Akron Takes Down No. 8 Michigan State
Tuesday's Scoreboard
Western Michigan 3, Oakland 0
SIUE 3, Butler 2
Akron 2, Michigan State 1
Bowling Green 3, IUPUI 2
Wright State 3, West Virginia 0
Stories Courtesy of MAC Sports Information
Western Michigan 3, Oakland 0
Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Western Michigan men's soccer team bounced back from its first loss in six games with a 3-0 victory over Oakland University Tuesday, Oct. 9 at WMU Soccer Complex, improving its overall record to 7-5-1 on the season.
It took the Broncos just 38 seconds to register the game-winning goal, as Mike Melaragni tallied his first collegiate goal. Brendan Skinner put a ball past the Golden Grizzly back line with Melaragni finishing for his first in Brown & Gold.
"It was a great team win today," said head coach Chad Wiseman. "A lot of guys saw action and it was exactly what we needed heading into a big Mid-American Conference weekend."
WMU added two more goals while limiting Oakland to one shot on goal throughout 90 minutes to secure the three-goal victory. The home team notched an own goal at the 32nd minute, as Tommy Clark took a Donovan Michael centering pass in the box and shot one off a Golden Grizzly defender.
In the second half, Ben Thornton scored his fourth goal of the season, brilliantly heading in a Cameron Sipple corner kick at the 57 minute mark. WMU outshot the visitors 13-4 and held a 6-4 advantage in corners.
Lukas Von Lienen earned his second shutout of the season in goal while improving his record to 5-2-1.
"Finding a third goal early in the second half really kind of put the game away," said head coach Chad Wiseman. "It was an outstanding header from Ben. Scoring under a minute into the match certainly helps our cause, congrats to Mike on his first collegiate goal. Oakland is a good team and has and will win games this season. We were very discipline on there attacking players."
Up next, Western Michigan heads back into MAC play at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. (ET).
SIUE 3, Butler 2
Box Score
INDIANAPOLIS – SIUE men's soccer won its fifth straight game Tuesday, winning a back-and-forth game over Butler 3-2 at the Sellick Bowl.
The Cougars improved to 9-1-2 with the win and remained unbeaten (3-0-2) away from home. Butler dropped to 2-8-2.
"Credit to our players," SIUE Head Coach Mario Sanchez said. "They adapted to the game and to the opponent."
Lachlan McLean scored twice, including the game-winner, marking his second consecutive two-goal game. He has scored in four straight games and five of SIUE's last six matches. He leads the Mid-American Conference with nine goals.
"Since he's been at SIUE, I believe he's been one of the top forwards in the country," Sanchez said of McLean. "In previous seasons he has battled injury. This year he is healthy and he is fit. We're not surprised by this because we see it every day in training."
The game-winner came in the 77th minute when McLean on-timed a cross from Noah Fetterpast Butler goalkeeper Gabriel Gjergji to put SIUE on top for good.
"It was a beautiful goal," Sanchez said. "Noah did a great job, took it to the end line, pulled it back and found Lachlan at the near post."
McLean's first of the night put the Cougars on the board just over four minutes into the match after a takeaway in Butler's end.
Butler pulled level by halftime thanks to a 36th minute penalty kick by Jack Haywood.
"We got off to a great start," Sanchez added. "We played really good soccer over the first 20 minutes and then Butler really turned it up."
Jorge Gonzalez put SIUE back in front four minutes into the second half. Gonzalez scored on a blast from the top of the 18-yard box that found the upper corner.
The Bulldogs tied the score again in the 69th minute when Joe Moulden headed home a cross from Jared Timmer.
Butler outshot SIUE 13-7, but both teams had four shots on goal. Gjergji finished with one save. SIUE goalkeeper Noah Heim made two saves.
SIUE used eight reserves during the course of the game.
Midweek games are tough. With everyone in conference play you have to use your bench," Sanchez said. "We trust our guys. The strength of this team right now is how everybody contributes."
The Cougars return to MAC play Saturday at home. SIUE will face Western Michigan at 7 p.m.
"We're looking forward to a very good Western Michigan team coming into Korte Stadium," Sanchez said. "It's a great opportunity for our team."
Akron 2, Michigan State 1
Box Score
EAST LANSING, Mich. – University of Akron men's soccer sophomore David Egbo (Enugu, Nigeria) and redshirt junior Skye Harter(Copley, Ohio) stole the show for the Zips (5-4-2) in a 2-1 road triumph over No. 8 Michigan State (9-2-2) on Tuesday, Oct. 9, as the duo accounted for both goals in the Akron victory.
"Top to bottom we had a tremendous effort from everyone tonight," Akron head coach Jared Embick commented. "It was a team victory for us. Our seniors – Morgan (Hackworth), Ezana (Kahsay) and Ben (Lundt) were excellent and Skye (Harter) was awesome. I couldn't be more proud of our fight. We have a big game on Saturday and we need to focus on that game. I hope we can fill the hill and keep the momentum going."
The road win may provide huge dividends down the road for the Zips this season as the Spartans came into contest rated 19th in the latest NCAA RPI report.
Coming off the bench in the 71st minute, Egbo scored what proved to be the game-winning tally at the 81:20 mark to give Akron a 2-1 lead. Harter delivered a ball into the center of the box, one which Egbo struck into the back of the net for his team-leading eighth goal of the season.
The Zips dialed up their defensive efforts sparked by the backline play of senior Abdi Mohamed(Westerville, Ohio), sophomore Daniel Strachan (Lakewood, Ohio) and freshmen Pol Hernandez(Teia, Spain) and Carlo Ritaccio (Westbury, N.Y.) over the final nine minutes to extend their unbeaten road streak to four with the victory.
Fueled by a 9-6 edge in second-half shots, Akron finished the night posting a 12-10 advantage in shots, while each side recorded four shots on goal.
Harter directed the Zips' offensive efforts scoring a goal and adding an assist on the strength of a team-best three shots, while junior Marcel Zajac (Mississauga, Ontario) collected a pair of shots. Ryan Sierakowski led the Spartans with a game-high four shots.
Senior goalkeeper Ben Lundt (Berlin, Germany) made three saves in net for Akron to record the victory, while Jimmy Hague stopped a pair of shots in net for Michigan State.
On a ball placed just beyond the 18-yard box, Harter gave the Zips an early 1-0 advantage connecting on a free kick that found the corner of the net at the 8:40 mark for his first goal of the season.
Sierakowski followed striking a ball from the middle of the box for the Spartans, one which bent and struck the far post in the 12th minute (11:08) to deny the scoring chance.
Lundt made a diving save to the near post off a shot by Sierakowski at the 20:47 mark, before corralling another stop off the foot of DeJuan Jones' foot at the 24:58 mark.
Akron held a 1-0 advantage at the intermission despite being outshot in the opening stanza, 4-3, including 2-1 on goal.
Michigan State netted the equalizer in the 54th minute (53:47) when Michael Wetunga redirected a rebound off a Jones' shot for his first goal of the season.
Harter followed unleashing a strike in the box at the 77:08 mark that deflected off the Michigan State defender and narrowly missed finding the corner of the net for a go-ahead goal.
A shot by Zajac in the 80th minute (79:05) resulted in a save by Hague.
The momentum then swung in the Zips' favor on the strength of Egbo's goal.
A diving header by Jones at the 82:28 mark failed to hit the mark and stood as the last shot of the evening for the Spartans.
The Zips resume Mid-American Conference play hosting West Virginia on Saturday, Oct. 16. The 7 p.m. tilt at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Bowling Green 3, IUPUI 2
Box Score
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Charlie Maciejewski scored with just 3.5 seconds on the clock, lifting the Bowling Green State University men's soccer team to a 3-2 overtime win over IUPUI Tuesday night (Oct. 9). The non-conference match was held at Michael A. Carroll Stadium in downtown Indianapolis.
After BGSU (3-5-3) won a throw-in with under 20 seconds remaining, sophomore Vinny Worner threw the ball to freshman Jensen Lukacsko on the right side of the field. Lukacsko quickly found Maciejewski, who took the ball toward the end line, then made a nifty spin move to get around his defender. Maciejewski brought the ball into the box from the right side, and from approximately 10 yards out, the junior blasted a shot into the roof of the net, giving the Falcons the win and sparking a wild celebration.
Sophomore Chris Sullivan and senior Tate Robertson also scored in the win, with Robertson picking up the primary assist on Sullivan's goal.
The Falcons had advantages of 19-10 in total shot attempts, 8-3 in shots on goal and 10-3 in corner kicks. BGSU outshot the Jaguars in every period, including a 4-0 margin in the overtime.
Each team was awarded two penalty kicks in the match, and both of the Jags' goals came from the spot. IUPUI goalkeeper Quinn McCallion stopped the Falcons' second PK of the match in overtime, setting the stage for Maciejewski's 11th-hour heroics.
Wright State 3, West Virginia 0
Box Score
DAYTON, Ohio – The West Virginia University men's soccer team's three-match win streak was snapped with a 3-0 loss at No. 17 Wright State on Tuesday night.
The Mountaineers (8-5-0) were shut out for the fourth time this season and the first time since Sept. 10. The Raiders (9-1-2) took a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute and made it 2-0 in the 38th. They took a 3-0 lead in the 86th minute.
WVU was out-shot, 14-12, and held an 8-4 advantage in shots on goal. West Virginia was playing its first ranked opponent of the season, as Wright State improved to 5-0-1 at home.
"We didn't compete, we looked like a tired team that has traveled, and we didn't compete tonight," WVU coach Marlon LeBlanc said. "They jumped on us 10 minutes into the game, and at the end of the day, they just out-worked us. Give them credit, because they out-worked us, but we were soft, and we got what we deserved on the night."
Nine of the Mountaineers' 12 shots came in the second half, with all four shots on goal coming in the final 45 minutes. WVU had six corner kicks, four in the second half, and WSU had five, all in the first half.
Sophomore goalkeeper Steven Tekesky made five saves, three in the first half and two in the second.
Senior midfielder Joey Piatczyc led the team with three shots, while junior defender Pascal Derwaritsch, junior midfielder Andres Muriel Albino and sophomore forward Spenser Myers each had two shots, one on goal.
It was a quick-paced beginning to the match, as both teams had a shot and a corner kick in the opening five minutes. WVU's shot, which was wide, came from sophomore defender Kevin Morris off a corner kick, while WSU's shot was saved by Tekesky in the third minute.
Wright State took a 1-0 lead at 9:45, off the foot of Stefan Rokvic. Jackson Dietrich picked up the assist.
Following the goal, the Raiders had a shot go high in the 11th minute, and Derwaritsch sent a shot wide in the 15th. While the pace continued, neither team had another opportunity in the final third until a WSU shot was blocked in the 24th minute and the Raiders added a corner kick 30 seconds later.
Tekesky made his second save of the match in the 28th minute, and Piatczyc followed with a chance from the near side outside the 18. His first ball in was blocked, but he got his own rebound and sent another ball in, which was grabbed by Wright State's keeper.
On its ensuing possession, Tekesky made a great stop on a shot in in the 31st minute. The Mountaineer defense then prevented shots on back-to-back Raider corner kicks before WSU extended its lead to 2-0 at 35:57, on a header by Linden Eberle. Deri Corfe got the assist.
The home side held a 7-3 advantage in shots and a 5-0 edge in shots on goal in the opening 45 minutes.
The Mountaineers had several chances early in the second half, and Myers and freshman midfielder Josh DiMatteo each had shots in the opening 15 minutes, but they were both saved. In the 65th minute, West Virginia had a great opportunity on a corner kick by sophomore forward Tsubasa Takada, but WVU couldn't convert on the ball in through the six.
Tekesky followed with a fantastic save in the 68th minute. He made a leaping grab on a ball aimed at the upper corner of the net. The WSU shot came off a rebound after the Mountaineer defensive wall blocked a free kick from 20 yards out.
West Virginia had another opportunity in the 75th minute on a loose ball inside the box, and Derwaritsch put a foot on it, but Wright State's keeper was there to make the save.
WVU's final chance came when senior forward Rushawn Larmond hit the post in the 82nd minute. The play began with a corner by Piatczyc, and junior defender Albert Andres-Llop then sent a ball into the box, to Larmond, who's shot came from just outside the six.
Wright State made it 3-0 at 85:39, as Rokvic scored his second, assisted by Corfe.
West Virginia concludes a three-match roadtrip at MAC foe Akron on Saturday, Oct. 13, at 7 p.m. ET. The Mountaineers then return home for the final homestand of the season, beginning against SIU Edwardsville on Saturday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m.
