The University of Akron Athletics
Men's Soccer to Host Ohio State in NCAA Tournament
November 25 | Men's Soccer
No. 5 seed Akron (16-1-4) vs. Ohio State (9-8-3)
Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2008 • 7:30 p.m. • Lee Jackson Field • Akron, Ohio
Media: Live Stats • GoZips.com
Fifth-Seeded Zips To Begin NCAA Title Run Tuesday
After earning a first-round bye, the fifth-seeded University of
Akron men's soccer team will host Ohio State in the second round of
the NCAA Championships Tuesday night at Lee Jackson Field. The game
is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.
Akron Awarded Highest Seed in School History
Fresh off winning its second consecutive Mid-American
Conference regular-season and tournament titles, the Akron men's
soccer team was awarded a school-best fifth seed to the 2008 NCAA
Championships and a first-round bye in the 48-team field.
It is the fourth time Akron has earned a national seed in program
history. The Zips were nation's No. 15 seed in 2003, the No. 9
national seed in 2005 and the No. 14 seed last season. The Zips,
who have been ranked in the top 10 by the NSCAA in every week of
the regular season and in the top 5 on eight occasions, will be
playing in their 23rd NCAA postseason, dating back to 1961.
Poll Position
The Zips maintained their No. 4 ranking in the final
regular-season NSCAA/adidas poll after capturing the MAC Tournament
championship on Nov. 16. Akron played fourth-seeded Hartwick to a
1-1 tie before dispatching the Hawks 3-0 in penalty kicks. Then, Steve
Zakuani netted the game-winner in the 104th minute to lift
Akron to a 1-0 win over Northern Illinois in the title match.
Despite the success, UA fell from third to fourth in the Soccer
America poll and from second to fourth in the College Soccer News
rankings while holding on to its No. 3 designation in the Top
Drawer Soccer poll.
All those rankings go out the window Tuesday night, however, as the
Zips find themselves just four wins away from the school's first
national title.
Zips Ranked No. 5 in RPI
Akron also maintained its No. 5 standing in the last RPI
index, released by the NCAA on Nov. 10. The rating system is based
50 percent on the team's win-loss percentage, 25 percent on the
team's strength of schedule and 25 percent on the strength of
schedule of the team's opponents. The RPI was the primary gauge
used to determine seeding for the NCAA Tournament.
Akron in the NCAA Tournament
The Zips own an all-time record of 9-22-2 (.303) in the
NCAA Tournament since its first appearance in 1961. Their last
tournament win came in a 5-0 defeat of West Virginia in the second
round at Lee Jackson Field in 2005 and was followed by consecutive
ties at fourth-seeded Connecticut and at third-seeded Maryland that
same year. The Zips slipped by the Huskies, 4-3, in penalty kicks
but saw their title run come to a halt after falling 4-1 in kicks
to the Terps in the quarterfinals.
Last season, Akron, as the No. 14 seed, was defeated by South
Florida, 1-0, in double overtime at Lee Jackson Field.
A Win Tuesday Would be Extra Sweet
A win against Ohio State would vault Akron into the Sweet
16 for the fourth time in school history. UA also accomplished that
feat in 2005, 2003 and 1986. The Zips advanced to the quarterfinals
on two occasions (‘05, ‘86) and went all the way to the
national title game in 1986, falling to Duke, 1-0.
Zakuani Earns Player of the Year Honors from Top Drawer
Soccer
University of Akron sophomore Steve
Zakuani, the nation's scoring leader and 2008 Mid-American
Conference Player of the Year, was named Player of the Season by
Top Drawer Soccer on Nov. 21.
Zakuani has exceeded lofty expectations this season as a Hermann
Trophy candidate and preseason Soccer America All-American. The
striker leads the nation in goals scored (20) and points (47) and
has been at his best with the game on the line.
The native of London, England has seven game-winning goals to this
credit for the season but none may have been bigger than the one in
double overtime to defeat Northern Illinois in the MAC Tournament
championship game on Nov. 16 at Lee Jackson Field. Hobbled by a
sprained ankle, Zakuani battled harsh winter weather conditions and
played through pain that kept him out of the starting lineup for
the first time of his career.
The 2007 MAC Newcomer of the Year found the net in the 104th minute
to lift the Zips to their second consecutive MAC Tournament title
and sixth overall in the program's heralded history.
The 15 finalists for the Hermann Trophy are expected to be
announced later this week.
Accolades Continue From Top Drawer Soccer
First-year UA standouts Darlington
Nagbe and Kofi Sarkodie were also honored by Top Drawer
Soccer, earning first team all-rookie accolades.
Nagbe, the 2008 MAC Newcomer of the Year, recorded a pair of goals
and three assists while firing off 33 shots as a first-year player
for the Zips. The forward excelled as the season progressed and
enjoyed an expanded role in the MAC Tournament title game with
Zakuani limited due to injury.
Nagbe recorded both of his goals in a rout of Florida Atlantic on
Sept. 19 and assisted scores in back-to-back games at Hartwick
(Nov. 1) and at Ohio State (Nov. 7), a potential NCAA Tournament
opponent for UA. Ironically, Nagbe's other assist on the year came
against Akron's other potential opponent, Oakland, on Oct. 8.
Sarkodie hit the ground running, by scoring the game-winning goal
and assisting in a shutout in Akron's 3-0 season-opening victory
against then-ranked No. 3 Notre Dame on Aug. 31. The UA defender
and current captain of his U.S. Youth National team, who also has
two assists to his name in 2008, has been instrumental in the
success of the Akron defense, which is ranked third nationally with
a goals-against-average (GAA) of 0.45 – allowing just 10
scores in 21 games.
As a unit, Zips defenders are amidst one of – if not the best
– seasons in school history. The team's GAA is currently the
lowest ever recorded by Akron team and its 13 shutouts are two shy
of the single-season mark.
Akron Versus Ohio State
• Tuesday's game will mark the first time Akron and
Ohio State have ever faced each other in the NCAA Tournament.
• UA leads the all-time series with OSU, 22-6-2 (.767), and is
12-1-1 versus the Buckeyes at Lee Jackson Field.
• The Zips and Buckeyes played to a 1-1 double overtime tie in
their last meeting in Akron (Sept. 26, 2007). The only time OSU
defeated UA at Lee Jackson Field was a 3-2 decision during the 1979
campaign.
• Akron has out-scored Ohio State, 108-40, in 30 all-time
meetings.
• A short-handed Buckeyes team upset Oakland in the first
round of the NCAA Tournament. After playing to a 0-0 tie, OSU
slipped by the Golden Grizzlies, 4-3, on penalty kicks. The
Buckeyes played without six of their starters after they were
suspended for the violation of team rules. Five freshmen started in
the match and six participating players had seen action in five or
fewer games this season.
UA Wins Thriller at Ohio State in Last Meeting
Steve Zakuani scored a pair of goals and assisted
two others while Blair Gavin put the finishing touches on an
improbable comeback as the Zips rallied to a 4-3 victory over Ohio
State on Nov. 7 night before 1,008 fans at Jesse Owens Memorial
Stadium.
Akron started the second half with a 1-0 lead, but it wouldn't hold
up in a frantic second half that featured six goals and 17 combined
shots.
UA, which hadn't allowed more than one goal in a single game up to
that point all season, saw OSU score two times in little more than
one minute to regain the lead early in the second half and find the
net three times for the contest. The Zips' defense had allowed just
six scores through the first 18 games of the year.
The 2007 national runners-up Buckeyes wasted little time after the
break, blitzing back with two goals in the first five minutes of
play. A goal by Ben Zemanski tied the game in the 55th minute,
but the Zips had to rally once more as OSU regained the lead less
than a minute later.
Zakuani scored his second goal of the game to pull the Zips even
before assisting Gavin's game winner in the 82nd minute. Zakuani
crossed the ball from the left side of the box and Gavin lifted the
ball just under the crossbar from 10 yards out for his first goal
of the season.
The Friendly Confines
Locking up a top eight seed for the NCAA Tournament should
be a key factor to the Zips' postseason aspirations. Akron is
11-0-1 at home this season and has been defeated just twice in 47
games at Lee Jackson Field since 2005, posting an outstanding
record of 41-2-4 (.915). The two losses came at the hands of
then-ranked No. 20 Indiana (0-2 in 2006) and South Florida (0-1,
2OT) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year.
During that stretch, the Zips have out-scored their opponents,
117-19 and are allowing an average of just 0.40 goals per game.
Akron is 30-2-3 (.900) at Lee Jackson Field in two-plus seasons
under head coach Caleb Porter.
Zakuani Zips up Charts
Steve Zakuani, who is the nation's scoring
leader, moved into fifth place on the school's single-season goals
scored and points lists after scoring his 20th goal at the MAC
Tournament.
He is currently tied with George Nanchoff, the father of current UA
sophomore Michael Nanchoff, with 47 points in 21 games
while solely owning the fifth spot for goals scored with 20 on the
season.
UA's record holder for most goals scored in a single season is
Milich, who found the net an astounding 31 times – the
10th-highest total in NCAA history – during the 1961 campaign.
Milich also set the school record for points in 1961 with 75 to his
name.
Akron Well Represented in MAC Awards
Following its seventh undefeated league season, Akron
placed seven players on the All-Mid-American Conference First Team,
including Player of the Year Steve
Zakuani and Newcomer of the Year Darlington
Nagbe.
Additionally, UA made a clean sweep of the postseason specialty
awards for the second straight year as third-year head coach Caleb
Porter claimed his second consecutive Coach of the Year
award.
Zakuani became the sixth Zips player to earn the league's highest
award since 1993 and follows Corey
Sipos (2007), Sinisa Ubiparipovic (2006) and Ross McKenzie
(2005) as the fourth consecutive UA player be honored in as many
seasons.
Nagbe is the seventh UA player to earn newcomer honors and the
third in the last four seasons, following Zakuani, who received the
title last season and senior goal keeper Evan
Bush, who achieved the distinction in 2005.
Joining Zakuani and Nagbe on the All-MAC First Team were Anthony
Ampaipitakwong, Blair Gavin, Matt
Tutich, Kofi Sarkodie and Bush. Picking up second team
honors this season were Ossie Michalsen and Ben
Zemanski.
Record Watching
Akron is in the midst of one of the best seasons in
program history and is threatening to break a number of school
records. With 13 shutouts and 10 goals allowed in 21 games (0.45
GAA), the Zips are two shutouts shy of the school record (15) and
are on pace to break the single-season mark for
goals-against-average (0.50). Both records were set during the 2005
campaign.
Bush Among Nation's Top 'Keepers
It goes without saying that senior goal keeper Evan Bush
will be remembered as one of the best players to ever wear an Akron
uniform. After redshirting in 2004, the two-time all-league
standout and current team tri-captain stepped in between the pipes
and never looked back, setting MAC records for shutouts (47) and
wins (61) in a prolific four-year career, which has seen him start
all 84 games he has appeared in. In more than 7,500 minutes in
goal, he has allowed just 51 goals while posting a career
goals-against-average of 0.61.
In addition to his all-conference honors, Bush has been named MAC
Player of the Week twice this season was named to the National Team
of the Week by College Soccer News (Oct. 13) and Soccer America
(Oct. 28).
Season Trends
The Zips are 15-0-1 when scoring first in games, 12-0-0 when
leading at halftime and 13-1-2 when they out-shoot their opponents.
UA, which came from behind to defeat Cleveland State (Sept. 21),
has never trailed at halftime this season.
