A 90th-minute penalty kick from sophomore Colin Biros (Massillon, Ohio) propelled the third-rated University of Akron men’s soccer team to a 3-2 exhibition victory past No. 16 Michigan on Friday, Aug. 23, at FirstEnergy Stadium.
Despite the final-minute heroics, the Zips were bested in shots on the afternoon, 13-6, including 5-3 on goal. Six different Akron players recorded a shot in the affair, while Jack Hallahan posted a game-high five shots for the Wolverines.
Redshirt junior goalkeeper Tor Saunders (Seattle, Wash.) made two saves in going the distance for the for the Zips, while the Michigan tandem of Andrew Verdi and Owen Finnerty played 45 minutes apiece and didn’t notch a save.
The game-winning tally was set-up by a strong surge into the offensive third from junior Diogo Pacheco (Lisbon, Portugal), who was fouled in the box with seven seconds remaining on the clock to draw a penalty kick. Stepping to the line and delivering a successful strike to break the 2-2 stalemate was Biros.
The Zips opened the scoring in the match as senior Tom Smart (Birmingham, England) struck a perfect ball from 25 yards out that found the corner of the net to give Akron a 1-0 lead at the 8:09 mark.
Nebojsa Popovic squared the contest at one in the 31st minute (30:14) connecting on a shot from the top of box off an assist from Hallahan.
The two sides went into the intermission tied at one with the Wolverines owning a 6-1 margin in shots.
Freshman Mani Austmann (Gardabaer, Iceland) had a strong shot on goal for Akron blocked at the 48:45 mark.
Junior David Egbo (Enugu, Nigeria) intercepted a defensive turnover in Michigan’s backfield and capitalized with an unassisted tally at the 61:45 mark to give the Zips a 2-1 advantage.
Akron held the lead until the 81st minute (80:52) when Hallahan found the back of the net with the equalizer off an assist from Popovic.
The Wolverines nearly took a 3-2 lead in the 89th minute (88:13) as only a clearance off the line by redshirt sophomore Declan Watters (Dublin, Ireland) prevented a goal from Umar Farouk Osman.
Akron now turns its attention to the regular season as the Zips open their 65th anniversary campaign traveling to Xavier for a 7 p.m. tilt on Friday, August 30th. Akron’s home opener will be on Sept. 2 as the Zips welcome No. 5 Stanford to FirstEnergy Stadium for a 7:00 pm match.
