TOLEDO, OH ? Freshman Sarah Blake scored the match's lone goal in the 79th minute to propel Toledo to a 1-0 shutout victory over Akron at chilly Scott Park. With today's win, the Rockets improve to 12-4-1 overall, 7-2-0 in the Mid-American Conference, and have guaranteed themselves a home contest in the opening round of the league tournament next Sunday, Nov. 4 for the first time in school history.
UT's Blake did a masterful job of beating three Akron defenders near the corner of the UA goalbox, before she cut toward the net and blasted a shot past Zips' netminder Krystin Wilson at 78:57.
The defending MAC Tournament champions started strong from the opening whistle and held a sizable 17-6 edge in shots, including 8-2 in the decisive second half. UT had the match's first quality scoring opportunity at 10:27 on a shot by sophomore Ali Leak. Classmate Molly Cornwell blew past two Akron defenders and perfectly placed a through ball to Leak, who looked to be alone at the top of the UA goalbox. Unfortunately for the Rockets, a Zips defender quickly recovered and deflected Leak's shot out of bounds to keep the match scoreless.
The two teams continued to battle hard as the first half wore on and Akron's (6-5-6, 1-4-4 MAC) best chance to score occurred at 22:15 on a shot off the foot of Kristen Gregg. The play was set up off a free kick by teammate Giavonna Ferraro, who played a ball into the corner of the UT goalbox to Gregg. She quickly turned and fired a shot that Toledo sophomore goalie Andrea Plewes knocked down but could not corral. There was a fight for the loose ball deep in the goal box and the Rockets were able to clear it out of danger.
To start the second half, Toledo was determined to jump on the scoreboard first and came inches away from doing just that at 45:31. UT's Leak crossed the ball to senior Sarah Schulte in the middle of the UA goalbox and the co-captain headed it toward the back of the net. Wilson had come off her line and Schulte's shot was all but in the goal, but a Zips' defender came out of nowhere to deflect it out of danger.
UT stayed the aggressor in the final 45 minutes and had another golden chance to take the lead at 58:57 on another shot by Leak, who finished with a career-high eight shots. The Pickerington, OH native beat two defenders and rifled a shot from about 18-yards out. UA's Wilson made a diving save and got just enough of it to knock it out of bounds.
With nearly a three-to-one advantage in shots, Toledo's attacking style finally paid dividends on Blake's second tally of the season and keep the Midnight Blue and Gold undefeated in seven home matches this season. In between the posts, freshman Angela Righeimer and Plewes split halves and finished with two saves apiece to tally the Rockets' eighth shutout in 17 matches.
The Rockets return to action on Sunday, Oct. 28 for a MAC match against Ohio. The opening whistle is slated for 1:00 p.m. Prior to the start of Sunday's contest, UT will honor its three seniors (Pene Hughes, Sarah Schulte and Suzi Siwinski) who will be appearing in their final weekend regular-season home match.
TOLEDO 1, Akron 0
UT: S. Blake (Unassisted), 78:57
SHOTS: UT 17, UA 6
CORNER KICKS: UT 8, UA 0
SAVES: UT 4, UA 6
FOULS: UT 7, UA 9
