Men's Soccer Claims Seventh-Straight MAC Regular-Season Championship
AKRON, Ohio – Sophomore Darren Mattocks continued his scoring binge with two more goals and an assist to lead the No. 7 University of Akron men's soccer team to a 3-0 victory over Bowling Green Wednesday night at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field.
With the win, the Zips (12-2-2, 5-0) secured their seventh-consecutive Mid-American Conference regular-season championship and the right to host the league tournament on Nov. 11-13.
Mattocks, who recorded his second hat trick of the season last weekend at Buffalo, broke a scoreless tie in the 48th minute, assisted UA's second goal in the 63rd minute, then provided the game's final margin with his 17th goal in 15 matches in the 77th minute.
The Zips also extended a pair of historic streaks Wednesday, pushing their NCAA-record home unbeaten steak to 47 matches (44-0-3) and their conference undefeated streak to 36 (34-0-2).
Akron dominated possession in the first half, out-shooting Bowling Green 8-0 in the first 45 minutes. Regardless, the Zips and Falcons went into the locker room with a scoreless tie.
But UA didn't waste time after the break, finding the net in the first three minutes. Sophomore Zac Portillos played the ball into Scott Caldwell, who made the turn and fired from straight on near the penalty mark.
BGSU keeper Miguel Rosales, who finished with six saves, threw his hands up to punch the ball out but Mattocks pounced on it and buried it from close range.
The Falcons (7-4-3, 1-2-1), who have scored one goal in their last five matches, responded with a dangerous sequence to try to get the goal back minutes later. But Akron goalkeeper David Meves was up to the task, making a pair of saves on shots by Rodcliff Hall in the 61st minute and Brandon Silva in the 63rd minute.
Junior Thomas Schmitt gave the Zips a 2-0 lead in the 73rd minute on a well-executed give-and-go with Mattocks. It was the fourth goal of the year for Schmitt, who continues to enjoy a breakout season.
Mattocks then cleaned up a long-ranged shot from Eric Stevenson in 77th minute to record his 17th goal in 15 matches. Dating back to his freshman season in 2010, the Jamaican has now scored 35 goals in 40 games.
For the game, Akron, which has now scored eight goals in its last two contests, out-shot Bowling Green 18-6, including a 9-2 margin on frame.
The Zips will next host ACC power Wake Forest Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Seniors Michael Balogun, Matt Dagilis and Luke Holmes will be recognized during a pregame Senior Night ceremony.
Zips Notebook: Akron improved to 7-0 against Bowling Green under head coach Caleb Porter and has now won its last 26 regular-season matches against the MAC, dating back to the 2007 season ... UA's current 36-game conference unbeaten streak is the fourth-longest in NCAA history ... The Zips are 31-1-1 against the conference since Porter arrived in 2006 … Akron has yet to allow a first-half goal this season.
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