The University of Akron Athletics
Men's Soccer Readies For Quarterfinal Match vs. Tulsa
December 03 | Men's Soccer
Saturday, Dec. 5 • 4 p.m. (EST) • Lee Jackson Field • Akron, Ohio
Radio: 1350 AM (WARF) Steve French (Play-by-Play), Chad Welker (Color)
Audio/Video Streaming and Live Stats: www.GoZips.com
Top-Seeded Zips Continue Postseason Run Saturday vs. Tulsa
The top-seeded University of Akron men's soccer team will host Tulsa Saturday in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament at 4 p.m. (EST) at Lee Jackson Field.
Akron In Elite Company
The Zips will be competing in the NCAA quarterfinals for the third
time in school history Saturday. Akron was defeated (1-4) in
penalty kicks at third-seeded Maryland - the eventual champions -
after playing to a 1-1 tie most recently in 2005 and topped Penn
State (2-1) in overtime at Lee Jackson Field in 1986.
Akron, which is competing in its 24th NCAA Tournament, has advanced
to the semifinals just once in its program history. The Zips went
all the way to the national title game in 1986 before falling to
Duke, 1-0. Overall, UA is 1-0-1 all-time in quarterfinal
match-ups.
The Zips own an all-time record of 12-23-2 (.351) in the NCAA Tournament since making its first appearance in 1961 but are 4-2-2 (.625) since 2005.
Akron Vs. Tulsa
The Zips and Golden Hurricane will be meeting for the third time
overall Saturday but for the second time this season. Akron has won
both decisions against Tulsa, including a 1-0 victory at the Tulsa
Tournament on Sept. 6. UA and TU have never faced each other at Lee
Jackson Field.
Scouting the Golden Hurricane
Tulsa (15-4-2, 6-1-1 C-USA), ranked 11th in the final regular
season coaches' poll, is the eighth seed in this year's NCAA
Tournament. TU advanced to the quarterfinals with a 1-0 win over
ninth-seeded Northwestern and a 4-3 overtime win over Saint
Louis.
The Golden Hurricane are an attack-minded club and boasts the
third-highest scoring attack in the nation with an average of 2.33
goals per game (49 goals in 21 contests). Individually, Austin Neil
leads the way with 13 goals in 20 contests (ranked 9th with 0.65
goals/game and 20th with 1.45 points/game). Ashley McInnes and Jose
Parada have scored nine goals apiece. McInnes leads the team with
eight assists.
TU out-shot the Wildcats, 20-11, last weekend in their Round of 16
match-up and owned a 9-6 edge in corner kicks. Parada and Neil each
tallied four shots with Neil scoring the game-winner in the 74th
minute.
Tulsa is 6-5-1 (.542) all-time in the NCAA Tournament and is making
its second appearance in the quarterfinal round. The Golden
Hurricane was last defeated, 4-0, by eventual champion Indiana in
Bloomington in 2004. As a side note, current UA head coach Caleb
Porter was an assistant on that Hoosier club.
Turning the Turnstiles
UA fans have been turning out in record-setting fashion
all season long at Lee Jackson Field. In fact, the Zips have set
four attendance records this year alone and Saturday's anticipated
crowd is expected to top them all. Because of the exceptionally
high demand for tickets to the game, temporary accommodations were
made by the Athletics Department to bring additional seating to the
facility that could increase attendance in excess of 4,000 fans,
which would shatter the current record of 2,806 set last
weekend.
Saturday's game is expected to be the fifth time UA has played
before a capacity crowd this season. In all, the Zips have drawn
crowds of more than 2,000 fans seven times in 12 home contests
after doing so just once before in its program history entering the
year.
With 2,443 fans in attendance to watch the Zips defeat Indiana 1-0
on Sept. 18, UA topped the previous high mark of 2,319, originally
set vs. Ohio State in 2005. But that record fell less than two
weeks later when 2,473 were on hand to witness a 3-0 victory over
the Buckeyes on Sept. 30. Then, in UA's second round match-up with
South Florida, 2,700 fans "Packed The Jack" to see the Zips' 2-0
victory.
Zips Reset
Akron defeated Stanford, 2-0, to advance to the
quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships last Sunday at Lee Jackson
Field.
It was another dominating performance from the Zips, who dismantled
Stanford with a relentless attack and swarming defense; resulting
in a 16-4 edge on shots, including a 9-3 margin on goal.
The nation's leading goal scorer, Teal Bunbury added to his
total with No. 17 on the season in the 29th minute to give UA a 1-0
lead. The sophomore forward leaped high to get a head on a ball
that volleyed around following one of eight Akron corner kicks. Chad
Barson, who recorded his first career assist on the play, and
Ben Zemanski each had touches
to set up the score.
Junior Anthony Ampaipitakwong, who
has scored three goals in two NCAA Tournament games this season,
made it 2-0 in the 37th minute on a direct free kick from 26 yards
out.
The two goals highlighted the Zips' most complete half of their
perfect season - out-shooting the Cardinal, 9-0, in the first 45
minutes.
The Cardinal picked up its pace in the second half, but couldn't
break through the Zips' swarming defense. UA's true freshman
goalkeeper David Meves recorded a trio
of saves, including one worthy of the highlight reel, to post his
14th shutout of the campaign, matching Evan Bush's school record
(2005) for most in a season.
The Last Time Vs. Tulsa
Akron earned a 1-0 victory at Tulsa at the Radisson Tulsa
Airport Classic in the second game of the season.
The Zips used a balanced attack with multiple shots coming from
four different players and a swarming defense, which held TU to
just two shots on goal and six shots overall, to dispatch the
defending Conference USA champion Golden Hurricane.
Anthony Ampaipitakwong
provided all the offense the Zips would need with his first goal of
the season, coming in the 10th minute of the contest. Sophomore Teal
Bunbury slipped the ball to Ampaipitakwong to set up the shot,
which sailed true from 12 yards out into the left corner of the
keeper's box. The goal highlighted a first half that was all Akron
from the get-go. The Zips out-shot TU 6-1 in the opening stanza and
11-6 overall.
Ampaipitakwong, Bunbury Named Hermann Trophy
Semifinalists
Anthony Ampaipitakwong and Teal
Bunbury were among 15 semifinalists for the 2009 Missouri
Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy, the highest individual honor in
intercollegiate soccer.
Overall, six teams in the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Elite Eight
have a total of eight players representing them. UA and Wake Forest
lead the way with two players each.
Division I college head coaches with current membership in the
National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) will vote to
determine the 2009 MAC Hermann Trophy recipient. Three finalists
for the award will be announced on Friday, Dec. 11 and will be
invited to the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis for a news
conference on Friday, Jan. 8, 2010, where the winner will be
announced. Dinner and a formal presentation of the award will
follow the news conference that evening.
Ampaipitakwong, an NSCAA third team All-American in 2008, has
started all 22 games this season for the Zips. He has been UA's
driving force on the attack with three goals in two NCAA Tournament
games - including the game-winner against South Florida in the
second round - entering Saturday's quarterfinal match-up with
eighth-seeded Tulsa.
In all, the midfielder from Carrollton, Texas, has netted eight
goals to go with five assists for 36 points - ranking third on the
team - on the year. On top of that, half of his goals have been
game-winners. He is a three-time All-Mid-American Conference First
Team honoree.
After a strong freshman campaign, Bunbury has blossomed into the
nation's most dangerous goal scorer in 2009. The reigning MAC
Player of the Year, who leads the country with 17 goals on the
season, has dictated the outcome of nine UA wins alone with five
game-winning goals and four assists that led to game-winners.
In all, he has recorded at least one point 16 times in 22 games and
scored multiple goals in four contests. Bunbury enjoyed an
incredible run from late September to early November, scoring 14
goals in a 12-game span, including game-winners against Florida
Atlantic, Virginia Tech, Buffalo and Penn State. For the season,
the striker from Prior Lake, Minn., has totaled a tea-high 39
points while starting every game this season.
Both players have been key factors in the nation's No. 1 attack. As
a team, the Zips are averaging 2.59 goals per contest, which is the
highest mark among 203 Division I programs.
It is the second consecutive year Akron has been represented on the
Hermann Trophy semifinalist list. Current professional star Steve
Zakuani was named first runner up a year ago before becoming
the No. 1 overall draft pick of the MLS SuperDraft.
Uncharted Waters
• Akron, which is currently riding the second
longest, single-season win streak in NCAA history with a perfect
22-0-0 record, will have the opportunity to match the all-time
standard set by Indiana in 1997 Saturday. That Hoosier team - with
current UA head coach Caleb Porter at midfield,
coincidentally - won 23 straight games before falling in the NCAA
semifinals against UCLA.
• The Zips are attempting to be just the seventh team in NCAA
history - and the first since Howard (19-0-0) in 1974 - win a
national championship with a perfect record (no losses or
ties).
On the Horizon
The winner of Saturday's game will punch its ticket to the
College Cup, which will be played in Cary, N.C. next weekend. UA
has made just one appearance in the NCAA semifinals in its history.
The Zips defeated Fresno State, 1-0, on the road to advance to the
national championship game where it was defeated by Duke, 1-0, in
the Tacoma Dome at Fresno State.
Bunbury Scoring in Bunches
Teal
Bunbury enters Saturday's match as the leading scorer in the
nation with 17 goals. With just four other active players (Austin
Neil, Tulsa; Zack Schilawski; Wake Forest, Garrett Webb, Drake; and
Kayle Nakazawa, UCLA) isted in the top 14 in scoring and none with
more than 13 goals, Bunbury stands a strong chance to win the
national scoring title.
If so, it would be the second straight year the national scoring
leader has come from Akron. MLS No. 1 overall draft pick Steve
Zakuani led all scorers with 20 goals and 47 points in
2008.
Defensive Perfection
With seven goals allowed in 1990:47 as a team, the Zips'
goals-against-average of 0.32 is currently the third-best
single-season mark in NCAA history. Moreover, Akron is one of just
four schools (Virginia, North Carolina, Connecticut) that has yet
to allow a goal in the NCAA Tournament. For the year, Akron and
Virginia share the nation's lead for fewest goals allowed (7).
The Zips set a school record last weekend with their 16th shutout of the season against Stanford and enter play Saturday as the owners of the nation's No. 1 shutout percentage (.730). As it stands, it is the sixth-best mark in NCAA single-season history.
Dual ThreatFor as good as UA has been defensively this season, the Zips
have been even more dominant on the attack. In fact, they are the
only school in the nation to be ranked in the top three in both
scoring offense and goals-against-average. Akron's average of 2.59
goals per game lead the nation while it's GAA of 0.32 is ranked
second (behind Virginia's mark of 0.30).
There are only two other schools in the country that are ranked in the top 10 for offense and defense. Liberty is ranked fifth with an average of 2.15 goals per game and No. 7 with a GAA of 0.53, while North Carolina is ranked 10th in scoring offense (2.05) and sixth for GAA (0.53).
Akron Continues Its Winning Ways
Since 2005, UA has posted the best winning percentage in
the nation with an overall record of 85-12-11 (.837) - Wake Forest
is second with a record of 90-18-12 (.800).
It is also important to note that while Akron does play in a
mid-major conference, it has accumulated its record over the years
against some of the best programs in the nation - especially in
recent past.
In fact, the Zips have recorded a top-10 RPI in each of the last
three years under Caleb Porter (No. 1 in 2009,
No. 5 in 2008 and No. 10 in 2007) and went 5-0 against the Big 10
this year with wins over Indiana (1-0), Ohio State (3-0), Michigan
(5-1), Penn State (3-0) and Michigan State (2-1).
Along those lines, UA defeated seven teams (South Florida, St.
Louis, Indiana, Ohio State, Tulsa, Penn State, Michigan State) that
qualified for the NCAA Tournament this year, outscoring them, 16-1,
during the regular season.
Defending the Homefront
Akron is undefeated in its last 25 home games (24-0-1)
dating back to 2007 and is 53-2-4 (.932) at Lee Jackson Field
overall since 2005.
Oh Captain My Captain!
UA head coach Caleb Porter, who is in his
fourth season at the helm, boasts a career record of 67-11-7 (.829)
in 85 games. He has led the Zips to four straight Mid-American
Conference regular-season titles and three consecutive MAC
Tournament championships.
Furthermore, UA has advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of the
last three seasons (2007, 2008, 2009) and advanced to the Sweet 16
in back-to-back campaigns ('08, '09).
The foundation of Porter's success has been the accumulation of the
nation's top talent. He and his staff recruited the No. 1 class in
the nation for 2009, according to ESPNRise.com, Soccer America, Top
Drawer Soccer and College Soccer News. This follows No. 5
designations for 2007 and 2008.
