Cleveland State closed out the nonleague portion of its men’s soccer schedule Tuesday evening with a 3-2 loss to No. 9 Akron in Cleveland, according to Cleveland State University. The Vikings finished nonleague play at 6-5-3, while Akron improved to 8-1-4 with the win.
Cleveland State opened the scoring in the first minute of the match. Massimo Caruso scored on a free kick to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead before Akron had settled into the game, the university reported.
Akron answered in the 12th minute, tying the match 1-1 on a penalty kick. The Zips then took their first lead in the 33rd minute, scoring off a diagonal ball to go ahead 2-1, and that score held through halftime.
Cleveland State tied the match again in the 66th minute. Tom Mertz scored on a shot from 40 yards out that went through the goalkeeper’s fingers and into the back of the net, making it 2-2 with less than 25 minutes to play.
Akron scored the deciding goal late. The Zips got the game-winner in the 87th minute off a pair of passes inside the box, three minutes before the end of regulation, and Cleveland State could not answer in the closing minutes.
In the final statistics reported by the university, Akron held a 13-6 edge in shots, and each team put five shots on goal. Domenic Ruggiero led Cleveland State with two shots, and goalkeeper Stephen Yerian made two saves for the Vikings.
The scoring came in waves. Cleveland State scored in the first minute, Akron scored twice before halftime to take the lead, Cleveland State tied it in the 66th minute, and Akron scored the final goal in the 87th minute. Neither team scored in the first 11 minutes after Caruso’s opener, and neither team scored during a stretch of more than 30 minutes in the second half between Mertz’s tying goal and Akron’s winner.
Cleveland State now turns to league play. The Vikings will travel to league newcomer Northern Illinois on Sunday, Oct. 25, for a 3 p.m. kickoff, according to the university.
Photo: Michael K, CC BY-SA 2.0