Conditions weren't ideal, play wasn't either as UA dominates, but comes away tied with BG
The weather wasn’t great Monday.
It rained sideways. The wind bit hard and conditions didn’t exactly fit the look of Mid-American Conference men’s soccer.
Unfortunately for the University of Akron, which has been playing lights out at home, the Zips’ play had a few similar qualities.
The Zips didn’t win. They didn’t lose either in a 0-0 draw with Bowling Green.
“Disappointed is the feeling right now,” UA coach Jared Embick said. “We had a great opportunity at home to kind of take control of things and we just weren't ruthless enough. The back half of the team played extremely well in difficult conditions and the front half guys just were off. We missed an opportunity and I thought we should have started faster with the wind. It took us way too long to get in the game. You know, that may have cost us.
“Mental toughness matters. You know, talent is the least in terms of factors. One thing you need to win a championship is you have to be tough. You have to deal with conditions. You have to show up to play. I think consistently, our group of 11 out there just didn't have enough. We lost too many battles at key moments. We limited them to one corner kick and very few shots. This is really tough to swallow. Our back half, again, was outstanding. They've been carrying us the last couple games.”
Games in which teams like the 20th-ranked Zips (8-2-4, 3-0-2) dominate the statistics column usually come out with the superior team winning.
This one caused UA's home record to fall to 5-0-2 despite leading in shots on goal (3-1), total shots (12-2) and corner kicks (9-1).
Nothing went in and the Falcons (3-4-5, 1-1-2) escaped with a tie.
“I think we weren't intense enough in front and that just comes down to the mentality of the game,” UA midfielder Johnny Fitzgerald said. “They put so many guys in the back. I think we still created opportunities. We just weren't ruthless enough. We didn't have the killer instinct.”
That was a bit of a shock for a Zips team that came in leading the nation in goals (36), assists (41) and points (113).
“I wouldn't say the old game plan changes at all because of the weather,” Zips defender Jonas Buechte said. “We always try to play intense. Obviously, it was tough to play against the wind. It's not easy because sometimes you may have to keep the ball longer. We have a high pressing team. When the wind comes right back on you, that's not always easy, but I certainly think we had opportunities.”
The more pressing issue for the Zips, who will entertain Cleveland State on Oct. 25, is not to look ahead.
The Zips had an opportunity to take control of the MAC, but let things slip a bit.
They’re still ahead of Western Michigan (9-2-1, 3-0-1) by a point.
League games at Northern Illinois (5-5-4, 2-2-1) on Oct. 29 and home against Chicago State (1-10-3, 0-4) shouldn’t change that.
That should leave a home game Nov. 6 against Western Michigan for the regular season title.
“We’re trying to play for a top-16 seed in the tournament and we've done some really good things this year,” Embick said. “We're trying to get a bye in that first round and a home game and if for some reason something happens in that tournament final, we want to give ourselves a chance.
“You have weather like this and sometimes the final can be unpredictable, so we have to realize we still have some other opportunities out there in the conference. But you know, it's going to take full 90 minutes and our guys are going to have to really buckle down. We need to have a killer instinct.”
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Bowling Green and UA men's soccer play to tie in game Zips dominated
