Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
AKRON
Falcons Fall to Nationally-Ranked Akron, 2-0
October 11, 2008 | Men's Soccer
Oct. 11, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) - The nationally-ranked University of Akron got an early goal and a late insurance marker, downing the Bowling Green State University men's soccer team, 2-0, Saturday afternoon (Oct. 11). The Mid-American Conference match was held at Cochrane Field.
With the win, the Zips improve to 9-1-2 overall and 3-0-0 in MAC play, while the Falcons drop to 3-7-1 and 0-2-0, respectively. Akron is ranked No. 3 in the nation in the latest Soccer America poll and fourth in the NSCAA/adidas poll.
"Overall, I thought we played very well today," said BGSU head coach Fred Thompson. "It was an entertaining game, and a fun game to be a part of. If we continue to play this way, and continue working and improving, I believe we can set ourselves up for a nice run."
Anthony Ampaipitakwong got the visitors on the board at the 17:55 mark. That was the only scoring until Matt Tutich tallied an insurance goal with just 4:11 left in the match.
Ampaipitakwong's goal came off a right-side cross from the boot of Ben Zemanski. Ampaipitakwong, stationed near the far post, placed his header perfectly, redirecting the ball into the left side of the net.
"I think their first goal was a little bit against the run of play," said Thompson. "We had established ourselves, and were beginning to play well, but that's what a good team can do on the counterattack. Akron is a top-five team for a reason, and they struck quickly.
"To our credit, however, we quickly pulled things back together. Usually, you've got to be very careful in the five minutes after allowing a goal. But, we righted the ship very quickly, and came right back at them."
The Falcons had a solid scoring opportunity just a few minutes after the UA goal. Junior Cameron Hepple took a free kick from approximately 30 yards out, on the right side of the field. Hepple served a well-played ball into the box, where classmate Jacob Lawrence ran onto it. Lawrence, in traffic, struck his header well, but the hard shot was just wide, hitting the outer netting of the goal.
With 12 minutes left before halftime, UA's Darlington Nagbe misfired on a good opportunity to double his team's lead. Nagbe started a give-and-go with a teammate, and received the return pass in the penalty area, behind the BG defense. Nagbe made a move to elude a diving Paul Shoemaker, but Nagbe's shot from about six yards out sailed high.
"We looked like perhaps we might get a goal on a set piece, late in the first half, but it didn't happen," said Thompson. "Heading into the second half, though, we were looking to keep them off the scoreboard and take advantage of an opportunity, because we knew we would get a couple."
Early in the second half, the Falcons got one of those opportunities, as Shoemaker started a counterattack for his club. The goalkeeper broke up an Akron scoring chance, and played an outlet ball straight ahead to Dusko Topolic. The Serbian soph passed to junior Chuko Evwaraye on the right side of the field, and Evwaraye made a run before sliding a ball to freshman Byard Ebling in the 18-yard box. Ebling spun and fired, but his turnaround shot was blocked by charging UA 'keeper Evan Bush.
"After we strung a few passes together, Byard took a great shot," said Thompson. "He spun his defender, and his shot was quick, hard and low with his left foot, and it took a great save by their 'keeper to prevent the game from being tied."
With just under 30 minutes remaining, Shoemaker made the save of the day, a diving stop of Zemanski's bullet. The shot was taken from roughly 12 yards out, but the Falcon GK made a dive to his left, stopping the shot without giving up a rebound.
The clock had just hit six minutes when senior Kyle McNayrs long ball into the box was just out of reach of a lunging Hepple, who had a step on his man.
With just over four minutes left, however, Steve Zakuani threaded a pass between two defenders to find Tutich, who fired into the upper left corner of the net for a two-goal lead.
"Again, I thought we played quite well overall. When you are behind late, you've got to push, and you leave yourself open in the back. As I said, Akron is a quality team, and they capitalized.
"But, I believe positive results will come if we continue to play this way. We need to get back to work and improve on a few things as we prepare to play the next two MAC games on the road, but if keep playing like this, good things will come."
The visitors had a 10-7 advantage in total shot attempts and a 4-2 margin in shots on goal. Both Shoemaker and Bush had two stops on the day.
The Falcons now return to the road for the next two games, beginning with Wednesday's (Oct. 15) contest at Western Michigan University.
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