Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcon Soccer Drops MAC Opener at Akron, 2-1
September 28, 2001 | Men's Soccer
Sept. 28, 2001
Akron, Ohio - The Bowling Green men's soccer team opened up Mid-American Conference play at Akron on Friday night, falling behind early and eventually losing 2-1 to the host Zips at Lee Jackson Field.
Akron (3-3-1 overall, 2-0 in MAC) got on the board first at 7:59 when Tim Cooper hit a shot from the left side past BGSU goalie David DeGraff. Neither team scored for the rest of the first half despite UA holding a 12-6 shot advantage at halftime.
The Zips built upon their lead when Will Kletzien connected on a penalty kick at 56:52 for a 2-0 lead. BGSU trimmed its deficit when junior Tim Butler made good on his one shot of the evening with a lob over goalie Kyle Milligan at 64:17. For Butler, it is his second goal of the season, tops among the Falcons.
However, Bowling Green could not muster another goal and went on to drop its league opener.
"It was a typical Mid-American Conference game," said BGSU coach Mel Mahler. "It was a typical BG-Akron soccer match. The tempo was very high. It was an end-to-end match.
"We were not very organized in the first 15 minutes. We've got to get getter at being organized early and find a way to finish our chances."
Akron held a 22-11 shot advantage for the match, as well as a 10-3 advantage in corner kicks. DeGraff ended with five saves and two goals allowed in 90 minutes. Damion Bennett led BGSU with three shot attempts while Scott Tilford had two.
BGSU falls to 2-2-1 overall and 0-1 in the MAC, continuing on the road Sunday, Sept. 30, with a conference match at Buffalo. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
1 2 Final BGSU 0 1 1 Akron 1 1 2Shots BGSU 11 Akron 22
Corner Kicks BGSU 3 Akron 10
Saves BGSU 5 Akron 2
