AKRON, Ohio - A pair of goals from sophomore Richie Laryea (Toronto, Ontario (Canada)) propelled seventh-ranked Akron (8-2-1) to its fourth consecutive victory, a 2-0 decision, past Santa Clara (5-6-0) on Tuesday, Oct. 6, at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field.

The multi-goal performance from Laryea was the second of his career and marked the second game this season in which he has tallied a pair of goals, including the game-winner in each contest. In Akron's 3-2 win at No. 6 Maryland on Sept. 7, he tallied two goals.

The Zips maintained the flow of offense in the affair registering a 20-7 advantage in shots, including 9-4 on goal.

Laryea posted a game-high four shots, while redshirt sophomores Robby Dambrot (Akron, Ohio) and Sam Gainford (Liverpool, England), sophomore Niko De Vera (Camas, Wash.), junior Adam Najem (Clifton, N.J.), redshirt junior Brad Ruhaak (Akron, Ohio) and junior Victor Souto (Sao Paulo, Brazil) added two shots apiece to Akron's efforts. Carlos Delgadillo and Satoshi Chaffin directed Santa Clara with two shots each.

The scoring chances came early for both sides as each team was awarded a penalty kick over a span of 34 seconds in the game's eighth minute.

The Broncos were awarded a penalty shot at the 7:22 mark when the Zips were whistled for a trip in the box. Santa Clara's leading scorer Delgadillo stepped to the line looking to push his strike past Akron senior goalkeeper Jake Fenlason (San Diego, Calif.). The shot went to the right and a diving Fenlason was there to deflect the shot for the save.

The Zips had their own opportunity to net the tilt's first goal at the 7:54 mark when the Broncos were also whistled for a foul in the box. Najem toed the line and attempted to beat goalkeeper Kendall Mcintosh for his team-leading seventh goal of the year, but his attempt missed the mark.

Laryea nearly found the back of the net in the 26th minute (25:31) as his strike from the top of the box narrowly missed the corner of the net. A sliding Gainford nearly got his toe on the shot as well as the ball coasted out of bounds.

Laryea persevered and gave the Zips a 1-0 lead at the 39:04 mark recording his fifth goal of the season. The ball was slid back to the top of box from the six-yard box by sophomore Stuart Holthusen (Auckland, New Zealand) for the assist on the goal.

Akron took a 1-0 advantage into the intermission on the strength of a 7-1 margin in shots in the initial stanza.

Senior Sean Sepe (West Islip, N.Y.) got off a strong scoring chance at the 61:42 mark that Mcintosh was able to knock down for the save.

Laryea extended the Zips' lead to 2-0 with his second tally of the evening in the 83rd minute (82:09). Setting him up for the goal was Najem, who earned his team-leading fifth assist of the season on the score.

Fenlason finished the affair with four saves en route to earning his fourth shutout of the season, while Mcintosh collected a game-high seven stops for the Broncos.

Akron returns to action on Friday, Oct. 9, as the Zips open Mid-American Conference play with a 7 p.m. contest at Buffalo.

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