Akron City's Night of Threes Ends in Draw

Writer: Sideline and Beat Reporter, Liv Sharp

A fiery start to the second half appeared to set ACFC up for their most dominant win thus far and their first at Green Street Stadium. But defensive slip-ups and miscues led to a draw with Toledo Villa FC by a final of 3-3.

Akron City entered the match 1-1-1, with Erie Sports Center FC delivered their first loss of the season. Toledo Villa entered the match 1-1-0, with a win against Steel City and a loss to Buffalo FC.

There were some new faces and swapped places in the starting eleven, with most notably being the absence of Captain Jannis Schmidt. Schmidt was issued a red card in the previous match and was suspended for this match. 

The youngest member of the 2025 squad, Lazar Ivanis, took his spot as the center midfielder in his first start with the club. Also earning his first start was Stan Klaver, the defender from IU Indy at six. Uros Jevtic had previously occupied that spot but was shifted to midfield to pair with Ivanis.

Quinn Groves took up the captain badge, leading his troops from the center-back position.

“We’ve got 23-25 guys that we trust…the message is ‘Hey we’re all here for a reason and we’re all here to compete’” said ACFC Head Coach Andy Hoggarth.

Hoggarth emphasized intensity and coming out with a quick pace which was echoed in the first 15 minutes of play for the club. ACFC had two corners, the second off of a brilliant possession that ended in a goal attempt barely wide by Milos Stajkovic. 

Entering the 18th minute, the physical nature of the game became apparent. Jevtic took a forearm to the face and Akron City was forced to play a man down til he was cleared to return. 

Another theme of the first half was the inability of both teams to complete, ACFC’s chances in the box were far more than Toledo Villa but for most of the first half, neither team was able to find the back of the net. 

Several excellent attacks from Stajkovic, Stefan Dobrijevic, and Remi Agunbiade, but none managed to finish. But with every miss, ACFC’s intensity grew before the 44th minute when they finally hit pay dirt.

Off of the restart, the ball landed with Agunbiade who escaped double team coverage to swipe the ball to forward Colin Biros. He then found Jevtic who executed a beautiful cross to Dobrijevic who knocked the ball to the back post. A testament to the stellar service in the box put ACFC up headed into the break.

“Gotta tighten up defensively but overall I think we deserve to go in one-nil and I’m happy with it”, said Hoggarth at halftime.

That speed continued coming into the second half, the first few minutes felt dominated by Toledo Villa but all it took was one steal to put Akron City up 2-0. Dobrijevic picked the pocket of Gus Peacock and found Agunbiade on the breakaway. 

But what initially looked like a poke to the back of the net from Remi came off the cleat of Toledo Villa fullback Jayden Gonsalves in the 49th minute. 

The boys kept their foot on the gas scoring a second goal within 5 minutes, this one did go to Agunbiade. Villa goalkeeper Luke Shrivers tried to make a sliding save but it soared over him to the back post. 

Now in the 54th minute, ACFC had a commanding 3-0 lead, but as the team entered the final third it slowly evaporated. The following possession saw Toledo winger Cody net a goal after it took a favorable bounce past Akron City keeper Brett Kaminski bringing the score to 3-1.

Hoggarth then sent in a pair of fresh legs with Marko Rimac and Marko Odorcic relieving Klaver and Ivanis.

Akron City’s defense had withstood several strong Toledo attacks but two back-to-back corners shifted the momentum away from ACFC.

Another goal for Toledo put them within striking distance in the 71st minute, Da tapped it past Kaminski who was in the splits trying to make the save.

What followed was a chippy final twenty minutes with fouls aplenty and a pair of yellows for Agunbiade and Odorcic.

ACFC led 3-2 at the end of regulation but the tying dagger came in the following five minutes of stoppage time. A heartbreaking own goal off the foot of Groves sealed the draw. 

Postgame, Hoggarth mentioned the staff was ok with the play in the final third but a new challenge had emerged.

“Now we have to look at conceding too many goals,” Hoggarth said, “How do we grind out a clean sheet.”

As of June 5th, ACFC is tied with Erie Sports Center for most goals allowed with 7, but they are also tied with most goals for with Steel City, each club netting 7.

Akron City will get a break from USL2 action with a friendly on Saturday, June 7th against Ambassadors Football Club. Proceeds from the charity match will benefit the Akron-Canton Regional Food Bank. The following week, the boys will stay home and play the second round of their derby series with Cleveland Force SC. Kickoff for both matches is set for 7 pm. Tickets are available to purchase at https://tickets.uslleaguetwo.com/events/akron-city-fc-2025-season/event_times