Akron women fall to Cincinnati

CINCINNATI – In its final tune up for Mid-American Conference play, the University of Akron women's soccer team suffered a 2-1 loss to Cincinnati on a rainy Sunday at Gettler Stadium.

Akron (2-3-1) jumped out to an early lead when senior Britni Back navigated her way to the center of the penalty box and put a low grounder into the right side of the net at the 15:20 mark. Cincinnati (6-3-1) evened the score at 24:40, when Emily Hebbeler sent a high-arcing shot into the top-right corner of the net, following a corner kick.

Eric MacDonald scored the game-winning goal for UC in the 72nd minute.

"I am very proud of our team today," Akron head coach Chris Pfau said. "We did everything we could to win the game. We competed, we played and we created some great scoring opportunities against a very tough team. If we do that every time we play we will win 9 out of 10 times."

The Zips outshot the Bearcats 14-13, including a 10-5 advantage in the second half, and also took seven corner kicks compared to UC's two. UA's seven corner kicks and nine shots on goal were both season highs.

"In the first half, I thought we played a little tentative and played in spurts," Pfau sad. "The second half we played like we wanted to win and that gave us some great looks at goal. We now have to have the same drive as we go into conference play. If we can continue this progression, we will win more games than we will lose."

With her goal, Back has taken over as the squad's leading scorer this season, with six points (two goals, two assists). Both of Back's shots against Cincinnati were on goal, giving her a team-best nine in that category for the year.

Sophomore Rachel Phillip was responsible for seven of the Zips' 14 shots and four of their nine shots on goal versus the Bearcats. She now leads the team in shots, with 17, and has eight shots on goal to her credit this season.

Akron sophomore goalkeeper Jeny Wolbert had four saves in 90 minutes, while Cincinnati ‘keeper Andrea Kaminski had eight saves.

Sunday's match was the last of five straight on the road for UA. The Zips begins league play next weekend, playing host to Eastern Michigan on Sept. 25 and Central Michigan on Sept. 27.

"This has been a very tough three weekends for us," Pfau said. "Not only have we played great teams but we have done it on the road. We have grown, worked on our weaknesses and improved going into conference. Now the real season begins for us."