Courtesy: Jeff Harwell-Zips Sports Photography Senior Evan Bush recorded the 38th shutout of his career Friday.

AKRON, Ohio – With clouds overhead and temperatures in the mid-70’s, the fifth-ranked University of Akron men’s soccer team gutted out a 1-0 victory over West Virginia in front of 1,936 rowdy fans at Lee Jackson Field Friday night.

It was the third straight shutout for the Zips (2-0-1), who used a first-half goal from Steve Zakuani and a physical defense to hold off the Mountaineers (0-2-1) in the second game of the University of Akron Tournament. Cincinnati (2-0-1) defeated Wisconsin-Green Bay (0-3-0) by the same score in the opener.

“We didn’t have our ‘A’ game today but I have to give the guys credit for getting the win,” said UA head coach Caleb Porter. “As a coach, I’m not just measuring the result but our performance and potential. That being said, I’m happy we got the win but I felt we could have performed better.”

The Zips were on the attack for the large majority of the contest and allowed just three shots – two on goal – for the game. In fact, WVU didn’t record its third shot until the final two minutes of regulation.

Goalkeeper Evan Bush logged all 90 minutes between the pipes en route to the 38th shut out of his career. Although freshman Kofi Sarkodie didn’t record any stats in the box score, Porter singled him out for his play.

“Kofi was tremendous for us tonight,” he said.

Sarkodie and Bush teamed up with defenders Chris Korb, Matt Dagilis and Aaron Henkle to keep the Mountaineers' offense in check.

Akron owned commanding advantages in shots, 7-2, and corners, 6-2, in the first period and it looked as though the Zips would cruise to the victory.

Zakuani put UA on top at the 26:11 mark with his second goal of the season. The Hermann Trophy candidate got past the WVU defense, crossed to midfield and fired true on a line drive into the back left corner of the net.

But after halftime, the teams added just one shot apiece as UA held on for the win.

“We didn’t play as good as we are capable of, but this is something that we’ll learn from,” Porter said. “You can’t let your guard down no matter who you are playing or you’re going to get punched in the nose. We need more of a killer instinct.”

The Zips will look to wrap up their second straight tournament title Sunday when they host Cincinnati at 2:30 p.m. at Lee Jackson Field. West Virginia will face off against Wisconsin-Green Bay in the first game of the day starting at Noon.

Zips Notebook: With the win, UA improved to 37-11-6 in home openers and has won its last seven ... The Zips have also posted a sparkling 31-2-3 record at Lee Jackson Field since the 2005 season ... Dating back to last season, Akron has recorded 12 shutouts in its last 16 games ... UA improved to 2-0 versus schools from the Big East Conference this year and 36-14-6 against the league all-time.