AKRON, Ohio -- No. 14 Akron twice rallied from a goal down, then won it as Leonardo Morana scored in the 90th minute to lift the Zips to a 3-2 win over No. 18 Cornell on Tuesday night at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Big Red slipped to 2-1, while Akron improved to 3-0-1.
Cornell twice took the lead against an Akron team that entered the game having not surrendered a goal this season. Liam May's strike to the right of goalkeeper Brett Kaminski in the sixth minute off a drop-off pass from Zapata put the Big Red in front. After Akron leveled the score on a penalty kick early in the second half, senior All-American Connor Miller again played hero, tip-toeing the end line with a defender draped on him and blasting a shot through traffic to put the visitors up 2-1. Akron answered both times before Morana's late finish off a Jack Roman assist sealed it for the home team.
Cornell's early lead held into halftime thanks to a stout defense headlined by freshman Lennon Harrington. His one-on-one tackle in the box late in the first half served as a pivotal play to keep the score even after 45 minutes.
Akron leveled it just after the break, converting a penalty kick through Jack Sullivan in the 48th minute after Cornell was whistled for a foul in the box following a lengthy play-on that was overturned by video review. Miller answered less than four minutes later, scoring unassisted in the 52nd minute for his second goal in as many games, but Akron equalized again in the four minutes later when Thomas O'Rourke scored to set up Morana's heroics.
Akron out-shot Cornell 17-8, including a 6-3 edge in shots on goal, and had a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks. Filip Versterre made three saves in goal for Cornell, while Kaminski turned aside one shot for the Zips.
The Big Red returns to action when it visits Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m.
