Written by: Sartaj Auja

Akron Women’s Soccer (4-2-0) played at Cub Cadet Field and came out of a tight defensive game victorious as the Zips topped Canisius (1-6-0) 1-0.

The Zips won this game after beating Cleveland State on Friday, 2-0. The team is currently on a two-game winning streak.

“I’m proud of our players for how they responded to the very frustrating first half,” interim head coach Vernon Croft said.

The match’s only point was made by Ashley Hughes in the 85th minute. The score would stay the same for the remainder of the second half to lead the Zips to their fourth victory of the season.

Both teams were concentrated on throwing off the other’s rhythm, which resulted in a scoreless first half.

“They really affected our tempo and the pace of play for us,” Croft said.

The Zips, however, were not going to back down.

After a missed goal, Karina Atkinson was able to collect the ball before Canisius could take control. From there, Ashley Hughes was able to bullet a shot into the goalpost to score the game’s first and only point during the 85th minute.

The Zips were able to lockdown Canisius’s offense for the remainder of the game.

Akron beat Canisius in shots as well, 18-9.

Alex Luevano-Harden carried over her shutout performance from the match with Cleveland State, as she saved six total shots attempted by Canisius and posted her second straight shutout game.

“We did what we needed to do to win the game,” Croft said. “But we still need to continue to grow at solving the problems the game presented to us.”

Akron Women’s Soccer will play on Cub Cadet Field again at 3 p.m. this Sunday, Sept. 16, when Marshall comes to challenge the Zips.