Akron Men's Soccer Unveils Challenging 2018 Schedule

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AKRON, Ohio - The University of Akron men's soccer team unveiled a challenging 2018 slate, one that will see the Zips face six opponents from the 2017 NCAA Tournament field sixth-year head coach Jared Embick announced today.

In 2018 the Zips' 10-match season-ticket package features visits to FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field by Butler and Creighton from the Big East, North Carolina State, Pittsburgh and Syracuse from the ACC and Connecticut from the AAC. A very fan-friendly slate features six of Akron's 10 home games taking place on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.

Akron is set to return four starters in 2018, including senior goalkeeper Ben Lundt (Berlin, Germany), redshirt junior Skye Harter (Copley, Ohio), junior Marcel Zajac (Mississauga, Ontario) and sophomore Daniel Strachan (Lakewood, Ohio) from a squad that captured Mid-American Conference tournament title en route to advancing to the College Cup for the fifth time in program history on the strength of an overall record of 18-4-2 mark during the 2017 campaign.

"This a very exciting schedule, one that has us playing many of the top programs from around the country," Embick said. "We get to play against many conferences and have some tough challenges on the road while bringing some very attractive home matches to our fans. I like the difficult schedule because it forces the best out of our team each game, this will allow us to develop our collective and individual play. But most importantly, it allows us a chance to earn a high RPI and a higher seed and home games in the NCAA tournament if we can get the consistent positive results we want to achieve."

A three-game homestand highlights the start of the regular season campaign for the Zips as Akron hosts Butler (Aug. 24), North Carolina State (Aug. 27) and Pittsburgh (Sept. 1).

The month of September also includes a home contest versus Connecticut (Sept. 15).

The Zips welcome Syracuse to Akron for the first time since 1987 and second time overall on Oct. 1, while also hosting Creighton on Oct. 16. Akron opens the home portion of its league slate on Oct. 13 entertaining West Virginia before closing out their regular season campaign welcoming Western Michigan to FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field for a Senior Night match on Nov. 3.

Limited Reserved Bleacher Back ($110) and General Admission ($60) 2018 season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by logging on to GoZips.com/tickets, call or text 1-888-99-AKRON (25766) or visiting The C.P. and Cornelia S. Chima Athletics Ticket Office at InfoCision Stadium – Summa Field (located at 375 E. Exchange Street, near Gate 1 at the southwest corner of the venue, at the corner of E. Exchange and S. Union streets) Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Renewal invoices for existing season ticket holders have been mailed out.

Discounted General Admission season tickets for Akron Faculty/Staff are also available for $48 and must be purchased in person or on the phone. Additionally, General Admission Family Plans ($200), which include a combination of two adult and two youth tickets or one adult and three youth tickets, are available for the fall at this time.

As another option, all Akron Alumni are eligible to purchase the Alumni All-Sport Season Ticket Package for $175, which includes General Admission season tickets for men's and women's soccer, volleyball, men's and women's basketball, and a reserved seat for football.

As a reminder, season ticket holders from the 2017 campaign have until June 15, 2018 to renew and guarantee their seat(s) for next fall. One of the benefits of being a season-ticket holder is postseason ticketing priority.

Single game tickets will go on sale at a later date.

The Zips will take the field for the first time on Aug. 11 when Akron hosts Denver in the first of two exhibition tilts at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field. The Zips also battle Cleveland State on Aug. 14.

Akron suffered a 1-0 road setback to the Pioneers last season on Aug. 28, while besting Cleveland State, 2-0, on Oct. 10.

The Zips close their exhibition slate traveling to Fort Wayne, Ind., for an Aug. 17 showdown versus Indiana. The Hoosiers advanced to the title match of the NCAA College Cup before falling to Stanford in double overtime, 1-0, en route to posting an 18-1-6 ledger in 2017, including a 5-0-3 record in the Big Ten.

The Zips open their 64th season of intercollegiate soccer hosting Butler on Aug. 24. The Bulldogs registered a mark of 14-5-2 a season ago, including battling top-rated Indiana to a 0-0 double-overtime draw on the way to advancing the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.

Akron and North Carolina State will be meeting for the second time in program history and first since a 2-1 victory by the Wolfpack at the MetLife adidas Classic in Durham, N.C., in 1996. In 2017, North Carolina State went 8-6-4, including a 3-3-2 ledger in the ACC and registered triumphs over No. 3 Clemson (1-0) and No. 5 Louisville (3-2), while battling No. 6 Virginia to a 0-0 double-overtime draw.

The Zips close their season-opening three-match homestand welcoming Pittsburgh to FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field on Sept. 1. Akron battles the Panthers for the 27th time in program history and for the first time at home in the regular season since the 1982 campaign. A year ago, the Zips garnered a 3-0 victory at No. 20 Pittsburgh.

Akron hits the road for the first time traveling for showdowns at Seattle and Washington on Sept. 7 and Sept. 9, respectively.

The Zips will be squaring off against the Redhawks in a rematch of the 2017 NCAA Tournament second-round encounter won by Akron, 3-0. Seattle finished the 2017 campaign with a 15-4-4 record, including a 9-1-1 mark in the Western Athletic Conference.

The Zips will face Washington, who earned its fifth trip in the last seven seasons to the NCAA Tournament in 2017, before dropping 3-2 overtime decision to Seattle. Akron bested the Huskies, 2-0, in the Zips' 2017 home opener.

The Zips return home to play Connecticut on Sept. 15 before back-to-back road contests to close the month at Grand Canyon (Sept. 20) and VCU (Sept. 26).

Akron and the Huskies will be squaring off for only the third time in program history and first since 2001. Connecticut posted an 8-8-2 record a year ago, including a 4-3-0 ledger in the American Athletic Conference.

The Zips return to the road on Sept. 20 with a showdown at Grand Canyon. Akron registered a 3-2 double-overtime home triumph past the Lopes on Nov. 1, 2016 in the only previous meeting between the schools.

Akron closes out the month playing VCU for the fourth time in program history. The Zips battled the Rams to a 0-0 double-overtime draw on Sept. 27, 2016 on their home pitch. Led by former Zips' assistant coach Dave Giffard, the Rams earned a 12-7-0 mark a year ago, including a 6-2-0 record in the Atlantic 10, including advancing to the NCAA Tournament Second Round.

The month of October commences for Akron with a home test against Syracuse on Oct. 1 when the Zips welcome the Orange to Akron for the first time since 1987 and second time overall. Syracuse finished the 2017 campaign with a 6-8-4 mark, including suffering a 1-0 home setback to the Zips on Oct. 3.

Akron opens up defense of its 2017 MAC Tournament crown on Oct. 6 at Western Michigan. The Zips edged the Falcons, 2-1, in overtime on Oct. 21, 2017 at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field.

Akron follows with a showdown at Michigan State on Oct. 9. A year ago, the Zips turned in an impressive 4-1 victory past the No. 1 rated Spartans. Michigan State turned in a 13-3-4 record a season ago, including advancing to the NCAA Tournament where the Spartans battled Indiana to a 1-1 double-overtime draw in the Elite Eight before falling in penalty kicks, 3-2.

A two-match homestand commences with the Zips hosting West Virginia (Oct. 13) and Creighton (Oct. 16).

Akron registered a 4-0 road victory over the Mountaineers on Oct. 27, 2017.

The Zips will be playing Creighton for the fifth time in program history with Akron leading the all-time series 2-0-2. The last encounter between the two teams was a memorable one as Adam Najem delivered a golden goal in double overtime to lift the Zips to a 3-2 home triumph against the Bluejays in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament on Dec. 5, 2015. Creighton finished the 2017 campaign with a 9-7-2 record.

A three-match road swing closes out to the month of October with the Zips traveling to face Northern Illinois (Oct. 20), Notre Dame (Oct. 23) and SIU Edwardsville (Oct. 27).

For the first time since the 2012 campaign, Akron will face the Fighting Irish in Notre Dame, Ind. The Zips own an 8-3-3 series advantage against the Fighting Irish and are squaring off against Notre Dame for second consecutive season after garnering a 2-0 home win over the eighth-rated Fighting Irish on Oct. 17, 2017.

A year ago, 12th-seeded Notre Dame dropped a 1-0 decision in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against Wisconsin and finished the season with a 11-7-2 record.

In its final regular season road tilt the Zips will play SIU Edwardsville on Oct. 27 in their first road contest against the Cougars in 40 years (1978). A year ago, Akron earned a 3-1 home victory past SIU Edwardsville in the regular season on Oct. 13, 2017, before needing double-overtime to edge the Cougars, 2-1, in the semifinals of the MAC Tournament on Nov. 10, 2017.

The Zips open the month of November hosting 2017 MAC regular season champion Western Michigan at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field for Senior Night on Nov. 3.

The league's regular-season champion will host the 2018 MAC Tournament Nov. 9-11, while the NCAA College Cup, which will be played at Meredith Field at Harder Stadium in Santa Barbara, Calif., is scheduled for Dec. 7-9.

In all, Akron, which will compete in 17 regular-season matches, is scheduled to play five games against the MAC, four versus the Atlantic Coast Conference, two against the Big East and Western Athletic Conferences and one each versus the American Athletic, Atlantic-10, Big Ten, and Pac-12 Conferences.

All Zips home games will start at 7 p.m.

2018 AKRON MEN'S SOCCER SCHEDULE

DATE	OPPONENT	TIME
Sat., Aug. 11	DENVER (EXH)	7 P.M.
Mon., Aug. 13	CLEVELAND STATE (EXH)	7 P.M.
Fri., Aug. 17	vs. Indiana (EXH) (1)	7 P.M.
Fri., Aug. 24	BUTLER	7 P.M.
Mon., Aug. 27	NORTH CAROLINA STATE	7 P.M.
Sat., Sept. 1	PITTSBURGH	7 P.M.
Fri., Sept. 7	at Seattle	10:30 P.M. ET
Sun., Sept. 9	at Washington	10:30 P.M. ET
Sat., Sept. 15	CONNECTICUT	7 P.M.
Thur., Sept. 20	at Grand Canyon	10 P.M. ET
Wed., Sept. 26	at VCU	7 P.M.
Mon., Oct. 1	SYRACUSE	7 P.M.
Sat., Oct. 6	at Bowling Green *	7 P.M.
Tues., Oct. 9	at Michigan State	7 P.M.
Sat., Oct. 13	WEST VIRGINIA *	7 P.M.
Tues., Oct. 16	CREIGHTON	7 P.M.
Sat., Oct. 20	at Northern Illinois *	8 P.M. ET
Tues., Oct. 23	at Notre Dame	7 P.M.
Sat., Oct. 27	at SIU Edwardsville *	8 P.M. ET
Sat., Nov. 3	WESTERN MICHIGAN *	7 P.M.
Nov. 9-11	MAC Championship	TBA

* Indicates Mid-American Conference game
(1) at Fort Wayne, Ind.
All dates and times subject to change
Homes matches in BOLD CAPS

The University of Akron Athletics

Akron Men's Soccer Unveils Challenging 2018 Schedule

Players Mentioned

Skye Harter

Ben Lundt

Akron Men's Soccer

Adam Najem

Daniel Strachan

Marcel Zajac

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