Akron is Set to Take on Western Michigan in a Challenging Away Game.

AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron women’s soccer team is journeying to Kalamazoo, Michigan, to face off against Western Michigan, who are currently leading the league, at 4 p.m. on Friday (Oct. 18).

INFORMATION ABOUT THE GAME

Akron will play against Western Michigan on October 18 at 4 PM in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Fans can follow the game with live stats and live video.

LEAD TRAINERS

Western Michigan: Lewis Robinson (Davenport, 2008), Total Record: 24-14-14 (Third Season), Record with Western Michigan: 24-14-14 (Third Season)

Akron: Jen Simonetti (Dayton, 2005), Total Record: 53-67-18 (9th Season), Akron Record: 11-28-9 (3rd Season)

Exploring Akron

Akron’s current record is 5-5-4 in the season, with a MAC record of 0-5-2. They played to a 2-2 draw against Northern Illinois on Sunday, October 13th, before facing Western Michigan.

Katie Stafford, a redshirt senior from Gahanna, Ohio, scored two goals, one of which was the tying goal in the 89th minute, to assist the Zips in securing their second straight tie in the league.

Sophomore goalkeeper Sara Bower from Cincinnati, Ohio made seven saves in the game, leading Akron to a league victory against the Huskies.

Senior Ella Hadley, freshman Allie McMillen, and Stafford each scored two goals for the Zips this season, while junior Emma King, redshirt senior Morgan Pentz, and sophomore Anna Simmons also contributed. Rachel Wenzel from Akron, Ohio scored one goal each. Eleven players from Akron have contributed with an assist in the season, with Pentz leading the team with two assists. Hadley leads the team with 18 shots taken and 8 shots on goal, while Cuirinier and Bower have 37 and 21 saves each as goalkeepers for Akron.

Stafford was chosen as the MAC Defensive Player of the Week.

The Mid-American Conference named Katie Stafford as its Women’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week, according to an announcement made on Tuesday (Oct. 15).

Stafford had a great week by leading the Zips to two draws and scoring two goals.

Stafford was the main focus of Akron’s defense in a 0-0 tie at Miami on October 10, holding the RedHawks to just two shots on target out of 11 total. Akron achieved its sixth shutout of the season, the highest number since earning seven in 2011. This was also the first instance in the 2022 season that Miami failed to score in a home league match.

Stafford finished her week by scoring two goals in a 2-2 tie against Northern Illinois on Sunday (Oct. 13). She got the first goal of the season in the 11th minute and then scored an equalizing goal in the 89th minute with a penalty kick. It was the second time in her career that she scored multiple goals in a game.

Notes from Akron

Thirteen out of the 22 games between Akron and Western Michigan have ended in a clean sheet.

Akron is looking to achieve its first-ever win on the road against the Broncos.

Sara Bower and Penelope Cuirinier are at the top of the Mid-American Conference with a total of 4 combined shutouts. They also hold the ninth and tenth positions in saves per game, with 2.92 and 2.86 saves, respectively, per contest. Moreover, Bower is ranked fourth in save percentage with a percentage of .833 and is also ranked seventh in goals against average with an average of 0.91. Meanwhile, Cuirinier holds the fourth position in goals against average with an average of 0.83 and is ranked fifth in save percentage with a percentage of .826. Stafford is ranked eighth in goals per game (0.29) in league matches, while Cuirinier holds the eighth, ninth, and ninth spots in goals against average (1.31), save percentage (.750), and saves per game (3.00).

• The save percentage of Akron ranks 33rd in the NCAA at .838.

Seven Zips, including a new member, have each scored at least one goal this season.

Twenty-two Zips have taken a shot so far this season, with six of them being new to the team.

Nine new players from Akron have played in a game for the Zips this year.

Penelope Cuirinier reached a milestone of 175 career saves after the game against Cleveland State on September 12th, and now has 199 career saves going into the match against Western Michigan.

This season, the Zips achieved their first seven-game undefeated run since 2007. The undefeated run equaled the program’s longest record achieved in the 2006 and 2007 seasons.

Akron’s current team has achieved the same feat as the 2006 squad by being unbeaten in non-conference games.

Akron achieved the second highest number of shutouts in a non-conference season in school history, only behind the 2006 team that had six consecutive shutouts to start the 2006 season.

Akron had not achieved five straight shutouts since the 2009 season.

The four 1-0 clean sheet wins this season tie for the second-most in program history, along with the years 2007, 2009, and 2011. In 2006, the Akron team achieved the highest record with six 1-0 victories.

The Zips have recorded six shutouts this season, the highest number since achieving seven in the 2011 campaign.

The Zips achieved shutouts in five straight games and held their opponents scoreless for over 606 minutes (606:05).

• Akron’s win against Oakland on August 22nd represented head coach Jen Simonetti’s 50th coaching triumph in her career.

Ella Hadley competes against Western Michigan ranked ninth in Akron’s all-time scoring list with 26 points, while Emma King is close to entering the top 10 with 24 points in career scoring.

Exploring Western Michigan

Western Michigan has a record of 7 wins, 1 loss, and 6 ties going into the game against Akron, with a conference record of 4 wins, 0 losses, and 3 ties in the Mid-American Conference after tying 2-2 with Eastern Michigan on Sunday, October 13th.

Redshirt senior Jen Blitchok is at the forefront of the Broncos, leading in goals (12), points (29), shots (57), shots on goal (29), and game-winners (3), while also coming in second in assists (5). Senior goalkeeper Lauren Boafo has made 26 saves this season and has a 0.57 goals against average along with five shutouts.

Western Michigan ranks 17th in NCAA for total assists (34), 19th in assists per game (2.43), 26th in goals against average (0.64), 27th in corner kicks (6.50), 30th in points per game (6.43) and save percentage (.84), 34th in goal differential (19) and total points (90), 42nd in shutout percentage (0.50) and 44th in shots per game (16.00).

Blitchok is positioned fourth in total points (29) and points per game (2.07), sixth in goals per game (0.86), seventh in total goals (12), 20th in shots on goal (2.07), 24th in shots per game (4.07), and 33rd in game-winning goals (3), while Boafo is placed 23rd in goals against average (0.57) and senior Abby Werthman is ranked 18th in total assists (7) and 22nd in assists per game (0.50).

HISTORY OF THE SERIES

Akron and Western Michigan will be facing each other for the 23rd time, with the Broncos currently ahead in the series with a record of 19-1-2. Western Michigan secured a 2-0 victory against the Zips on October 5, 2023, at FirstEnergy Stadium.