Men's Soccer Falls at Akron
October 17, 2014 10:02 PM | General
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
“We played so well early on in the game and we lost a little bit of our shape and composure heading into halftime,” coach Marlon LeBlanc said. “We thought we were back in it and gave up an unlucky redirection goal that beat Lee (Johnston) to the near post. This team is so close, we just need to keep our heads up and refocus.”
West Virginia drops to 6-6-1 overall and 0-1-1 in MAC play, as Akron improves to 8-4-1 and 2-0-0 in the conference.
Nate Shultz scored the game-winning goal for Akron in the 52nd minute, the first of his career. Robby Dambrot played a through ball towards the goal and Shultz flicked it on to the near post and to the right of WVU senior goalkeeper Lee Johnston.
The Mountaineers nearly tied the match in the 90th minute off a head by freshman Jack Driscoll, but the Akron defense was able to clear the ball off the line.
West Virginia finished with the 12-11 edge in shots, and Akron held a 7-4 advantage in shots on goal. Senior Andy Bevin and junior Ryan Cain had four shots apiece to lead the Mountaineers.
Bevin notched a pair of goals in the first half, bringing his season total to seven, giving the Mountaineers a 2-0 advantage.
In the 12th minute, sophomore Mike Desiderio won a header at midfield to junior Jamie Merriam. Merriam flicked the ball ahead to Cain, and Bevin was able to settle the bouncing pass and had a breakaway shot, beating Akron goalkeeper Jake Fenlason to his left.
Desiderio nearly had a goal in the 19th minute following an Akron turnover, but Fenlason was up to the challenge and made a point-blank save.
Bevin made it 2-0 in the 25th minute, capitalizing on a Zips turnover. Bevin slipped by the defense and was one-versus-one with Fenlason, taking a shot that was saved, but put the rebound into the open net.
Two Akron goals in the span of just over one minute tied the match at 2-2. Stuart Holthusen scored in the 27th minute with a shot off the far post that junior defender Nick Raskasky just missed deflecting wide.
In the 28th minute, Akron’s Adam Najem drew a foul at the top of the box after a great touch. Najem took the ensuing free kick and buried it around the wall and to the left of a sprawling Johnston.
Johnston finished with four saves in the loss and Fenlason made two stops.
WVU will now travel for a match at No. 5 Penn State on Wednesday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m. For a link to live video and live stats, visit WVUsports.com. Fans can follow the action through social media by following @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter.
