Tuesday's Scoreboard
Akron 2, Marshall 1
Kentucky 1, Bowling Green 0
Story Courtesy of MAC Sports Information
Akron 2, Marshall 1
Box Score
AKRON, Ohio - A golden goal in the 99th minute (98:05) from freshman Jason Shokalook (Erie, Pa.) propelled the seventh-ranked University of Akron men's soccer team to dramatic 2-1 overtime victory past No. 9 Marshall (3-1-1) in the Zips' home opener on Tuesday, March 2 at FirstEnergy Stadium.
Shokalook headed home his first collegiate goal from 12 yards out to off a stellar serve into the box from junior Federico Serra (Cagliari, Italy), who earned the assist on the tally.
"It was a hard-fought game, and we broke through," Akron head coach Jared Embick commented. "We were not great in the first half and then when the red card came it changed how the game was going to be played. It was then about whether or not we were going to break down numbers and stay focused on the counter, and sometimes it takes a while, they have a good team, they battled, and we just had to find a way and we did. It is a good feeling for everyone and great win at the end of the day. We were getting frustrated and you could see that at times, and I think that it was important to find some quality and keep sticking with it and just find a play to win a game, that will move this team forward."
The Zips (1-0-1) outshot the Thundering Herd on the afternoon, 12-4, including a 4-2 edge in shots on goal. Senior Diogo Pacheco (Lisbon, Portugal), who scored Akron's first goal at the 13:35 mark off an assist from junior Colin Biros (Jackson, Ohio), directed the Zips' offensive attack with a game-high three shots, including two on frame. Freshman Ryan Combe (York, Maine) also recorded three shots, while Shokalook finished the contests with two shots. Vitor Dias, who netted Marshall's lone goal in the affair in the 20th minute (19:01), led the Thundering Herd with a team-high two shots.
Senior Will Meyer (Solon, Ohio) recorded one save for the Zips in net, while his counterpart, Oliver Semmle, made two stops for Marshall.
Akron is scheduled to open its Mid-American Conference campaign welcoming Bowling Green to FirstEnergy Stadium for a 1 p.m. contest on Sunday, March 7.
Kentucky 1, Bowling Green 0
Box Score
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky scored in the 13th minute of Tuesday afternoon's (March 2) match, and the nationally-ranked Wildcats made that goal stand up in a 1-0 win over the Bowling Green State University men's soccer team. The match, the Falcons' final non-conference contest, was held at the Wendell & Vickie Bell Soccer Complex.
For the Falcons (2-2-0), it marked the second one-goal setback against a top-10 team on the road in four days. The Wildcats entered the match ranked No. 7 in the nation in the first United Soccer Coaches poll of the spring, and UK is 12th in the latest Top Drawer Soccer top-25 poll.
The Falcons received seven votes in Tuesday's USC poll, the organization's first poll of the spring.
UK, which played a fall schedule, improves to 8-1-1 (7-0-1 at home) in 2020-21.
The teams each had eight total shot attempts and one shot on goal. The Wildcats' win was not secured until the final seconds of the match, when BG's eighth shot of the afternoon was off the mark.
