Akron Zips Advance to NCAA Elite Eight with 2-0 Shutout of Duke
AKRON, OH – The Akron Zips men’s soccer team defeated Duke 2-0 on Sunday, securing a spot in the NCAA Elite Eight. The zips scored both goals in the first half, despite playing against the wind.
“In the first half,we’re playing against the wind. We just didn’t do a good enough job holding the ball,” a coach stated.
Akron’s defense proved dominant, earning senior goalkeeper Mitch Bulder his 13th clean sheet of the season. Duke managed 10 shots, but none were on frame.
“I said at the start of the year, coming off the back of a very triumphant spring, that we were going to keep a lot of clean sheets,” senior defenseman and captain daragh Reilly said. “Our defensive abilities from the whole team can score us goals.”
Reilly emphasized the team’s focus on containing Duke’s forwards. “We did focus in on their forwards a lot. Tried to match them and they’re good at scoring, we’re good at keeping clean sheets, and luckily we came out on top of it.”
As Duke pressed for a goal late in the match, the Zips leaned on the energy of their home crowd. “The crowd drove us through that game,” Reilly said. “you could see in the last 10-15 minutes, we were getting tired. we were trying to push each other, but every time we got a play, we made a tackle, the momentum kept swinging back to us.Big shoutout to the fans tonight. I don’t think we could have been anywhere near without that tonight.”
Coach embick echoed Reilly’s sentiments,crediting the fans for providing a crucial boost. “Awesome performance not only from our team, but from the fans and community that packed this place in this weather and were behind us the whole game,” Embick said. “We fed off that energy, and I think that really helped us through some moments where maybe we weren’t playing and also we wanted.”
Akron’s next opponent and match details have been updated and will be announced shortly. The team continues its pursuit of the Division I national championship.
