The North Carolina men’s soccer team trails No. 1 Akron 2-0 at the half at Fetzer Field.
The No. 4 Tar Heels have played well in the midfield and have developed a few scoring chances. They’re outshooting Akron 6-3, and have four shots on goal.
But for coach Elmar Bolowich, the Tar Heel defense has been caught flat-footed on the counterattack several times, and paid for it twice.
The first Akron goal came in the eighth minute when Kofi Sarkodie received a pass while streaking down the right side of the field. Sarkodie made a low cross from the edge of the box that fell to his teammate Eric Stevenson. Stevenson scored from eight yards out to give the Zips the early lead.
Again on the counterattack, UNC defender Eddie Ababio over-pursued a pass made to Darren Mattocks on the right side. In his attempt to recover, Ababio took Mattocks down for a free kick about 22 yards from goal. Then, Michael Nanchoff played a curling ball into the box that Perry Kitchen headed past UNC keeper Scott Goodwin to put Akron 2-0 up.
The UNC back line settled down in the final ten minutes of the half, but Akron gave up just 0.27 goals per game last year (third best all-time), so a comeback will be difficult for the Tar Heels.
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