University of Akron men's soccer team earns 'signature win' over top 10 Vermont
University of Akron men's soccer player Dyson Clapier made the most of his one shot on goal Monday night at FirstEnergy Stadium.
Malik Henry sent a pass to Clapier in the 61st minute and the Layton, Utah, native finished his lone scoring chance to propel Akron to a 1-0 win over the University of Vermont in a matchup of two teams ranked in the top 25.
"I saw Malik flip the ball back post and as soon as it went over everyone's head, I thought, 'It was like cookies, and no way I am missing that,'" said Clapier, who is one of 37 players on 2023 Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy Watch List.
"I am very happy to score that. ... I was overwhelmed with excitement. I kicked the corner flag and celebrated with my team."
Vermont (1-1), ranked No. 7 in the country in the TopDrawerSoccer.com poll, generated five shots on goal, but Akron keeper Seth Wilson denied each one. The Catamounts, who are 12th in the NCAA coaches poll, were a national quarterfinalist in last year's NCAA Tournament.
"This is a very good win," Akron coach Jared Embick said. "Vermont has got the belief and experience back from the Elite Eight, and you could feel that I think in the start. The start of the game for us, we were probably a little too tense and then we got a little better as the half went on.
"I thought in the second half we were excellent. We got the goal. The first part of the second half, we really took control and played a lot of the soccer we are capable of playing. ... Seth was outstanding in goal and the back four was awesome."
Akron (2-0), which is ranked No. 21 by TopDrawerSoccer.com and No. 22 by the NCAA coaches, finished with two shots on goal as Josef Paulus had an attempt stopped by Vermont keeper Owen Jack in the second half.
"We showed a lot of resilience that we can grind out a tough game against a big, physical team," Henry said. "We showed that we can play our brand of soccer against basically anybody."
Said Clapier: "This shows that we can compete with anyone in the nation. This is a signature win against a top 10 opponent. Vermont is a heck of a team."
Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Dyson Clapier leads Akron men's soccer team to a win over Vermont
