Akron and Western Michigan Advance to Semifinals
Championship Central
2018 Bracket
Tuesday Scoreboard
Akron 2, SIUE 1
Western Michigan 3, Northern Illinois 1
Stories Courtesy of MAC Sports Information
Akron 2, SIUE 1
Box Score
AKRON, Ohio – University of Akron junior Marcel Zajac (Mississauga, Ontario) scored what proved to be the game-winning tally in the 33rd minute (32:51) to propel the fourth-seeded Zips (8-6-2) to a 2-1 men's soccer victory over SIU Edwardsville (9-5-4) in the opening round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament on Tuesday, Nov. 6, at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field.
Zajac's third goal of the season set up a date with top-seeded West Virginia in the tournament semifinals on Friday, Nov. 9, at 5:30 p.m. in Morgantown, W.Va.
Akron parlayed a a stout defensive effort along with tallies from senior Morgan Hackworth(Bradenton, Fla.) at the 7:59 and Zajac, as part of an overall 15-4 advantage in shots, into the squad's second straight triumph.
Playing with the wind at their back in the second half, the Zips registered a 10-1 margin in shots, en route to the overall 15-4 edge, including a 4-1 spread in shots on goal.
Zajac and freshman Colin Biros (Canton, Ohio) directed the Akron attack with a game-high three shots apiece, while sophomore David Egbo (Enugu, Nigeria), Hackworth, senior Ezana Kahsay (Asmeras, Eritrea) and freshman Sam Tojaga (Erie, Pa.) added two shots apiece for the Zips. Greg Solawa led the Cougars with a team-high three shots.
Senior goalkeeper Ben Lundt (Berlin, Germany) garnered the victory in net for Akron without needing to make a save, while Noah Heim recorded a pair of stops for SIU.
The Zips struck first in the match when Hackworth connected on his third goal of the season off an assist from Kahsay in the eighth minute (7:59). Hackworth redirected a deflection of Kahsay's initial strike into the back of the net to give Akron a 1-0 lead.
The Zips maintained the advantage until the 17:11 mark when Solawa bent a beautiful shot from just outside the corner of the box through a stiff wind to find the corner of the net for the equalizer.
A defensive miscue by SIU Edwardsville in the box corralled by redshirt sophomore Diogo Pacheco (Lisbon, Portugal) led to Zajac's game-winning goal in the 33rd minute (32:51).
Akron registered a 5-3 advantage in first-half shots, including 2-1 on goal, to maintain a 2-1 lead at halftime.
Zajac nearly netted a two-goal performance as his shot in the box at the 46:23 mark hit the crossbar before being cleared out by the Cougars.
Tojaga and Ebgo delivered shots on frame in the 72nd (71:13) and 74th (73:04) minutes for the Zips, both of which were denied by saves from Heim.
Akron's tilt against the Mountaineers on Friday, Nov. 9, will follow the other semifinal match between second-seeded Bowling Green and third-seeded Western Michigan. That contest is slated for a 2:30 p.m. start.
Western Michigan 3, Northern Illinois 1
Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Western Michigan men's soccer team, seeded No. 3 in the 2018 Mid-American Conference Tournament, answered an early deficit with three unanswered goals all in the first half to take down No. 6 seed Northern Illinois in a MAC Quarterfinal match on Tuesday, Nov. 6 at WMU Soccer Complex.
The Broncos advance to the MAC Semifinals and are set to face No. 2 seed Bowling Green on Friday, Nov. 9 in Morgantown, W. Va., hosted by West Virginia University. The quarterfinal win marks the sixth consecutive time the Brown & Gold will appear in the MAC Semifinals.
"We played an excellent first half, all though we conceded against the run of play we had the right mentality for the opening 45 minutes," said head coach Chad Wiseman. "We scored three deserving goals."
NIU took the lead 13 minutes into the match, as Jan Maertins capitalized on a loose ball in the box and finished past WMU goalkeeper Lukas Von Lienen.
Western Michigan answered just under six minutes later. Pepe Martinez-Bertrand was fouled inside of the box to set up a WMU penalty kick. Senior co-captain Cameron Sipple stepped up and converted his third PK tally and team-leading sixth goal of the year to knot the match at 1-1.
The Broncos' aggressive attack forced the Huskies' on their heels as they were handed a yellow card at the 29th minute, setting up a WMU free kick. Sipple's free kick was placed nicely inside of the box and was headed in by Caden Jackman for the game-winner.
Another yellow card on NIU's Adrian Corona forced the Huskies to go down a man just 32 minutes into the match while setting up another free kick opportunity for Western Michigan. Just outside the right 18-yard box, Tommy Clark sent in a great strike past the leading Huskie goalkeeper to give the Broncos the two-goal cushion.
WMU took its 3-1 lead into the break with a 9-2 shot advantage.
Physically play ensued in the second half as the Huskies responded nicely with consistent pressure throughout. NIU created eight corner kick opportunities compared to four from the Broncos in the final 45 minutes but were unable to mount a comeback.
The Brown & Gold limited NIU to just two shots on goal. Von Lienen picked up the win in goal, improving his record to 7-2-3 on the year.
Western Michigan (10-5-3) will take on the Falcons from BGSU at 2:30 p.m. on Friday from Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium on the campus of West Virginia. WMU and BGSU played to a 1-1 draw in double overtime during the regular season on Oct. 20 in Bowling Green, Ohio.
"Our experience was a big advantage for us," Wiseman commented. "Tommy Clark was a boss on the field today. We were playoff ready today and guys such as Sipple, Jake Rufe, and Ben Thorntonmade sure of that. Looking at Friday, we're pumped to have a semifinal matchup versus a good Bowling Green team. Our matches with them over the years have been thrillers. This time with the winner having a chance to play for the championship, I expect it will be one fans will want to tune in for."
