Akron Women's Soccer Drops Sunday Match to Ball State, 2-0

AKRON, OH - September 29, 2013 - The University of Akron (4-4-2, 1-1-0 MAC) women's soccer team dropped Sunday afternoon's Mid-American Conference match against Ball State University (7-2-1, 2-0-0 MAC) by a score to 2-0 at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field.

Following a strong win on Friday against Miami (Ohio), the Zips never had much control of the match. Ball State started the scoring effort early in the fifth minute, when they headed in a goal in the from a corner kick.

Twenty minutes would lapse until the next Ball State goal, as the Cardinals' Kelsey Wendlandt gave her team a 2-0 lead with a breakaway goal in the 24th minute.

Junior goalkeeper Alex Luevano-Harden allowed both first half goals in her second start of the season, before being replaced by sophomore Klaire Adee in the second half. Luevano-Harden collected two saves in 45 minutes of play, but her record fell to 1-1-0 in 2013 with the loss.

The Zips had a few chances in the second half to cut into the deficit, but the Cardinals defense was unrelenting. Senior Kelly DeNiro led the Akron attack with four shots, one on goal, while Amber Kern, Sarah Sivic and Lani Smith each recorded two shots.

Adee finished up the game in goal with two saves and no goals allowed in the second half. This season, the Rockford, Ill. native has registered 30 total saves.

Akron women's soccer will be back in action next weekend with two MAC matches scheduled. UA will open up the weekend against Northern Illinois on Friday at 7 p.m., and will wrap up on Sunday against Toledo at 1 p.m.

Akron Women's Soccer Falls to CSU, 2-1

AKRON, OH - September 23, 2013 - The University of Akron (3-3-2) women's soccer team fell to Cleveland State University (6-4-1) by a score of 2-1 on Sunday afternoon at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field.

Cleveland State's Vickie Havas scored the first goal of the match in the 29th minute to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead as the game went into half.

The Vikings added to their lead in the 81st minute with a goal by Amanda Sivic to take a 2-0 lead with less than 10 minutes less in the half.

Akron would cut into the Cleveland State lead in the 83rd minute with a goal from senior midfielder Kelly DeNiro, her first of the season. DeNiro's goal brought the game to its final score of 2-1. 

Despite incurring the loss, Akron out-shot CSU, 25-6, and also produced more shots on goal, 9-3. DeNiro led the Zips with nine shots, three on goal, while Lani Smith, Sarah Sivic, and Megan Waskowski each had three shots.

Sophomore goalkeeper Klaire Adee saw her record in goal fall to 3-3-2 with the loss on Sunday. Adee registered one save in the contest to bring her season total 28.

Akron will kickoff Mid-American Conference play next weekend, as two home matches are scheduled. UA is scheduled to matchup with Miami (OH) at 7 p.m., on Friday and Ball State on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Akron Women's Soccer Victorious Over Canisius on Sunday, 2-1

BUFFALO, NY- September 15, 2013 -  Two second half goals gave The University of Akron (3-2-2) women's soccer team the win on Sunday afternoon over Canisius College (2-6-1) by a score of 2-1 at the Demske Sports Complex.

Akron and Canisius played strong defense through the first period, as the match went scoreless in the first 45 minutes. Sophomore Madison Kaser provided the Zips with two shots on goal in the first half. 

The Golden Griffs took a 1-0 lead ten minutes into the second half with a goal by Brianna Smith in the 55th minute, which is sophomore goalie Klaire Adee's 11th goal allowed this season.

Freshman Sarah Sivic registered the Zips first goal of the match in the 64th minute, assisted by junior Lani Smith, to knot the game at one. Sivic has now scored four goals this season, and leads the Zips offense with a total of 12 points. 

With the match tied at one in the 71st minute, Smith netted her third goal of the season to give Akron a 2-1 lead that would stand through regulation. This is the first game of Smith's UA career in which she recorded one goal and one assist.

Adee's record at goalie improved to 3-2-2 with the 2-1 win over Canisius on Sunday. She registered a total of five saves in the match to bring her season total to 27 saves. 

Overall, the Zips offense controlled much of the game, as Akron out-shot Canisius 22 to 13. Smith led Akron with five shots, three on target, while three Zips – Kelly DeNiro, Kaser and Sivic – tied with four shots a piece.

Akron will be back in action at home in FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field next Sunday, Sept. 22 to face Cleveland State. Last season, UA defeated CSU, 2-0, in Cleveland.

Close Call for Akron and Boston in Women's Soccer Action

Photos by Brent Durken/ISNSoccer.com

AKRON, OH - September 8, 2013 - The University of Akron women’s soccer team fell 3-2 to the Patriot League’s Boston University in the Zips’ home opener.

It was quite a match, one with a number of lead changes as momentum switched back and forth from side to side.

The level of competition and the difficulty of the schedule is certainly up a notch for Akron this season, the second under the expert tutelage of Head Coach Vernon Croft.

Croft has countered that step up in play with some serious injections of talent, most notably Lani Smith, who transferred in from South Carolina.  Smith was an absolute terror for the Terriers’ defense, posing a constant threat to score at a moment’s notice.

“She brings a different element to our attack,” Croft suggested. “She provides us with a true goalscoring threat as a player. We are excited to have her as part of the program.”

But it was Clare Pleuler that scored for Boston in the 5th minute, with Madison Kaser landed the equalizer for UA in the 30th minute.  Madison Clemens set up Pleuler with a pass in the box, which she put into the bottom left corner.  Kaser’s goal came off a header on a corner kick from Sarah Sivic.

“That is a heck of a team we just played,” Croft stated. “We just got stung with that early goal, but we’re superproud of our kids to battle back.”

The second half began with Boston on the attack, but it was Akron that struck first.  Sivic came up with her third goal of the season, beating Andrea Green to her right in the 61st minute.  The home crowd was clearly excited about Akron’s 2-1 lead, but that lead unfortunately was short-lived.

Boston responded less than four minutes later with a goal of their own after Jamie Turchi launched a high shot just out of the reach of UA keeper Klaire Adee.

Boston continued to apply the pressure with limited scoring opportunities coming the way of UA.

The Terriers managed to finally put things away in the 79th minute with an unassisted goal from Erica Kosienski, slipping one more past Adee.

The Terriers seemed to be just a step sharper in the second half, applying loads of pressure on the Zips backline. Akron bent and finally broke with a little over 20 minutes remaining, but otherwise put in a strong performance against one of New England’s best programs.

Adee, a Rockford, IL native, finished with 3 saves in goal for the Zips.  The sophomore keeper faced an incredible 20 shots, including 13 from the 2nd half alone.  It was a strong performance for a young player that has played herself into the starting XI, ahead of redshirt junior Alex Luevano-Harden.

Playing such a strong schedule is a major step forward for the program as a whole.  The thought is it will pay off when play in the MAC begins.

“I think the biggest thing it should do for us is provide us some confidence,” Croft added. “We’ve taken three teams from three major conferences and we’ve played them.  We played three overtime games in the last four games.”

The Zips now hit the road to face Canisius on September 15th before returning home to face fellow Ohio side Cleveland State on September 22nd.

Akron Women's Soccer Ends in Draw with Youngstown State

YOUNGSTOWN, OH - September 6, 2013 -  In their third overtime game of the season, The University of Akron (2-1-2) women's soccer team played Youngstown State (1-3-1) to a one-all  draw on Friday evening at Farmers National Bank Field. 

Junior Lani Smith provided Akron with their lone goal of the game in the 16th minute, which was assisted by Broadview Heights, Ohio native Sarah Sivic. Smith has now collected two goals in the past two matches.

Akron held Youngstown scoreless through the first half, as sophomore goalie Klaire Adee collected three saves in her first 45 minutes in goal. However, late in the second half, the Penguins knotted the game at one with a goal in the 78th minute.

Both overtimes went scoreless with both teams playing strong defense throughout the periods. Adee finished the game with five total saves, giving her 19 total on the season. Her record now stands at 2-1-2 for the season. 

Friday's one-all tie marks the fourth straight game that the Akron defense has held opponents to one goal or less. Katie George and Brianna Kanz remained on the pitch for the full 110 minutes, with Abby Gindlesberger (38 minutes) and Gillian Gross (88 minutes) providing strong support in the draw.

Zips women's soccer will come back to Akron on Sunday for the 2013 home opener at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field against the Boston University Terriers. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m., on Sunday.

Akron Women's Soccer Match at Marshall Ends in Draw

HUNTINGTON, WV - September 1, 2013 - The University of Akron (2-1-1) women's soccer team played Marshall University (2-1-1) to a one-all draw on Sunday afternoon in Akron's second straight overtime match.  

"This weekend was a sign of the times for our program, as we went on the road again and had to battle back from a goal in both matches to get a result," head coach Vernon Croft said Sunday. "This is the first time for us to have two results in a weekend and on the road nonetheless."

Sophomore goalkeeper Klaire Adee registered a career high eight saves in the draw on Sunday, despite allowing one goal to the Thundering Herd offense. Adee, whose record now stands at 2-1-1, has a total of 14 saves this season. 

Marshall's Erin Simmons put Akron in a 1-0 deficit in the 27th minute, which would last through the first half. The UA defense has held opponents to one goal in three of the first four matches of the season.

Junior Lani Smith, a transfer from the University of South Carolina, registered the match-tying goal off a shot to the bottom left corner of the goal at 71:44, assisted by Karina Atkinson. Smith now has a total of three collegiate goals between UA and USC. 

Three Akron players – Katie George, Brianna Kanz and Maggie Rusnak – remained on the pitch for the duration of the contest. George currently leads UA in minutes played with 380, followed up by Kanz with 363 minutes.

Senior midfielder Kelly DeNiro totaled the most shots on goal with two. DeNiro leads the Zips in shots taken this season with 15. Overall, the Akron offense totaled seven shots on goal. 

"There is incredible commitment from everyone in our program to continue to make us better, from the training staff to the managing staff to the coaching staff and most importantly the players," Croft said following the draw.  "Could not be more proud of where we are, and am even more excited about where we can go."

Akron will head to Youngstown State for a Friday matchup at 7 p.m., before coming to FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field for the 2013 home opener against Boston University on Sunday at noon. There will be a schedule t-shirt giveaway for the home opener.