Soccer Surges Past Zips With Second Half Onslaught on Senior Day

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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – With three goals in the first 15 minutes of the second half, the Eastern Michigan University soccer team powered past the University of Akron Zips, 4-1, in the final regular season home game at Scicluna Field, Oct. 27. On a day where EMU honored five Eagles for Senior Day, the win assured the Green and White of hosting a MAC Tournament quarterfinal contest next Sunday, Nov. 3.

It was the final regular season contest at home for seniors Stephanie Clarke (London, Ontario- St. Thomas Aquinas), Cara Cutaia (Burlington, Ontario-Notre Dame Catholic), Allison Kaim (Palos Hills, Ill.-AA Stagg), Emily Kowalzyk (Tinley Park, Ill.-Victor J.) and Megan Pedro (Fort Wayne, Ind.-Canterbury). All five Eagles earned a starting spot in the game before being recognized during an on-field ceremony at halftime.

Junior Angela Vultaggio (Chesterfield, Mich.-L'Anse Creuse North) continued her strong season with a pair of goals to go along with an assist, scoring in both halves. Cutaia also added a goal and an assist in her final regular season match on the home turf. Cutaia's goal in the 54th minute was the 21st of her career as she now sits in a tie with Ashley Rodrigues for fifth in EMU history.

Defender Emily Dzik (Troy, Mich.-Troy) scored her third goal of the season with a header off a corner kick from Clarke. The assist was No. 21 in Clarke's EMU career, moving her up in the EMU career assist list in a third-place tie with Jessica Hupe.

The Eagles (10-6-2, 7-2-1 MAC) took twice as many shots as the Zips (5-10-3, 2-7-1 MAC) attempted, 24-12, including outshooting Akron, 15-4 in the final 45 minutes of the contest. With the majority of the action on the EMU offensive side of the field, EMU goalkeeper Megan McCabe (Arlington Heights, Ill.-Prospect) did not face many threats from the Zips, stopping two-of three shots on target. Akron was unable to earn a corner kick while Eastern tallied six on the afternoon.

UA leading goal-scorer Lani Smith found the net for the Zips' lone goal of the game. Akron Head Coach Vernon Croft started Alex Luevano-Harden in the first half before switching to Klaire Adee in the second half. Luevano-Harden allowed one goal and stopped a pair of shots while Adee made three saves and gave up three goals in her 45 minutes of play.

Smith put the Zips up first, scoring in the third minute of the game. The early quickness of Akron caught the EMU defense off-guard, and Kelly DeNiro led Smith to the left side of the box. The UA forward found an opening past McCabe to put the Zips up, 1-0.

After finding themselves behind just minutes into the game, the Eastern offense picked up the pace, and Vultaggio tallied the equalizer in the 25th minute. Running up the right side of the field, junior Bianca Rossi (Mississauga, Ontario-St. Marcellinus) found her open classmate in the middle of the box. Being the offensive threat that she has been all season, Vultaggio knew what to do with the good look, rifling a shot past the Akron keeper to knot the contest up at one goal apiece with 20:18 remaining in the first half. Neither team found the net in the final minutes of the half as the game stayed at a 1-1 tie with the Green and White outshooting the gold-clad Zips, 9-8.

Whether it was the Senior Day halftime recognition or a motivational speech from EMU Head Coach Scott Hall, something sparked the Eagles as they came out of the halftime break. With less than two minutes into the start of second half action, the Eagles were awarded a corner kick. Clarke stepped up to take the kick, and the veteran sent a perfect ball into the middle of the box where it connected with Dzik's head before venturing into the net to give EMU the lead, 2-1.

Eight minutes later, the dynamic duo of Cutaia and Vultaggio hooked up on a scoring opportunity. In the middle of the box, Vultaggio passed to her teammate deep in the rectangle, creating a tough, narrow angle for the senior midfielder. Nonetheless, the Burlington, Ontario native saw the small window and sent the ball across the box and into the left corner of the net, increasing the EMU advantage to two goals with 36:14 left in regulation. The two EMU leading scorers would reverse roles in the 60th minute as Cutaia initiated a chance for Vultaggio. The junior forward launched a ball on target where it deflected off Adee and into the goal to complete the scoring barrage for the Green and White.

EMU will now head to Kalamazoo, Mich. for a Halloween contest against Western Michigan University, Oct. 31 at 1 p.m. Not only is pride on the line for this in-state rivalry, but the winner will stand atop the MAC West Division along with claiming the MAC Regular Season Championship.

Soccer Surges Past Zips With Second Half Onslaught on Senior Day

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Team Stats

Angela Vultaggio

Cara Cutaia

Emily Dzik

Stephanie Clarke

Eastern Michigan Athletics