Carolinian

Issue date: 10/2/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Courtesy of Eliott Everhart Jokull Elisabetarson hits the ground hard in UNCG's 2-0 loss to the Akron Zips.

Media Credit: Courtesy of Eliott Everhart Nirav Kadam looks to steal the ball away from the opposing Akron Zips.

The Spartans suffered two heartbreaking losses this past week. On Wednesday afternoon they fell to Appalachian State 4-0, and in their Homecoming match on Saturday night the Spartans lost to Akron 2-0.

Saturday night was Homecoming and the Spartans came out to play in front of 2,228 people. Unfortunately, the Spartans did not get the win they wanted.

The Akron Zips and the UNCG Spartans played an evenly matched first half. Neither team could put the ball into the net, but that all changed in the second half.

A lot of chances opened up for both teams in the second half, but only the Zips made anything out of them. Akron's Anthony Ampaipitakwong played a cross from the right side of the field. The ball got lost in a crowd in front of the Spartans' goal. The Zips' Ben Zumanski broke through the crowd and was able to knock the ball into the back of the net giving the Zips the 1-0 advantage.

Akron lengthened their lead when the Zips' Steve Zakuani knocked the ball into play off of a corner kick. Teammate Matt Tutich accepted Zakuani's corner kick and headed it into the back of the Spartan net, making the final score 2-0.

UNCG's loss to Akron was just their third Homecoming game loss. Their last Homecoming loss was in 1999 when they fell 1-0 to Wake Forest.

The Spartans entered their game against Appalachian State with a five-match unbeaten streak under their belts, but App snapped UNCG's streak and extended their own to seven wins when they shut down the Spartans 4-0.

The Mountaineers entered the game looking for revenge, as the Spartans knocked App out of the Southern Conference tournament last November, and the Mountaineers got what they were looking for.

The scoring extravaganza began early when App's Sean Sassano sent a cross to the center of the box where teammate Juan Obregno knocked it into the back of the net, giving the Mountaineers the early 1-0 lead.

Three minutes later Obregno struck once again when he knocked in a pass from teammate Corey Lugger. Lugger stole the ball and sent it over to Obregno who put it into the Spartan goal, making the score 2-0.

The Mountaineers lengthened their lead once again when McCoy Livingston booted the ball between the pipes from six yards. Livingston scored the goal off of a corner kick from teammate, Michael Walters making the score 3-0.

In the second half, Sassno leant his assistance once again when he sailed a pass over to Walters, who knocked the ball home for his first goal of the season. Walter's goal was the last of the match, making the final score 4-0.

The Spartans held the 12-11 shot advantage and 7-1 in corner kicks. App's goalkeeper Greg Walters recorded his third straight shutout with eight saves and UNCG's goalkeeper Nate Berry had four saves.

The Spartans look to end their two-game losing streak when they take Furman on Wednesday, Oct. 3 at 7:00 p.m. in the UNCG Soccer Stadium. Then the Spartans take it on the road when they play Wofford on Saturday, Oct. 6 at 6:00 p.m.

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