WMU and Akron Pull Out Tough Victories
Wednesday's Scoreboard
Western Michigan 2, Detroit Mercy 1
Akron 4, VCU 3
Stories Courtesy of MAC Sports Information
Western Michigan 2, Detroit Mercy 1
Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Western Michigan men's soccer team came back from an early one-goal deficit to score two unanswered goals en route to defeating the University of Detroit Mercy 2-1 Wednesday, Sept. 26 at WMU Soccer Complex, earning its fifth consecutive victory to improve to 6-4 overall on the season.
The WMU victory snaps a Detroit Mercy eight-game unbeaten streak over the Broncos, as the last Western Michigan win over the Titans came during the 2007 season.
"We found a way to win the game, and that's a big deal," said head coach Chad Wiseman. "We conceded what again I thought was a soft goal. We just made some poor decisions in the back and in goal."
The visitors scored their first goal in five games to take an early lead, as Ben A-Gharabally broke past the Bronco defense and chipped the ball over goalkeeper Elijah Michaels to claim the 1-0 lead at the 11 minute mark.
Western Michigan was resilient despite suffering its first deficit in five games. The Broncos outshot the Titans 11-2 in the first half and notched the game-tying goal ten minutes after the Detroit Mercy tally.
Cameron Sipple scored his second of the season at 21', finishing on a ball that was punched out by the Titan goalkeeper following a cross from Paul Liagre. The scoreboard read 1-1 heading into the break as WMU held an 11-2 shot and 5-0 corner kick advantage.
The Broncos came out strong in the second half, scoring within five minutes. Ben Thornton headed in a nice cross from Anthony Bowie for the eventual game-winner, his third goal of the season. Paul Liagre was also credited with an assist, marking a season-high two-point game with his team-leading fourth helper of the season.
Detroit Mercy spared no effort in a comeback attempt, tallying six shots in the remaining minutes, including a quality chance at the 65th minute that was saved nicely by Michaels in the box.
"We showed great toughness and leadership," Wiseman commented. "Outside of the goal, we dominated the first half and found a goal to equalize and probably left one or two out there. In the second half, we came out and found a great goal, which ended up being game-winner. Bowie played a great ball in on an early service and Thornton did the rest."
Michaels, who made his first start since Aug. 30 versus Butler, made two saves to record his second win of the season in net for the Broncos, improving his record to 2-3-0.
Western Michigan has another home match on deck, set to host the University of Pacific on Sunday, Sept. 30 during Bronco Soccer Fest. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. Soccer Fest begins at 9:30 a.m. To find out more, click HERE.
"We're really looking forward to Bronco Soccer Fest on Sunday," Wiseman said. "It is a great event for kids, families, and soccer advocates. Pacific is a top team too, it is going to be gonna be a great day at the WMU Soccer Complex."
Akron 4, VCU 3
Box Score
RICHMOND, Va. – University of Akron men's soccer redshirt sophomore Diogo Pacheco(Lisbon, Portugal) netted a golden goal in the 94th minute (93:55) to propel the Zips (4-3-1) to a come-from-behind 4-3 overtime triumph past VCU (4-4-0) on the strength of his first career hat trick on Wednesday, Sept. 26.
Pacheco garnered the game-winning tally off a pair of assists from senior Morgan Hackworth(Bradenton, Fla.) and junior Marcel Zajac (Mississauga, Ontario). Hackworth headed a ball in the box wide to Zajac, who redirected the ball back into the box to Pacheco, who found the corner of the net to extend the Zips' winning streak to three with the overtime victory.
The three-goal explosion marked the third hat trick for an Akron player this season joining sophomore David Egbo (Enugu, Nigeria) and senior Ezana Kahsay (Asmeras, Eritrea), who matched the feat versus Canisius on Sept. 15.
"I'm really proud of our effort tonight," Akron head coach Jared Embick commented. "We had to come back on the road against a great team, which is tough enough, let alone to deal with a delay and the weather conditions. We had a lot of times to give in, but we stuck together and kept fighting. This is a great result."
The Zips posted a 15-9 advantage in shots on the evening, including a 6-4 margin in shots on goal. Egbo and Kahsay each recorded a game-high four shots for Akron, while Pacheco scored a goal on each of his three shots. Jared Greene led the Rams with a team-high two shots.
The Zips dominated the attack in the opening stanza outshooting the Rams by an 8-3 margin, while garnering an 8-1 margin in corner kicks.
Despite the advantage, VCU cracked the scoring column first in the affair when Greene connected on his fourth goal of the season off an assist from Simon Fitch at the 26:43 mark.
Freshman Marco Milanese (Isernia, Italy) leveled the score at one in the 40th minute (39:49) striking a header into the back of the net off a corner kick from freshman Colin Biros (Canton, Ohio). The tally marked the first collegiate goal and assist for Milanese and Biros, respectively.
The lead was short-lived as Travis Cooke found the back of the net at the 40:49 mark to send the Rams into the intermission holding a 2-1 lead.
Kahsay and Egbo paced Akron with three and two first-half shots, respectively.
After an hour and 40-minute lightning delay, play resumed in the second half at approximately 9:40 p.m.
Off a free kick in the 50th minute (49:59) Egbo served a ball into the box that narrowly missed finding the top of the net as it pinged off the crossbar.
Pacheco netted the equalizer knocking in his third goal of the season on a ball served into the box off a corner kick from redshirt junior Skye Harter(Copley, Ohio) at the 67:15 mark.
A mere 10 seconds later at the 67:25 mark, Pacheco struck again giving the Zips a 3-2 lead with his second goal of the evening. FreshmanSam Tojaga (Erie, Pa.) knocked a ball to Pacheco off a collision with the VCU defender to account for Pacheco's second multi-goal game of the season.
The Zips continued to play strong defensively before Peter Pearson redirected a defensive deflection off of a free kick into the back of the net in the 89th minute (88:31) to square the contest at three.
Akron capped the comeback with Pacheco's game-winner at the 93:55 mark on the Zips' lone shot in overtime.
Senior goalkeeper Ben Lundt (Berlin, Germany) made one stop for Akron, while Mario Sequeira collected two saves for the Rams.
Akron returns to action hosting Syracuse in a 7 p.m. tilt at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field on Monday, Oct. 1.
