Men's Soccer Ranked No. 1 by Top Drawer Soccer Poll

August 11 | Men's Soccer

AKRON, Ohio -

Despite losing the top scorer in the nation and arguably the best goal keeper in the history of the program, the University of Akron men's soccer team is the team to beat in 2009, according to a preseason poll conducted by Top Drawer Soccer, which awarded the Zips a No. 1 designation Tuesday.

According to the website, "Caleb Porter's program gets the nod as the #1 selection in the TopDrawerSoccer.com Tournament 48 Men's College Soccer pre-season ranking, continuing the Mid-American Conference school's rise to nationally-elite status over the past few years. Despite losing all-everything forward Steve Zakuani, standout goalkeeper Evan Bush and others, the Zips continue to bring in top recruiting classes each season and should be able to more than make up for the loss of the departing seniors.

"A defensive unit that includes youngsters Zarek Valentin, Chad Barson and Kofi Sarkodie plus Matt Dagilis and Chris Korb will be very strong. Add new goalkeeper David Meves of Sockers FC and the U17 Men's National Team and a very solid midfield unit, and the Zips are looking good. Finding a consistent source of goals will be the biggest challenge but I suspect the goals will come from a cast of many."

Looking up at Akron in the top five are College Cup finalist No. 2 St. John's, No. 3 Creighton, No. 4 California and defending national champions No. 5 Maryland.

Other notabale schools listed in the top 30 include eight 2009 UA opponents; Indiana (No. 6), UIC (No. 11), South Florida (No. 12), Tulsa (No. 15), SMU (No. 18), Michigan (No. 24), Michigan State (No. 27) and Ohio State (No. 29).

Also released later Tuesday was the National Soccer Coaches Association of Amerca/adidas preseason poll, which ranked Akron No. 3 along with Wake Forest. It is the third preseason poll the Zips have garnered favorable placement as UA was ranked No. 6 by College Soccer News (CSN) last June.

The Zips, who were ranked No. 9 in the final CSN and NSCAA/adidas polls a year ago, will return seven of 11 starters and nine letterwinners overall this fall - including All-American Anthony Ampaipitakwong and freshman All-Americans Sarkodie and Darlington Nagbe - from a team that recorded the second-highest win total in school history in 2008.

Moreover, UA set a new standard for defensive efficiency, holding its opposition to a goals-against-average of 0.45 - the top mark in the country - despite playing one of the most difficult schedules in Division I with an NCAA RPI of 7. Akron was also ranked fifth in the nation for win percentage (.826) and shutout percentage (0.61), 11th in scoring offense (2.04 goals/game) and 12th in save percentage (.849).

Highlights from the record-setting season included the program's 11 Mid-American Conference regular-season championship, its sixth MAC Tournament title and the school's fourth all-time trip to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament. Furthermore, Akron secured the highest NCAA Tournament seed in program history with a No. 5 designation and spent nine of 13 weeks ranked in the top five of the NSCAA/adidas national poll.

Recruiting Class Receives More Accolades
College Soccer News announced its top 40 recruiting classes in the nation Tuesday and Akron's much hyped class of 2009 earned top honors after being awarded the top slot by ESPN Rise last February.

"Under head coach Caleb Porter and assistants Dave Giffard and Jared Embick, Akron has become one of the superpowers of the recruiting trail. The Zips rounded up a ten member dream class that includes U.S. U-18 National Team member Ben Speas, who is a Parade and NSCAA High School All-American; Zarek Valentin, who is a U.S. U-20 National Team member and NSCAA High School All-American; Chad Barson who is a U.S. U-18 National Team member and Parade and NSCAA Youth All-American; David Meves who is a U.S. U-17 National Team member and Parade and NSCAA Youth All-American; and Scott Caldwell who is a U.S. U-18 National Team member and Parade All-American."

The Zips will officially begin training for the 2009 season next week with two-a-day practices leading up to their exhibition match against South Florida next Friday at 7:30 p.m. Lee Jackson Field.

2009 Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Poll
1. Akron
2. St. John's
3. Creighton
4. California
5. Maryland
6. Indiana*
7. Wake Forest
8. Northwestern
9. North Carolina
10. UC Santa Barbara
11. UIC*
12. South Florida#
13. Notre Dame
14. Connecticut
15. Tulsa*
16. Virginia
17. Louisville
18. SMU*
19. Dayton
20. UCLA
21. Boston College
22. San Francisco
23. Dartmouth
24. Michigan*
25. Denver
26. Duke
27. Michigan State*
28. George Mason
29. Ohio State*
30. Santa Clara

* - 2009 UA regular season opponent
# - 2009 UA exhibition opponent