The University of Akron Athletics
IN THE NCAA
• Since 2007, The University of Akron men's soccer program has posted the highest winning percentage in the nation (.767) with an overall record of 210-53-31, heading into the 2020 campaign.
NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Win. % (2007-2019)
| Rank | School | Record | Win Percentage |
| 1. | Akron | 210-53-31 | .767 |
| 2. | Maryland | 195-58-40 | .734 |
| 3. | Wake Forest | 182-57-35 | .728 |
| 4. | North Carolina | 182-59-40 | .719 |
| 5. | Creighton | 184-67-28 | .710 |
| 6. | Charlotte | 162-64-38 | .686 |
| 7. | Indiana | 185-74-51 | .679 |
| 8. | Georgetown | 165-69-35 | .678 |
| 9. | Virginia | 166-72-39 | .670 |
| 10. | Coastal Carolina | 171-79-25 | .667 |
• The Zips advanced to the national championship game in back to back seasons in 2009 and 2010. After falling to Virginia in penalty kicks in '09, Akron made history with a 1-0 victory over Louisville the following year. It was the first team national championship in school history for any sport.
• Akron made 12 straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament (2007-18), earning a first-round bye in eight seasons. The Zips have advanced to the NCAA's Round of 16 in eight of the last 12 years.
• Akron maintains an 33-27-9 mark in 69 matches in NCAA Championship history, including capturing the school's first national championship in any sport in 2010. The Zips are 12-4-3 under head coach Jared Embick. Since 2005, Akron owns a 24-7-9 ledger.
• The Zips are 24-7-9 in NCAA Tournament games since 2005. Akron's win over Rider in 2018 enabled the Zips to go to 16-0-2 at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field in NCAA Tournament contests since 2008.
• The Zips have assaulted the NCAA record book over the course of recent history. Fueled by one of the greatest defensive seasons in college history, UA matched an NCAA record by posting a perfect 23-0-0 record heading into the College Cup in 2009 en route to its runner-up finish. Akron didn't allow a single goal during the NCAA Tournament that year and finished with 19 shutouts for the campaign, which represented the second-highest total all-time. Furthermore, its goals-against-average (0.27) and shutout percentage (.760) were ranked third-best in NCAA history.
• Akron then matched another NCAA record by posting its 11th consecutive shutout in 2010, including clean-sheet victories against then-ranked No. 4 North Carolina (3-0), No. 3 Wake Forest (2-0) and No. 2 Tulsa (4-0).
• Another historic milestone fell in 2011 when the Zips set the all-time NCAA mark for the longest home unbeaten streak. Akron pushed its run to 40 games with a 5-0 rout of Cleveland State in the season opener at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field to break the original standard held by Tulsa, which went unbeaten in 39 games at home from 1988-'92.
• The Zips would remain undefeated on their home field for eight more matches, extending the all-time record to 48 contests (44-0-4). The streak came to a close when Michigan State escaped with a 1-0 win in the final regular-season match on Nov. 2 with a second-half goal despite being out-shot 17-5 for the contest.
• In 2013, Akron extended its run of unbeaten matches in league play to 49 after posting a 1-0 win at West Virginia on Sept. 29, 2013. The streak came to an end on Oct. 5, 2013 with a 2-0 setback versus Hartwick.
• Since the start of the 2007 season, Akron has gone 72-7-8 against MAC opponents, including postseason play.
• Since 1961, the Zips have advanced to the NCAA postseason 33 times, including 15 of the past 17 seasons.
ALL-TIME AKRON NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES (33)
1961 • 1963 • 1964 • 1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1970 • 1971 • 1972 • 1975 • 1976 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986* • 1998 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009* • 2010* • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 • 2017 • 2018*
* advanced to NCAA national championship game
IN THE MAC
• Since 2007, Akron is nearly unbeaten during the regular season against the Mid-American Conference, posting an league record of 60-6-5 (.880). Furthermore, the Zips have won 13 of the last 15 MAC regular season championships and 10 of the last 13 MAC Tournament titles.
• In all, UA leads all league members with 20 regular-season and 15 tournament championships since joining the MAC in 1993, and has won both titles in the same season 12 times after doing so in 2016.
AKRON MAC REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONSHIPS (20)
1993 • 1995 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000* • 2002* • 2005 • 2006* • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 • 2020
* co-champions
AKRON MAC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIPS (15)
1998 • 2002 • 2004 • 2005 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 • 2017 • 2018
• Akron has produced the MAC Player of the Year in 10 of the past 15 seasons and 12 times overall. Moreover, eight Zips have earned the league's Newcomer of the Year honor in as many seasons dating back to 2007 and 13 times overall.
• In 27 seasons in the MAC, the Zips have produced 197 All-MAC honorees, including a conference-record nine first-team selections in 2010.
IN THE CLASSROOM
• The Zips matched a program high when four players were named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America team in 2012. Leading the way was NSCAA Scholar Player of the Year Scott Caldwell, who earned First Team honors. Joining Caldwell (3.94, Accounting) on the first team were Chad Barson (3.99 GPA, Biology) and Reinaldo Brenes (3.90 International Business). David Meves (3.77, Corporate Finance) was a second-team honoree.
• In all, the Zips have produced 23 Academic All-American honors in its history, dating back to the 1998 season.
• Kofi Sarkodie was the first Zip to earn NCAA Academic All-American of the Year honors for men's soccer in 2010. Sarkodie was one of four UA players to be named to the Academic All-America Team during that historic season. Sarkodie, who was a Hermann Trophy semifinalist and Soccer America's Player of the Year, finished his career at the Akron with a 3.959 cumulative GPA as a biology major.
• Akron men's team under head coach Jared Embick was recognized by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) as a 2018-19 Collegiate Team Academic Award winner for the 12th consecutive year and 13th time overall after registering a cumulative 3.21 grade point average for the 2018-19 academic year.
• Adam Najem was selected as a First-Team Scholar All-America award winner when the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) unveiled its 2016 Scholar All-America team. Najem became the third Zip to garner First-Team NSCAA Scholar All-America accolades twice joining Chad Barson (2011, 2012) and Kofi Sarkodie (2009, 2010).
• Akron has long been associated with academic excellence. In addition to posting a team GPA of better than 3.0 in 2012, the Zips finished second in Division I the previous season with a cumulative mark of 3.44. The remarkable feat follows years that saw the Zips post GPAs of 3.43 in 2010-11 and 3.33 in 2009-10.
• Najem became the 11th Zip to garner CoSIDA All-America accolades in the sport of men's soccer, and the first since Reinaldo Brenes, a two-time recipient, garnered third-team honors in 2013, with his selection to the 2016 Academic All-America® Division I Men's Soccer Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The award marked the 18th time in program history in which an Akron men's soccer standout has been so honored.
• Tyler Sanda was named the recipient of the NCAA Elite 90 award for the 2015 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. The award honors the individual with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's 90 championships.
IN THE PROS
• Since 2005, the University of Akron has produced 36 players who have either been selected in the Major League Soccer draft or sign Homegrown Contracts, including USMNT phenom DeAndre Yedlin, who became the first UA alumn to appear in a World Cup match for the U.S. in 2014.
• Additionally, 13 Zips have had their names called during the first round of the MLS SuperDraft, including a league record five selections in the first eight picks in 2011 following the Zips national championship season.
• Since 2008, Akron leads the country with eight players selected among the top-five selections in the MLS SuperDraft. The Zips also boast the highest total of players chosen among the top-10 draftees over the same span with 12.
• Akron broke a second MLS record that day as seven UA players were chosen in the first two rounds, the most from a single team in draft history.
• Steve Zakuani was the program's first No. 1 overall draft pick at the 2009 SuperDraft. The Hermann Trophy finalist and nation's leading scorer (20 goals in 23 matches) in 2008 was the first ever pick of the then-expansion Seattle Sounders.
• Joao Moutinho was the 12th University of Akron Men's Soccer standout to garner a Generation adidas contract, a total that leads the nation since the program's rebranding began in 2006. Additionally, since the combined Project-40 (1997-2005) and Generation adidas (2006-present) initiative started in 1997, the Zips' 12 signings rank third in the country behind only UCLA (14) and Maryland (13).
• Moutinho became the only second Zip to go No. 1 overall in the MLS SuperDraft in program history with his selection by Los Angeles FC in 2018. Moutinho joined Steve Zakuani (2009) as the second Akron player to be drafted No. 1, as Zakuani was the top pick for the Seattle Sounders in 2009.
• Since 2009, the Zips have had two players drafted as high as the No. 2 overall pick. Darlington Nagbe, who was the school's second straight Hermann Trophy winner, earned the distinction in 2011 when he was drafted by Portland and Jamaican striker Darren Mattocks followed suit in 2012, going to the Vancouver Whitecaps.
• Teal Bunbury, the 2009 Hermann Trophy winner, would be the first of three Zips taken at the 2010 draft when Sporting Kansas City made the athletic striker with Canadian roots the No. 4 overall pick. Adding to the list that season were teammates Blair Gavin (No. 10) and Ben Zemanski (No. 47), who were each drafted by Chivas USA.
• Cameron Knowles, formerly an current assistant coach on the Portland Timbers staff, became the Akron first player in program history to be drafted into MLS when Real Salt Lake took the Zips defender in the supplemental round (No. 37 overall) of the 2005 draft.
• Five more Zips entered the professional ranks following the 2013 campaign as Robbie Derschang (Philadelphia Union), Eric Stevenson (New York Red Bulls), Aodhan Quinn (Union) and Reinaldo Brenes (Sporting Kansas City) had their names called during the 2014 MLS SuperDraft and Bryan Gallego signed a Homegrown Contract with the Portland Timbers.
• Saad Abdul-Salaam became the 10th Zip to have his name called during the first round of the 2015 MLS SuperDraft with his selection 12th overall in the MLS SuperDraft by Sporting Kansas City.
• Richie Laryea was drafted seventh overall by Orlando City in the first round of the 2016 MLS SuperDraft. after being part of the MLS Generation adidas Class.
• In 2017, Jonathan Lewis was selected third overall by New York City FC. A 2017 Generation adidas class member, Lewis, the 2016 Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year, scored a pair of goals in 2016 and led Akron in assists (12), scoring (16) and shots on goal (21), while ranking third on the team in shots (44). His 12 assists were tied as the top mark nationally across the NCAA in Division I.
• Danilo Radjen also heard his named announced on draft day in 2017 with his selection in the MLS SuperDraft by the Houston Dynamo with the 14th selection of the second round (36th overall). A two-year starter for the Zips, Radjen started 29 of the 30 games in which he appeared in for Akron, including 14 starts in 2016. He helped spark a Zips' defensive unit that has posted 20 shutouts over his final two campaigns, including 11 in 2016.
• Adam Najem also began his career in Major League Soccer (MLS) in 2017 as the Philadelphia Union signed him to a contract after acquiring his right of first refusal from New York Red Bulls. A two-time All-American and twice named a first-team Academic All-America recipient, Najem capped his brilliant Akron career in 2016 ranked first, first, fourth, sixth, 10th and 18th, respectively, among active career players in NCAA Division I in games played (89), assists (29), points (95), goals (33), assists per game (0.33) and points per contest (1.07).
• Joao Moutinho, the top pick in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft by Los Angeles FC, was a 2017 First-Team United Soccer Coaches All-America honoree, Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year, TopDrawerSoccer.com National Freshman of the Year and First-Team All-MAC performer, started all 24 games for the Zips in 2017. A key playmaker for Akron totaling three goals and five assists, he contributed 19 shots on goal as part of 40 overall shots, totals that ranked third on the squad.
• Niko De Vera, Nate Shultz and Stuart Holthusen became the 22nd, 23rd and 24th Zips to be drafted during the MLS SuperDraft after teammate Joao Moutinho was selected No. 1 overall by Los Angeles FC. De Vera was chosen in the second round (No. 31 overall) by the New York Red Bulls, while Shultz and Holthusen were taken in the third round by the Los Angeles Galaxy (No. 48 overall) and Portland Timbers (No. 64 overall), respectively.
• The Zips' four selections marked the most players taken from Akron since 2014 when Robbie Derschang (No. 27 overall – Philadelphia), Eric Stevenson (No. 34 – New York Red Bulls), Aodhan Quinn (No. 52 – Philadelphia) and Reinaldo Brenes (No. 76 – Sporting KC) were drafted.
5-12-20
