The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
12-4-3, 5-2-1
Notre Dame
9-7-4, 3-3-2
Late Goal Propels No. 14 Akron Past Notre Dame, 1-0, in NCAA Tournament Play
November 23 | Men's Soccer
BOXSCORE (PDF) | PHOTO GALLERY | AKRON POSTGAME | NOTRE DAME POSTGAME
AKRON, Ohio -Â Senior Matthew Paiva (Toronto, Ontario) netted the game-winning goal in the 88th minute (87:26) to lift the 14th-seeed University of Akron men's soccer team to a dramatic 1-0 victory past Notre Dame in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday (Nov. 23) at FirstEnergy Stadium.
The triumph advances the Zips to the Third Round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2018 campaign where Akron will face the advancing team between third-seeded Princeton and Duke either next Saturday (Nov. 29) or Sunday (Nov. 30). Game location and time will be announced following the conclusion of Sunday's action.
How it Happened
The two sides battled through a scoreless opening stanza where Akron outshot Notre Dame, 8-5, with both sides registering three shots on goal.
The defensive showdown continued into the second half with both teams battling for a go-ahead tally.
That goal came at the 87:26 mark when Paiva delivered his first career goal as a Zip striking a ball into the corner of the net off a corner kick. Senior Stefan Dobrijevic (Uniontown, Ohio) tapped the corner to redshirt freshman Thomas O'Rourke (East Patchogue, N.Y.), who passed back to Dobrijevic, who delivered a strike into the box knocking off a Notre Dame defender that Paiva redirected into the back of the net for what proved to be the game-winning goal. The assist was the team-leading 11th of the season for Dobrijevic.
Game Notes
- Redshirt senior GK Mitch Budler (Lincoln, Neb.) collected four saves for the Zips out of 11 total Fighting Irish shots to garner his NCAA-leading 12th clean sheet of the season.
- Akron outshot Notre Dame, 14-11, including registering six shots on goal.
- Dobrijevic, Paiva and sophomore Jack Roman (Canfield, Ohio) each posted a game-high three shots for the Zips.
Up Next
Akron advances to the Third Round of the NCAA Tournament will battle the advacning team between Princeton and Duke next weekend.
Team Stats
Matthew Paiva (1)
Assisted By: Stefan Dobrijevic
knock in off deflection inside 3
87:26
