local economy, and providing a workforce highly trained in diverse disciplines. The University offers more than 200-degree programs, including unique, highly ranked associate, bachelor's, master's, doctoral and law degrees — with accreditations by 35 professional agencies. UA is focused on innovation, entrepreneurship, investment in community and economic growth. Akron sponsors 17 NCAA Division I sports with more than 500 student-athletes. Learn more at gozips.com.