Akron women down Kent State

KENT, Ohio – The University of Akron women's soccer team extended its win streak to five matches and notched its fourth-consecutive shutout on Sunday, defeating neighborhood rival and Mid-American Conference foe Kent State 1-0 at KSU Soccer Field.

The lone goal of the afternoon didn't come until the 87th minute, when junior Jordan Clark scored her second goal of the season and first career gamewinner off of a 25-yard free kick from the top of the box. KSU goalkeeper Kelly Sherwood got a fist on it, but the well-struck ball went into the right side of the net.

Clark's kick was one of five shots on goal for Akron (8-6-2, 6-3-1 MAC), which won its program best sixth league game of the season (bettering the 5-7-0 conference mark set by the 2003 team). In just their ninth season as a varsity program, the Zips also improved their standing for next month's MAC Tournament, which they qualified for for the first time ever with a 2-0 win at Buffalo on Friday night.

"This has been a tremendous weekend for the program," Akron head coach Chris Pfau said. "All credit to Kent State, they battled hard, and we knew they were going to make us earn anything we got from this game. We knew it was going to take something special to break the deadlock – and that's exactly what (Jordan) Clark gave us with such a terrific free kick."

After limiting Buffalo to just one shot on goal on Friday, the UA defense held Kent State (7-8-2, 3-5-2 MAC) to two shots on frame as the Flashes lost their third in a row and suffered their second-straight 1-0 defeat. KSU outshot UA, 14-11.

Zips' sophomore goalkeeper Jeny Wolbert had two saves in the winning effort. She picked up her seventh win of the season, earned her fifth shutout of the year and eighth of her career.

Senior Britni Back led all players with four shots, while junior Jordan Baranowski had two (both on goal).

Akron has outscored its opposition 7-0 in its last four matches and 10-2 over the last seven contests. The Zips have been victorious in six of their last seven games and the team's win streak marks the second time under Pfau that the program has put together a string of five-straight wins (doing so during the first five matches of last season).

"It's hard to single out any one player because the consistency we have shown this season takes a total team effort," Pfau said. "We will now get down to the business of preparing for our final regular-season game against Ohio in front of our home fans on Thursday."

Akron concludes the regular season on Thursday when it plays host to Ohio at 3 p.m. ET at Lee Jackson Field. The MAC Tournament begins on Nov. 1 at campus sites. Only the top-eight teams in the standings qualify for the event, with the top-four hosting first round matches.