AKRON, Ohio – The top-seeded University of Akron men's soccer team defeated fourth-seeded Buffalo, 3-1, in the first semifinal game of the Mid-American Conference Tournament Friday night at Lee R. Jackson Soccer Field.

With the win, the Zips (17-1-1) earned the right to compete for their fourth consecutive MAC Tournament championship Sunday at 4 p.m. when they take on No. 2 seed Western Michigan (10-7-2), which defeated Bowling Green, 1-0, in the nightcap. The game will be broadcast locally on SportsRadio 1350 AM (WARF) and on-line via the Zips Zone subscription package.

The Zips dominated possession throughout the game, out-shooting the Bulls, 16-4, and led 3-0 before UB's Sam Craven found the net in the 89th minute. UA freshman Darren Mattocks assisted the first goal and scored the second to lead Akron, which extended its home unbeaten streak to 35 matches (34-0-1) – the fourth-longest run in NCAA history.

Akron was patient and methodical with its attack and broke down the entrenched Buffalo (7-10-1) defense in the 29th minute following a quick restart. After Anthony Ampaipitakwong was brought down, Darren Mattocks slid a quick pass to Michael Nanchoff, who lined a low shot that kicked up over the head of Bulls' keeper Nick Fetterman from 23 yards out.

It was Nanchoff's eighth goal of the season overall and his third in UA's last four games.

The Zips continued to dictate the flow of the game and found the net again in the 69th minute when Chris Korb uncorked a shot from straight on that was deflected by Fetterman. But Mattocks was there for slot it near post for his team-leading 13th goal of the year.

Akron extended the margin to 3-0 in the 89th minute thanks to a well-struck direct free kick from Scott Caldwell that hooked in from just outside the box. It was the first goal of Caldwell's career.

Zips Notebook: With the win, the Zips improved to 24-8-5 all-time at the MAC Tournament since joining the league in 1993 ... UA is 7-1-1 at the league tournament under UA head coach Caleb Porter ... The Zips improved to 9-0 at Lee R. Jackson Soccer Field this season where they have outscored their opponents, 28-3 ... UA has yet to trail at home in 2010.