Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
Akron
No. 8 Indiana Falls at No. 1 Akron, 1-0
9/18/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 18, 2009
AKRON, Ohio - The eighth ranked Indiana men's soccer team (2-2-1) faced its toughest road test of the season to date Friday night as it took on No. 1 Akron (5-0), but the Hoosiers came up just short in a 1-0 loss at Lee Jackson Field in Akron, Ohio on day one of the University of Akron Tournament.
The Zips scored the game-winning goal at 77:04 off a free kick from Michael Nanchoff. The Hoosiers were called for a foul just outside the box with a straight-on look at the goal, and Nanchoff skipped the ball past the IU wall for the score.
"This is the type of game you get better from," said head coach Mike Freitag. "We played a very good team, but we had our chances and should have put them in. In the first half I thought we had the better chances, and in the second half (Akron) turned it up a bit.
"We will learn from this game and we continue to believe in ourselves. We will be ready to go on Sunday (against FIU), I can guarantee that."
As is usually the case when the Hoosiers hit the road, Indiana was a big draw as Akron set a new attendance record with 2,443 fans in the stands. A good number of those fans were horn-blowing students camped behind the IU goal in the first half.
Akron's Blair Gavin got the ball in good position for a shot in the 13th minute, but senior Ofori Sarkodie was there to make a diving block with his foot, getting the ball back into Akron's possession. The Hoosiers had a pair of corner kicks early in the match but could not convert on the attempts.
Bruin had a shot off a free kick from junior Andy Adlard at 21:39, but Akron goalkeeper David Meves was there to make the save. With 20:05 to go in the half sophomore Alec Purdie broke free and caught the goalkeeper off his line but sent his shot wide right.
Indiana was tagged with a foul just off the top of the box at 43:40 but Anthony Ampaipitakwang's shot was deftly handled by freshman goalkeeper Luis Soffner.
Soffner came up with back-to-back saves within a minute of each other with less than five minutes gone in the second half. On the first attempt the Zips' Teal Bunbury broke free and took on Soffner 1-v-1, with the freshman goalkeeper making a diving save to his left. It was Bunbury again on the second shot and this time Soffner punched the ball out for the stop.
Adlard sent in a screaming shot at 62:40 that was just tipped wide by Meves, setting up a corner kick. Bruin got his head on the end of Adlard's kick but angled his attempt wide left. With 24:50 left in regulation, Lee Hagedorn served a ball to Neil Wilmarth on the far post, but Wilmarth's shot sailed high.
In the 84th minute, Bruin had a shot inches from the net but Gavin's knee was in the right place at the right time, blocking the shot and sending the ball back into play.
Indiana finished with seven shots to the Zips' 10, with both teams putting up an equal four shots in the second half. Akron had five corner kicks to the Hoosiers' four, will all five coming in the second half.
The Hoosiers are back in action on Sunday as they take on Florida International University on Sunday at noon on the final day of the University of Akron Tournament.
