Soccer falls to Akron in double overtime
Akron’s women’s soccer team had not won a Mid-American Conference game up to this point in the season.
That changed tonight against Central Michigan.
After a 2-0 CMU lead was cut to 2-1 with five minutes remaining, a goal by Akron’s Kiana Zuk with less than one minute in regulation tied the game and forced overtime.
The Zips finished their comeback after a shot by Julia Crowe from 30 yards out found the back of the net in double overtime. Akron (4-9-4, 1-4-4 MAC) won its first MAC game of the season as the Chippewas (13-2-2, 5-2-2 MAC) lose their first game in overtime this season by a score of 3-2.
The Chippewas scored both their goals off the right foot of junior forward Samantha Maher. She scored on a free-kick in the 31st minute and a strike from the right side of the box in the 74th minute.
“(Akron) brought a lot of energy in those last few minutes before overtime," Maher said. "They really kept us on our toes, but I thought we were matching that and I thought we did pretty good, too. They really worked to get their goals."
The Chippewas outshot the Zips 25-19 and had 12 shots on goal compared to 10 for Akron. Sophomore forward Alexis Pelafas had nine of CMU’s 25 shots, with four of them being on goal. Maher had six shots with two on target.
Akron’s late goals came from a dribbler on the right side of
the field that was shot by Ashley Amato off the crossbar and in, and then a
header from Zuk off a cornerkick.
This marked the fourth straight game — and six of the last seven — CMU went to at least one overtime period. CMU was 3-0-2 in the previous five overtime games.
“This is a very resilient group," McGahey said. "It's a group that has very good leadership and I am confident they will bounce back. In terms of how (the loss) transpired — it's certainly a punch in the gut for sure."
Although the rain was coming down in Akron for most of the game, McGahey said it did impact the game but he "wouldn't chalk up (the game) due to the weather conditions."
McGahey also said they will "count on the leadership and the positive culture that we've built this season" in order to rebound from the loss.
CMU’s next match is this Sunday at 12 p.m. on the road against the Buffalo Bulls.
