By Christopher Siders

AKRON, Ohio --In the hour after Akron's heart-wrenching loss to Creighton, 5-4, in the third round of the Division I men's soccer tournament Sunday, the Zips' Chad Barson sat at the center of the empty field.

Family members and friends came out to console him, but he sat in silence, not quite believing what had just happened, despite having 31 shots, the second most all season.

Fifth-seeded Akron's quest to reach the College Cup for a third straight season ended in a shootout against No. 12 Creighton. The disappointment at Akron's FirstEnergy Stadium was palpable.

"There is a lot of pain and emotion in the locker room tonight, and I feel the same," said visibly shaken coach Caleb Porter. "We lost on penalty kicks, and it shows that soccer can be cruel sometimes."

Porter said that his team had nothing to hang their heads about in losing to a talented Bluejays team.

But his team's success is based on winning a national championship.

"The team is devastated, and it should show everyone where our standards are.

"That is winning one [a title]."

Akron scored first when Reinaldo Brenes poked the ball just over the head of Creighton goalkeeper Jeff Gal for a 1-0 lead with 11:33 in the first period. Will Trapp had the assist. It should have been an omen for Creighton, as the Zips win 95 percent of their games when they score first.

"I'm still in disbelief we didn't finish our chances," said Akron's Scott Caldwell.

"There are no words to describe what all of us are feeling right now."

Akron's swarming defense held Creighton to five shots on goal in the first period. Creighton rebounded in the second, with Timo Pitter scoring at 82:20 on a one-on-one against Akron's David Meves.

"There are no excuses," said defenseman Chad Barson.

"We just couldn't seem to find the goal in the second period."

The first overtime period had Akron holding Creighton to one shot on goal compared with five for the Zips.

The score remained tied going into the second overtime, with Creighton again having just one shot to Akron's six.

The shootout ended with Pitter making the final shot for Creighton.

"This team had that special something," Porter said. "But sometimes, the best team doesn't always win the national championship."

Creighton moves on to the Elite Eight against Connecticut on Sunday at 1 p.m.