by Akron, OH; It was a NCAA Men’s Soccer Quarterfinals matchup as the Akron Zips hosted the St. Louis Billikens at Firstenergy Stadium. With a trip to the Final Four on the line, it would be Saint Louis coming away with a 3-2 victory after trailing 2-0 at halftime. “Just an amazing game all around,” head coach Kevin Kalish said following the win. “Credit to Akron who’s a fantastic team and program, and what a response by our guys who continue to fight.”
The come from behind victory marks it the first time since 1997 that the St. Louis Billikens will reach the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship when they did in fact win it all. “Well I was on that team in 97, so it’s pretty special,” Kalish said postgame but also noted that they are focused on what’s happening now.
St. Louis would end up dominating in shots (16-8), and were the more physical team as well owning the foul category (12-9). But that would not be the case starting off the game. The Zips had some momentum rolling early on with a goal by freshman Jack Roman just over three minutes into the game. He was assisted by Stefan Dobrijevic and Ashton Kamdem who helped lead the way for the 1-on-1. Akron would get a break at the 25:59 mark of the first half after a hand ball foul called on Draven Barnett. But unfortunately, Dobrjevic would miss the penalty kick and it would remain a 1-0 Zips lead. No one knew at the time, but this missed penalty kick would prove to be very costly for Akron.
Physicality from both teams ramped up with everything that was on the line. Matt Dreas received a yellow card for the Zips, but then Andrew Heckenlaible would get a yellow card himself for Saint Louis less than five minutes later. Another foul by the Billikens would give Akron a chance at their second corner kick, and they executed it perfectly as Dreas got the goal which was assisted by Tyler Morck. It would give the Zips a commanding 2-0 lead at the 37:46 mark in the first half.
Needing anything they can get, St. Louis came out of halftime firing on all cylinders as they would get an own goal. Happening less than five minutes into the second half, the Billikens were finally on the board. At the 55:55 mark, it looked like Akron would score again after Remi Agunbiade got a clean shot, but it was saved by Jeremi Abonnel who had blank total saves. The game would remain physical as Dreas received a red card and was ejected less than five minutes later which was when the game completely flipped around.
St. Louis would simply not give up as they dominated offensively on their side of the field the final 20 minutes of the game, trying their best to get that game tying goal. The Zips were forced to play in a 5-2-3 and 5-3-2 formation defensively down the stretch due to Dreas exiting the game, leaving an extra man for the Billikens. “The extra player definitely allowed us to have more control getting the final two goals,” Kalish said about the ending of the game.
The downfall for Akron would continue when a questionable hand ball foul was called on Braxton Hayes at the 77:58 mark. It set up St. Louis for a penalty kick, and they took advantage of it as Quentin Blair would make it 4-for-4 on penalty kicks this season. Tying this game up at two took a lot of the energy out of Firstenergy Stadium as Akron fans became rather nervous.
With the momentum on their side, St. Louis would capitalize on their fourth corner kick of the afternoon with a goal by Tanner Anderson to give the Billikens a 3-2 lead with just over three minutes left to go. The game winning goal was assisted by Heckenlaible. With little time left, it was all but over for the Zips as they ended up suffering the heartbreaking loss at home, finishing the season at 13-5-3.
It was a remarkable comeback for St. Louis who has now officially beat both teams they lost to in the regular season (Akron and Indiana), in the playoffs. “Those games in the regular season definitely helped us with the run we’re on now,” Kalish said. The Billikens are onto the College Cup where they will face NC State in the Final Four.
