The No. 8 University of Akron men’s soccer team used a second-half goal from Reinaldo Brenes to defeat Furman, 1-0, Sunday at Patriots Point and win the Nike/Aaron Olitsky Memorial Classic Tournament, hosted by the College of Charleston.
Brenes’ decisive strike came in the 58th minute when Ismail Seremba, who had just entered the match, collected an Akron corner kick and slipped the ball to Brenes with space in front of the net. The Hermann Trophy candidate and UA’s leading goal scorer from 2012, turned and buried it from 12 yards out for his first goal of the fall.
For their performances this weekend, Brenes, Bryan Gallego, Aodhan Quinn and Eric Stevenson were named to the All-Tournament team. After directing the Zips to a pair of shutouts to start the season, Gallego was also named Tournament MVP.
The Zips came out flying early and nearly found the net in the match’s first minute when Stevenson chipped a ball to Brenes, who got behind the Furman back line. Brenes couldn’t hit it cleanly however as his shot went wide of the right post.
Stevenson found Brenes again in the 12th minute, earning Akron a free kick after a Paladin defender fouled the Hermann Trophy candidate just outside of the penalty area. Quinn took it directly from straight on but the keeper was there to scoop it up.
In all, it was a dominant first 45 minutes for Akron, which played the large majority of the half in the final third of the field. Nonetheless, the teams went into the break locked in a scoreless tie.
The Zips will head to the St. John’s Tournament next weekend where they will face the host Red Storm Friday at 8 p.m. ET and Rutgers Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Akron will play SJU in Queens, NY, then jump across the border to play the Scarlet Knights in New Brunswick, NJ.
