Akron men defeat Michigan State

AKRON, Ohio - A successful penalty kick by junior Blair Gavin in the 75th minute lifted the No. 1 University of Akron men's soccer team to a 2-1 victory over Michigan State Wednesday night at Lee Jackson Field.

With the game tied at 1-all, freshman midfielder Ben Speas was pulled down in the right side of the box to set up Gavin's fourth successful PK in as many tries this year. With the win, the Zips (17-0-0) stayed perfect on the season and completed a five-game sweep of the Big Ten Conference.

The Spartans, who were ranked No. 24 in the most recent Soccer America poll, fell to 10-5-2 on the season after winning the Big Ten championship a year ago.

"We knew it was going to be a tough game and, in all honesty, this is what we needed," said UA head coach Caleb Porter. "We have not faced too many opponents who have tested us - especially when we're defending."

The Zips shot out of the gate and took a 1-0 lead when forward Teal Bunbury chipped in a shot from 20 yards out following a through ball from Darlington Nagbe just 3:18 into the game. It was Bunbury's team-leading 15th goal of the season and the fourth consecutive contest he has found the net at least once.

UA had a number of other scoring opportunities before halftime – out-shooting MSU, 9-5 – but couldn't capitalize. Michigan State made the Zips pay with a goal of its own in the 39th minute when Tim Granaderos put the ball into the left corner following a scramble in front of the net. Rubin Bega fed Granaderos the ball shortly after MSU's lone corner kick of the evening.  

It was the first time Akron had allowed a goal in the first half all season – snapping a string of 28 straight contests, dating back to October of 2008.

"I felt that after we scored our first goal, we went on cruise control for whatever reason," Porter said. "There have been several games this year where that has happened, but our opponents haven't been able to punish us."

The Zips turned up the intensity in the second half, however, and had MSU on their heels. With possession for the large majority of the time, UA methodically broke the Spartans down despite facing a packed backfield while also twarting MSU's numerous counterattack chances.

"I told our team at halftime that our edge will always be our ability to defend, invidually and collectively, better than the other team," Porter said. "We are a good attacking team, but we have to defend with equal intensity. There are a lot of good attacking teams out there, but there are very few attacking teams that defend like we are defend."

UA took the message to heart and didn't allow a shot on goal in the second half. For the contest, Akron owned advantages over Michigan State in shots (16-6), shots on goal (8-2) and corner kicks (3-1).

Speas delivered the big blow by streaking down the right side of the field and drawing contact in the box. The true freshman was starting in place of third-year sophomore Michael Nanchoff, who was held out of the game due to an injury.

"We're a deep team and we don't revolve around one player," Porter said. "We missed Mikey and his playmaking ability tonight but I thought Ben came in and did a tremendous job helping us win this game."

The Zips will conclude the regular season at home Saturday night against Hartwick at 7:30 p.m. UA's four seniors C.J. Kaufman, Stefan Ostergren, Ivan Sandoval and Ben Zemanski will be recognized prior to the match as part of Senior Night.