AKRON, Ohio - The University of Akron men's soccer team garnered goals from freshman Will Jackson (Hudson, Ohio) and junior David Egbo (Enugu, Nigeria) en route to notching a 2-0 victory over Michigan State (2-7-3) on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at FirstEnergy Stadium.
 
Jackson scored what proved to be the game-winning tally in the 38th minute (37:08), while Egbo delivered a spectacular goal from 30 yards out, his team-leading fourth of the season, at the 56:06 mark.
 
The Zips (3-8-1) earned their second shutout of the season on the strength of a 14-10 advantage in shots on the evening, including a 5-1 edge on shots on goal.
 
Egbo and Jackson directed the Akron offensive attack recording four and three shots, respectively, while junior Daniel Strachan (Lakewood, Ohio) and freshman Mani Austmann (Gardabaer, Iceland) added two shots apiece. Leading the charge for Michigan State with a team-high three shots was Farai Mutatu.
 
Earning his second clean sheet in only five games in net for the Zips was junior Joe Bowles (Stratford, England), who finished the contest making one save. Hunter Morse concluded the evening with three stops in goal for the Spartans.
 
The match began as a defensive battle as neither side yielded a shot until Jackson narrowly missed giving Akron an early 1-0 lead at the 10:12 mark with a strike off a pass from senior Christian Lue Young (Plantation, Fla.) that just missed finding the corner of the net.
 
Bowles denied the lone shot on goal for the Spartans in the tilt, a shot by Connor George in the 25th minute (24:46).
 
The game-winning tally was set-up by a strong feed by Egbo into the box to Jackson at the 37:06 mark, one resulting in a shot that was deflected by Morse for a save. Jackson immediately corralled the rebound and struck a laser that found the top of the net for his second goal of the season.
 
Freshman Henrique Cruz (Fortaleza, Brazil) leveled a shot from inside the top of the box in the 41st minute (40:50) that only a diving save by Morse prevented his first collegiate goal from finding the back of the net..
 
The Zips registered a 6-4 edge in first-half shots, including a 3-1 margin in shots on goal.
 
Egbo came within inches of netting an Akron goal at the 50:37 mark getting behind Morse and striking a ball that pinged off the post before being cleared out of danger by the Spartans' defense.
 
The Zips continued to assault Michigan State's defensive third as Akron registered four consecutive corners at the 53:53, 54:18, 54:52 and 55:11 marks, respectively.
 
The effort was rewarded as Egbo connected on a perfectly-placed shot from 30 yards out in the 57th minute (56:06) that found the top of the net to extend the Zips' lead to 2-0.
 
Senior Skye Harter (Copley, Ohio) delivered Akron's final shot on net on the evening at the 78:08 mark, an attempt that was denied by a save from Morse.
 
Keying the Zips' victory was the play of its defensive line of Lue Young, sophomores Pol Hernandez (Teia, Spain), Marco Milanese (Isernia, Italy) and Carlo Ritaccio (Westbury, N.Y.) and anchored by Bowles.
 
Up next for Akron, the Zips travel to Kalamazoo, Mich., for a Mid-American Conference showdown with Western Michigan at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 20.