No. 14 seed Akron controlled the first half, building a 2-0 lead at the break thanks to goals from Jack Roman and Matt Dreas - but Saint Louis mounted a dramatic second-half rally, scoring three unanswered goals to shock the Zips and punch their ticket to the Final Four for the first time since 1997.
The Billikens’ comeback was capped in the 87th minute, when Tanner Anderson finished an Andrew Heckenlaible cross for the match-winner. SLU’s path back included several pivotal moments: goalkeeper Jeremi Abonnel’s penalty save in the 26th minute, an Akron own goal, a converted penalty of their own after another handball, and a red card shown to Akron’s Dreas.
With the 3-2 victory, SLU advances to face NC State, who defeated Georgetown 3-2. The semifinal will be played Friday in Cary, North Carolina, with the winner moving on to Monday’s College Cup Final against either Furman or Washington.
