The University of Akron men’s soccer team defeated West Virginia University Sunday at Lee R.

Jackson soccer field 3-2, in front of a crowd of 2,825, to advance to the Round of 16 in the men’s

The Zips (19-1-1) dominated the first 80 minutes of the game until a late two-goal rally by the

Mountaineers (11-8-2), putting many Zips fans on the edge of their seats for the last ten minutes of the

We’re excited to be in the Round of 16 and in the tournament it’s all about getting the result, said

Head Coach Caleb Porter. I thought for 80 minutes we played as well as we’ve played all year. We

Freshman forward Darren Mattocks put UA on the board first in the 11th minute when senior

midfielder Anthony Ampaipitakwong found the head of Mattocks, who was able to dish a deflected

Mattocks once again had another multi-scoring game, with his second goal of the night and 17th of the

year in the 30th minute, elevating the score to 2-0 after junior defender Kofi Sarkodie initiated the play

by crossing the ball to Mattocks, who fired it into the box where it deflected off Johnson’s hand before

Darren’s a striker, and they should always score goals, said Porter. He’s in a rhythm and that’s what

you want at this time of year, and I think it couldn’t have came in a better time.

In the 70th minute, Akron sophomore midfielder Scott Caldwell improved the score to 3-0 after

Ampaipitakwong and junior midfielder Darlington Nagbe assisted on the combination play, making it

Earlier in the season I had a couple chances but I just didn’t finish them, but now I am luckily enough

West Virginia retaliated in the 81st minute when midfielder Abel Sebele found the net from 19 yards

Mountaineer defender Uzi Tayou was able to shave the Akron lead to one goal after he scored in the

Akron was better than us today, and I think it was just the technical aspect of the game along with

their passing and trapping, said West Virginia Head Coach Marlon LeBlanc. I think we just caused

ourselves problems just by giving the ball away uncontested; but that being said, Akron is a very good

Akron is unbeaten overall in its last 37 home matches (36-0-1), which is the third longest streak in

NCAA history, while winning 26 consecutive games at Lee R. Jackson Soccer Field, making it the

The Zips will return to post season play this Sunday at Lee R. Jackson field when they take on Porter’s