Akron Claims BIG EAST Midwest Division Crown with 1-0 Win Over Creighton

Friday, November 7

Omaha, Neb.

7:00 PM ET

University of Akron

11-3-3, 5-2-1

Creighton

8-4-4, 4-2-2

Akron

Creighton

Akron Claims BIG EAST Midwest Division Crown with 1-0 Win Over Creighton

November 07 | Men's Soccer

Box Score Photo Gallery

BOXSCCORE (PDF) | PHOTO GALLERY | POSTGAME COMMENTS JARED EMBICK | POSTGAME COMMENTS MITCH BUDLER | POSTGAME COMMENTS THOMAS O'ROURKE

OMAHA, Neb. - Sparked by the first career goal from sophomore Thomas O'Rourke (East Patchogue, N.Y.) the 18th-rated University of Akron men's soccer team garnered its second consecutive BIG EAST Conference Midwest Division title earning a 1-0 shutout victory past Creighton on Friday (Nov. 7).

The Zips earned the No. 2 seed in next week's BIG EAST Championship held at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyd's, Md., and will open tournament play versus UConn on Thursday (Nov. 13) at 5 p.m.

How it Happened

After battling through a scoreless opening half where the Zips outshot the Bluejays, 9-4, Akron grabbed a 1-0 lead when O'Rourke scored his first goal of the season in the 63rd minute (62:12) on a ball served into the box from the corner by junior Jack Sullivan (Potomac, Md.).

The final 30 minutes proved to be a battle between two of the better defensive squads in the league with the Zips holding on to earn the victory.

Game Notes

Redshirt senior Mitch Budler (Lincoln, Neb.) playing in his home state collected one save for the Zips out of seven total Bluejays shots to earn his NCAA-leading 11th shutout of the season.
Akron put seven shots on goal and posted a 12-7 overall advantage in shots.
O'Rourke tallied a career- and game-high four shots, including three on goal, while sophomore Jack Roman (Canfield, Ohio) added three shots with two coming on net.
The defensive backline of seniors Daragh Reilly (Navan, Ireland) and Ashton Kamdem (West Chester, Ohio) and juniors Freddy Kossehasse (McKinney, Texas) and Matthew Paiva (Toronto, Ontario) were stellar en route to helping the Zips collect their second consecutive and third overall shutout in league play.

Up Next
The Zips earned the No. 2 seed in next week's BIG EAST Championship held at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyd's, Md., and will open tournament play versus UConn on Thursday (Nov. 13) at 5 p.m. The title game will be on Sunday (Nov. 16).