AKRON, Ohio -- The Western Michigan soccer team to score two late goals and down Akron, 2-0, on the road on Sunday afternoon.

Victoria McCartney and Ashleigh Garcia each scored their first collegiate goals for the Broncos (6-3, 1-1 MAC) in their first Mid-American Conference win of the season. Senior goalkeeper Stephanie Heber made six saves to earn her fifth clean sheet of the season. Maria Jaramillo and Alyssa Smith each picked up assists. Western Michigan outshot Akron 20-12 on the afternoon but the Zips had a slight 7-6 advantage in shots on goal.  

"In general it was a long weekend but the team really showed up to compete today," said head coach Lauren Sinacola. "Coming off a frustrating loss at Buffalo we talked about how to respond and where to focus our energy. The team responded very well in the second half. I'm very proud of the group and we continue to grow and get better from each and every outing."

After a scoreless first half the Broncos got on the board in the 74th minute. Jaramillo took a corner kick from the right side of the field and it bounced in the box right to McCartney, who fired it into the net. Along with it being McCartney's first collegiate goal, it was also Jaramillo's first assist on the season.

WMU pushed the lead to 2-0 minutes later in the 78th minute. Smith had the ball on the left flank and crossed it into the box. The perfectly placed cross found Garcia's head and she directed it into the net to put the game out of reach. Smith picked up her first assist on the season, while Garcia opened her collegiate account.

"We got two great goals from our team," added Sinacola. "We had strong build up lead to two great opportunities. The corner kick from Maria to the back post and Victoria's ability to read, time her run and finish off the bounce was very well done. Alyssa was getting end-line all game for us and served a beauty of a cross to a well-timed run by Ashley and she had an outstanding header to finish."

WMU killed kept the pressure on in the second half, firing off 13 of its shots in the final 45.

Western Michigan returns to the WMU Soccer Complex to host Bowling Green for its MAC home-opener on Friday at 4 p.m. The Toledo Rockets come to town on Sunday for a 1 p.m. kickoff.