No. 10 Panthers Earn Draw With No. 14 Akron

Monday, September 19

Pittsburgh, Pa.

7 PM

Pitt

5-1-1, 2-0-0

#14 Akron

4-1-2, 0-0-0

Akron

Pittsburgh

Photo by: Alex Mowrey/Pitt Athletics

No. 10 Panthers Earn Draw With No. 14 Akron

9/19/2022 10:11:00 PM | Men's Soccer

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PITTSBURGH – Pitt, ranked No. 10 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll, played to a 3-3 draw in a hard fought battle with No. 14 Akron Monday evening at Ambrose Urbanic Field. Filip Mirkovic tallied four points on one goal and two assists, while Mohammad Abualnadi finished with a goal and an assist.

The Panthers are now 5-1-1 on the season, including a 2-1-1 mark against teams ranked in the top 15 of the United Soccer Coaches Poll.

Pitt had an early scoring opportunity in the sixth minute as Bertin Jacquesson took a thru ball on the counter attack and sent a cross from the right wing to a streaking Josh Luchini on the back post who dragged the right foot shot just wide of the left post.

Akron struck first at the 9:32 mark as Renato Kauzlanc slipped a thru ball to Ryan Kingsford near the top of the box. Kingsford pushed by a pair of converging defenders and skipped home a shot by a diving Joe van der Saar for an early 1-0 lead.

Dyson Clapier doubled the Akron lead in the 17^th minute as he slotted a right foot shot into the lower left edge of the net.

Pitt had another threatening scoring opportunity in the next minute as Jacquesson found Luchini streaking on the back post but his diving header went wide of goal.

Trailing 2-0 heading into the final five minutes of the half, Pitt locked in and turned momentum with a pair of goals in the closing minutes of the half. The Panthers cut the deficit in half off a corner at the 43:46 mark as Abualnadi flicked a header to the far post from eight yards out on the near post off a Mirkovic corner.

Abualnadi returned the favor in the closing seconds of the half, finding Mirkovic with a chip over the defense from 30-yards out. Mirkovic brought the pass down at the penalty kick hash and slipped the shot past the charging Akron keeper to knot up the score with one second left in the half.

Pitt took its first lead of the night early in the second half with another set-piece goal. This time around Mirkovic found freshman Noah Hall with a corner cross. Hall banged the header back across the box into the right corner of the net for his first career goal.

Akron mounted a nice counter attack in the 52^nd minute and took advantage of Pitt's inability to make a clean clear out of the box. The Zips got back to even when Wan Kurzi Wan Kamal knocked home a crossing ball from Johnny Fitzgerald.

Pitt nearly had some late game magic with a couple of terrific scoring opportunities in the final five minutes of action. After Jacquesson drew a foul near the top of the box, Lucas Rosa bent a free kick around the wall and destined for the far post before Akron keeper Mitch Butler made a diving punch save to preserve the tie. Jacquesson added another sprint down the right wing and sent a back post cross thru the defense and just out of the reach of a sliding Mateo Maillefaud with under two minutes remaining.

Following a slower than usual start to the contest, Pitt responded to generate twice as many shots as the Zips (18-9). The Panthers also held a 9-2 edge in corners on the night.

NOTES
*** Pitt is now 6-1-2 over the past two seasons against ranked opponents
*** Pitt is now 28-3-2 at Ambrose Urbanic Field across the last four seasons
*** Hall's second half goal marked the first of his collegiate career
*** Mirkovic finished off his second straight multi-point game as he had a goal, two assists and four points. He now has eight career multi-point games as a Panther
*** Abualnadi netted a goal, assist and three points in the draw. It marked his first goal and first multi-point game as a Panther