Men’s Soccer–

The University of Akron men’s soccer team will get back to MAC play when it travels to DeKalb, Illinois to play the Northern Illinois Huskies at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

The Zips are 6-4-1 on the season, and are coming off a tough 2-1 loss to Michigan State on Tuesday. Akron won their only game versus a conference opponent on Oct. 7 when they beat Buffalo 4-0.

The Huskies have struggled mightily this season, sporting a record of 1-6-4. Northern Illinois has scored just eight goals all season, compared to 17 for the Zips.

Senior Adam Najem leads the Zips with five goals, including three from the penalty spot, 26 shots, and 13 shots on goal. Freshman forward Jonathan Lewis has impressed as well, leading the team in assists with six.

The Zips will look to get more offense in support of sophomore goalkeeper Ben Lundt, who has been excellent in his first year as a starter. Lundt has allowed 14 goals in 11 games and stopped 35 shots.

This will be the second of only four conference games for the Zips this season. Next week they have games against bigger schools Penn State and West Virginia.

Women’s Soccer–

The Zips women’s soccer team will continue conference play this weekend, when it plays road games against Northern Illinois (Friday 7 p.m.) and Western Michigan (Sunday 1 p.m.).

The Zips are really struggling right now, as they haven’t won a game since Sept. 8th (0-6-2). They have started out conference play with a 0-4-2 record, and their record overall sits at 3-9-2. First, they play a Huskies squad that is 4-7-2 (3-3-0 MAC). After that match, they will face a  Broncos team that are 8-6-0 overall and 2-4 in the MAC.

Freshman Chloe Allen leads the Zips in goals with six, while Ashley Amato and Sarah Sivic have three each. Akron has three players with two assists each in Catie Corrigan, Julia Crowe, and Erica Schrader.

Senior goalkeeper Annabelle Hegeman has started every game in goal for the Zips this season, and don’t expect that to change. Hegeman has allowed 27 goals this season while stopping 64 shots.

Volleyball–

The struggling Zips volleyball team (5-13, 6-game losing streak) will play a pair of matches this weekend against conference teams.

First, Akron will travel to Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Friday at 7 p.m. The Zips will then head over to play the Northern Illinois Huskies on Saturday at 7 p.m.

The Zips have lost all six conference matches they have played in so far, but have yet to play the Broncos or Huskies.

The Zips will return home next week to start a 4-game homestand that starts Friday, Oct. 21 when they host Eastern Michigan.

Tennis–

Ariadna Blinova of the women’s tennis team will enjoy her long road trip this weekend, as she will travel all the way to Malibu, California for the Oracle/ITA Masters Tournament.

Matches will start at 12 p.m. EST on Friday and Saturday.

Blinova has been excellent this season against local squads like Youngstown State and Cleveland State, but she could face stiffer competition this weekend.

On Friday in singles play, she will play Hayler Carter of the University of North Carolina. Blinova is ranked 28th in the tournament, while Carter is 5th-ranked. Blinova will also play in doubles matches on Saturday.