Monday's Scoreboard
Pitt 1, Akron 0
Story Courtesy of Akron Sports Information
Pitt 1, Akron 0
Box Score
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The University of Akron men's soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision at Pittsburgh (2-3-1) on Monday, Sept. 16, as a 74th-minute (74:00) goal from Alexander Dexter lifted the Panthers to victory.
The Zips (0-5-0) were unable net the equalizer down the stretch as the Panthers finished the evening registering an 18-6 advantage in shots, including 7-4 on goal.
Freshman Will Jackson (Hudson, Ohio) led Akron with a team-high two shots, while four other Zips collected a shot apiece. Edward Kizza directed the Panthers' offensive efforts with a game-high four shots.
Redshirt junior goalkeeper Tor Saunders (Seattle, Wash.) pulled in five saves for the Zips, including three in the second half, while Arie Ammann recorded four stops for Pittsburgh.
The Panthers held the early advantage offensively in the affair registering the first three shots of the match.
Junior David Egbo (Enugu, Nigeria) posted the Zips' initial strike of the evening at the 20:54 mark delivering a free kick that was pulled in for a save by Ammann.
Saunders turned in a diving save off a shot from Almeda Rodrigo in the 29th minute (28:16) to deny the Pittsburgh scoring chance.
The Panthers played a cross into the box in the 31st minute that bounced off of Saunders, before the shot off a deflection by Braden Kline was cleared off the line and back into the hands of Saunders for a team save by junior Daniel Strachan(Lakewood, Ohio).
The Zips were outshot in the initial 45 minutes, 7-1, including 3-1 on net.
Freshman Henrique Cruz (Fortaleza, Brazil) had a side-swinging laser shot from just outside the six-yard box go high of the net off a corner kick by sophomore Colin Biros (Jackson, Ohio) in the 53rd minute (52:32).
Shots by Jackson and senior Skye Harter (Copley, Ohio) at the 56:20 and 67:50 marks, respectively, were thwarted by saves from Ammann.
Freshman Mani Austmann (Gardabaer, Iceland) shot in the 72nd minute (71:37) was denied by diving save from Ammann.
A ball played in from the endline into the box by Kline deflected off the Akron defender before Alexander punched the rebound to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead at the 74:00 mark.
A 1v1 opportunity by Dexter in the 79th minute (78:11) was nixed by a Saunders' save. Saunders again denied shots by Josh Hesson and Chad Stout at the 80:45 and 81:46 marks, respectively.
The Panthers nearly pushed their lead to 2-0 in the 84th minute (83:10) as a free kick by Sito Sena hit the underside of the bar before bounding down in front of the goal line and pushed out of danger by the Zips.
Akron returns to action with a 7 p.m. match at Marshall on Saturday, Sept. 21.
