Two exhibitions provided mixed results for the Zips as the squad prepared for their regular season opener. A win against Marshall wowed home fans early in the week, while a loss in St. Louis tonight still showed significant progress.
The No. 8 University of Akron men’s soccer team opened up its preseason schedule with a resounding 4-1 victory over Marshall Tuesday night at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field.
Akron jumped ahead early with a trio of goals before the break and never looked back – out-shooting the Thundering Herd 19-3 for the match and 11-1 on goal. In particular, it was an impressive Zips’ debut for freshman midfielder Adam Najem, who tallied two goals and an assist to lead the charge for UA.
Despite being a Tuesday night exhibition match before the start of classes, Akron had the benefit of playing in front of a lively crowd of 1,826 fans.
The Zips wasted little time giving the crowd something to cheer for as Aodhan Quinn buried a cross from Saad Abdul-Salaam in the ninth minute, then Bryan Gallego flicked home a free kick from Najem just three minutes later.
Marshall cut its deficit in half in the 20th minute on its lone shot on goal. Freshman Daniel Jodah made the most of the opportunity by uncorking an unassisted laser from more than 30 yards out into the far corner of the net.
But that’s as close as the Herd would get as the Zips continued to dominate play and limited Marshall to just one shot – an attempt that sailed high over the goal – after the break. Conversely, UA continued to threaten the MU goal and broke through twice in the second half with both scores coming off the foot of Najem.
The U.S. Under-18 National Team product skipped a shot past the keeper in the 39th minute then finished a through ball from Phil Fives from the top of the box in the 64th to close out the scoring.
Despite out-shooting the opposition by a count of 17-6, The No. 8 University of Akron men’s soccer team came up short in a 2-0 exhibition defeat at No. 15 Saint Louis at Hermann Stadium Saturday night.
The Zips controlled the large majority of the contest but some defensive miscommunication led to an early goal for the defending Atlantic 10 champion Billikens, who made the most of their limited opportunities in converting two of their three shots on goal for the night.
In just the eighth minute of play, Alex Sweetin served a free kick into the box from the left sideline. The ball bounced around before Julian Gieseke slipped a pass to Tyler David, who skipped a shot around a block of Zips defenders and into the net.
Akron had a number of chances to pull even – with an advantage of 7-3 in shots in the first half and 10-3 after halftime – but couldn’t cash in.
In particular, UA had a trio of prime scoring oppportunities in the second half.
First, in the 54th minute, Reinaldo Brenes found himself all alone from 12 yards out but the SLU goalkeeper David Andre just got a hand up in time to punch the ball into the air. Brenes jumped on the rebound but his second shot sailed high over the cross bar.
Then, just three minutes later, Adam Najem was in a similar position and fired a rocket into the goalie box from straight away but once again Andre, who finished with three saves on the night after entering the match at halftime, was there to punch the ball clear.
Finally, with four minutes left in regulation, Ismail Seremba, who came on for Eric Stevenson late, got around his mark and caught the keeper out of position. But this time, a Billikens’ defender was there to clear the mid-ranged shot off the line.
After surviving a number of scares throughout the game, Saint Louis capitalized off an Akron turnover in the back field to put the match away on a goal by Josh Kohring at the 87:22 mark.
Saturday night served as the final preseason tune-up for the Zips, who will officially kick off the 2013 campaign at the College of Charleston Tournament next weekend in South Carolina.
