After a crisp first half goal by sophomore Adam Najem, the University of Akron men’s soccer team couldn’t hold on and eventually drew to a 1-1 tie with Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday night.
The Zips and Eagles, two programs receiving the most votes outside of the top 25 as of the first NSCAA poll released last week, played in front of a school-record 1,574 fans at the FGCU Soccer Complex.
The first half saw a lot of play in the middle third of the field as both teams fought to create stronger possessions. Two strong showings by the Akron offense up the field came in the 18th and 21st minutes as both freshmen Sam Gainford and Richie Laryea made strong efforts to put the ball into the box.
Creating a turnover deep in their own territory, the Zips quickly settled the ball down and set to move it upfield. Sweeping it across to Jesse Garcia-Aguilar, the freshman pushed across midfield with senior Saad Abdul-Salaam running out ahead of him and wide to his right. With a quick touch forward, Abdul-Salaam took the pass and relayed it deep into the middle of the box, where Najem received the through pass. Najem, moving past the lone FGC defender downfield, swiftly netted the ball past the reach of Eagles goalie Nathan Ingham to give Akron a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute.
Najem’s goal marked his first of the season, fifth of his career, and the first non-PK goal for the Zips entering their third contest of the young 2014 season.
“I thought Najem was excellent,” head coach Jared Embick remarked after the game. “Good overall play and gave everything he had. Great effort.”
Coming out of the half, the Zips came close to taking a two-goal advantage on a shot by junior Sean Sepe that was saved. Following a foul in the Akron defensive end in the 53rd minute, FGC attacker Felipe DeSousa nailed a free kick from about 25 yards out, shooting it low and between UA defenders to the far post and tying the game up for the Eagles at one a piece.
After five shots for FGC in the next 20 minute stretch, including three saved by junior goalkeeper Jake Fenlason, the Zips regained their composure and pressed on for an opportunity to go ahead in the second half.
Several Akron possessions late in the half saw players out in space and just a touch away from adding a goal, including one shot by Sam Gainford in the 85th minute that almost cleared Ingham’s reach.
“I though once we got back in it, we had several great chances to win it and didn’t score,” added Embick.
The Zips and Eagles went through two full overtime periods which saw multiple opportunities for Akron to close out the match. Gainford took two critical corner kicks between the two periods that resulted in near misses and one shot in the 110th minute that just sailed high, UA’s final chance of the game.
Fenlason played all 110 minutes for the Zips and made eight saves, including a crucial one in the final seconds of play in which Isaiah Madrid slipped by his Akron defender and Fenlason was able to step up and protect the score as it stood.
“Overall, we took a smaller step than what we wanted,” Embick concluded. “We wanted the victory and didn’t get it, but we drew against a good team so we will take the small step and look forward to coming home and having the fans to help us get our streak going.”
Freshman Niko De Vera made his first appearance as he started today’s match while freshman Bryce Cregan made his first start, second appearance overall.
The Zips look to rebound on Friday, Sept. 12 as they host UCF in their home opener beginning at 7 p.m. As the weekend is set to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the men’s soccer program at Akron, the Zips continue out of conference play on Sunday, Sept. 14 when they take on Hartford at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field at 2:30 p.m.
