“The University of Akron’s men’s soccer team had wins against High Point and Cincinnati this weekend, making them champions of the Adidas Bearcat Classic. In the first game versus High Point, the team registered an impressive four goals on their way to a 4-1 win.”
“

The University of Akron’s men’s soccer team had wins against High Point and Cincinnati this weekend, making them champions of the Adidas Bearcat Classic.

In the first game versus High Point, the team registered an impressive four goals on their way to a 4-1 win.

The first goal came from defender Kofi Sarkodie in the 17th minute of the game. The assist on the goal came from forward Teal Bunbury.

The goal was Sarkodie’s first of the year and second of his career at Akron.

Two minutes after Sarkodie found the net, Darlington Nagbe followed suit with a goal of his own.

During the 35th minute, Bunbury added a goal to put the Zips up 3-0 at halftime.

A goal by High Point midfielder Hilaire Babou in the 56th minute kept the Zips away from a possible shutout.

The final goal of the game was from freshman forward Yoram Mwila who scored off of a pass from defender Chris Korb.

The Zips led shots on the day by a count of 24-2, accumulating 15 in the first period alone.

Akron also led corner kicks on the day by a count of 5-2.

Bunbury led the team with shots, at five, and Mwila was just behind him with four.

On Sunday, the team finished up the Bearcat Classic with a 3-0 win over Cincinnati.

An own goal in the 17th minute by Cincinnati showed what type of day was ahead for the Bearcats.

The own goal was the only score in the game until the 80th minute of the game when midfielder Michael Nanchoff found the net to put Akron up 2-0.

Almost exactly one minute later, Mwila scored a goal of his own. Mwila was substituted just seconds before he scored.

I thought we dominated possession but our aggressiveness and precision in the final third could have been better – not to take anything away from their goalkeeper as he had a fantastic day, UA head coach Caleb Porter said.

In the end, we wore them down and finally put the game out of reach but we still need to have more of a killer instinct early so we don’t allow teams to hang around.

The team led on shots for the game by a count of 21-5 and also on corner kicks at 7-3.

Defense for the Zips has been their bread and butter throughout this season.

Goalkeeper David Meves registered two saves in the game which goes to show that the defense is doing their job.

At the same time, our pressure and team defending, especially in the second half, really never allowed Cincinnati many chances and we dealt with their restarts and counters very well, Porter said.

Defender Chad Barson was named to the all-tournament team alongside midfielder Blair Gavin, and forwards Yoram Mwila and Teal Bunbury.

Meves was chosen as the most valuable goalkeeper of the tournament.

Bunbury earned the most valuable forward honor, and Blair Gavin received the honor for most valuable midfielder.

The offensive side of the ball for the Zips has been just as good as the defensive side this weekend.

It’s extremely pleasing to score seven goals on the weekend from six different players, Porter said.

This is a true team on both sides of the ball. We defend as a unit and are very unpredictable in the attack because we can score goals from almost every player on the field.

The Zips return home this weekend for the Akron Tournament.

The tournament is headlined by the game Friday night as the Zips will take on the Indiana Hoosiers, who are ranked 12th in the nation.

We know next weekend will be very competitive playing quality teams like IU and St. Louis and our players are looking forward to the challenge, Porter said.

This team relishes the opportunity to play big games and I’m confident they’ll be ready.

The game Friday versus Indiana is set for 7:30 p.m.

The University of Akron’s athletic department has already set a limit of 1,000 students for the game and are expecting a great turnout in attendance.

On Sunday, the Zips will finish up the tournament against St. Louis.

St. Louis began the year at number 21 before losing two games already this season.

The game time for Sunday’s match is set for 2:30 p.m.

“