The University of Akron Athletics
Bunbury and Valentin Receive National Honors
September 21 | Men's Soccer
University of Akron sophomore Teal Bunbury and freshman Zarek
Valentin each garnered national accolades Monday morning
following the No. 1-ranked men's soccer team's perfect weekend at
Lee Jackson Field.
Bunbury, who scored a pair of goals in a 4-0 win over Saint Louis
Sunday, was named to the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of
the Week while Valentin, who helped lead the Zips to their fourth
and fifth shutout victories of the season, earned the same
designation by College Soccer News.
The Zips (6-0-0) turned in their most impressive weekend to date
with a 1-0 decision over No. 8 Indiana and Sunday's rout of the
Billikens, who had received votes for the NSCAA top 25 last week.
Friday night's win coincided with a record-setting crowd at Lee
Jackson Field as 2,443 fans were on hand to see the Zips defeat
their highest-ranked opponent of the year.
For Bunbury, who shares the team lead in goals scored (3) with
freshman Yoram Mwila, his two-goal
performance against SLU was his third multiple-goal contest of his
young career. The Minnesota-native also found the net twice in wins
against Florida Atlantic and Wright State in 2008.
As one of the gems of UA's No. 1 ranked recruiting class for 2009,
Valentin has as advertised. The Pennsylvania-native claimed his
center back position from day one and has been an integral part of
a unit that has posted five shutout victories in six games. He was
recently named the Defensive MVP of the University of Akron
Tournament.
Zips Likely Ranked No. 1 In All Five National Polls
Assuming that Akron will remain the No. 1 team in the nation when
the NSCAA and Soccer Times polls are release Tuesday, the Zips will
have claimed the top slot in all five polls. While UA retained its
No. 1 ranking in the Soccer America and Top Drawer Soccer polls Monday, the
College Soccer News voted the Zips No. 1 for
the first time this season.
Akron is one of just five schools in the country with a perfect
record thus far. The others are UMBC (7-0-0), Monmouth (6-0-0),
Harvard (5-0-0) and Stetson (5-0-0).
