Lundt, Strachan, and Moutinho Receive National Team of the Week Honors
Story Courtesy of Akron Sports Information
AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron men's soccer trio of junior Ben Lundt (Berlin, Germany) and freshmen Joao Moutinho (Lisbon, Portugal) and Daniel Strachan (Lakewood, Ohio) have been instrumental in the Zips' success in the NCAA Tournament this season and the trio's efforts were rewarded on Tuesday, Dec. 5, as TopDrawerSoccer.com named the teammates to its National Men's Soccer Team of the Week.
The combined performances of Lundt, Moutinho and Strachan enabled Akron to record its 12th shutout of the season and propelled the Zips to a 4-3 victory over No. 6 Louisville in a six-round penalty shootout in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship on Dec. 1.
With Akron staring at a 2-1 deficit after three rounds of penalty kicks, Lundt made a key save on Adrien Cabon's attempt in round four to set the stage for senior Sam Gainford (Liverpool, England) to even the penalty kicks at two, which he did with a strike to the left corner.
In the deciding fifth round, Tate Schmitt delivered a successful kick to the upper right for Louisville before Moutinho stepped to the line and powered his shot into the back of the net to extend penalty kicks to sudden-death with the scored tied at three.
Sawyer Edwards addressed his shot for the Cardinals and went to the left where a diving Lundt thwarted the attempt with a brilliant save. Calming stepping to the line and delivering with a deft shot to the upper left was senior Niko De Vera (Camas, Wash.), who garnered the Zips' first victory in penalty kicks since edging California in the Elite Eight in 2010 en route to winning the national title.
Anchoring the Zips' efforts on the backline was Moutinho and Strachan, who limited a high-powered Cardinals' offense to only four shots in the second half and overtime, of which only two fell on frame.
The second-ranked and fifth-seeded Zips (18-3-2) will face ninth-seeded Stanford (17-2-2) in a the first semifinal of the College Cup on Friday, Dec. 8, in a 6 p.m. tilt at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pa.
