The University of Akron Athletics
Men's Soccer Set to Kick Off 2010 in North Carolina
September 03 | Men's Soccer
The University of Akron men's soccer team, ranked preseason No.
1 in the country by the NSCAA, Soccer America, College
Soccer News and Soccer Times, will officially kick
off its 2010 campaign in North Carolina this weekend.
The Zips will first take on No. 4 North Carolina Friday night at
Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill as part of the Carolina Nike Classic
before heading to Winston-Salem Sunday to meet No. 3 Wake Forest at
Bryan Park. Both games will begin at 7 p.m. ET
Schedule
No. 1 Akron (0-0-0) at No. 4 North Carolina (0-0-0)
Carolina Nike Classic • Friday, Sept. 3 • 7:00 p.m.
(ET)
Fetzer Field • Chapel Hill, N.C. Radio: None. Television:
None.
Live Stats: TarHeelBlue.com | GameTracker
No. 1 Akron (0-0-0) at No. 3 Wake Forest
(0-0-0)
Sunday, Sept. 5 • 7:00 p.m. (ET)
Bryan Park • Winston-Salem, N.C. Radio: None. Television:
None.
Live Stats: WakeForestSports.com | GameTracker
In Good Company
UA's matches this weekend will comprise three of the four College
Cup qualifying teams from last December.
• The Zips (23-1-1 in 2009) played North Carolina (16-2-4) to
a scoreless draw before advancing to the NCAA final on penalty
kicks, 5-4.
• Wake Forest (17-4-3) was edged by eventual champion
Virginia, 2-1, in the first overtime period in its semifinal
match-up.
Familiar Faces
Akron returns eight of 11 starters from a year ago,
including a trio of Hermann Trophy candidates in senior midfielder
Anthony
Ampaipitakwong (8 G, 5 A in 2009), junior forward Darlington
Nagbe (10 G, 3 A) and junior defender Kofi
Sarkodie (3 G, 7 A).
• Also returning to the fold is the entire back line that
challenged NCAA records a year ago. Sarkodie is joined once again
by senior Chris
Korb and sophomores Chad
Barson and Zarek
Valentin.
• Back between the pipes is sophomore goal keeper David
Meves. The net minder shattered school records with a GAA of
0.28 and 17 shutouts last season and didn't allow a single goal
throughout the Zips' NCAA Tournament run.
For Starters...
Friday's game will mark the start of the 55th season of
Akron soccer.
• The Zips have won their last three season openers - posting
wins over SMU (1-0) in 2009, No. 3 Notre Dame (3-0) in 2008 and No.
10 New Mexico (3-1) in 2007 - and five of their last six dating
back to the 2004 campaign.
• Head coach Caleb
Porter, the 2009 NSCAA National Coach of the Year, is 3-1-0 at
Akron in season openers with the lone setback coming in his first
season at the helm (2006) at the hands of No. 21 UC-Santa
Barbara.
• This weekend will represent the third time UA has opened the
year on the road in four years.
• The Zips are 33-16-6 all-time in season openers and 13-3-1
since 1993.
About North Carolina
The Tar Heels went 3-0 in the preseason with wins over No.
23 UNC Wilmington (1-0), UNC Greensboro (3-1) and the Carolina
RailHawks (3-1). UNC has a pair of returning All-Americans in the
form of top scorer Billy Schuler and midfielder Michael Farfan. The
duo were named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List at the
beginning of the season and are preseason All-America choices by
several outlets.
North Carolina Series Side Notes
Friday's game will mark the fifth all-time meeting between Akron
and North Carolina in a series dating back to the 1982 season.
• The Zips are 1-2-1 all-time versus the Tar Heels and 1-1 in
Chapel Hill.
• Prior to last year's College Cup clash, UA and UNC last met
during the 2007 campaign in Winston-Salem as part of the Wake
Forest Tournament. North Carolina defeated Akron, 3-0, in that
contest to push its series win streak to a modest two games after a
2-1 (OT) decision in Chapel Hill in 2002.
• UA's lone win in Chapel Hill came in 2-1, overtime decision
during the 1982 season.
About Wake Forest
Wake Forest finished the preseason with a 2-0 record after
defeating Georgia State, 3-1, and besting Furman, 3-2. The Demon
Deacons return six starters and 14 letterwinners from a team that
earned a share of the ACC regular season title with a 5-2-1 league
record and advanced to the College Cup for the fourth consecutive
season last fall.
Wake Forest Series Side Notes
Sunday's game will mark the fourth all-time meeting
between Akron and Wake Forest in a series dating back to the 1981
season.
• The Zips are 1-2 all-time versus the Demon Deacons and 0-1
in Winston-Salem.
• Wake Forest, which was the No. 1-ranked team in the nation
at the time, defeated Akron, 3-1, in the two schools' last meeting
in Wintson-Salem in 2007.
Feeling at Home on the Road
The Zips will take a 12-game, regular-season road win
streak with them to North Carolina this weekend. Furthermore, UA is
unbeaten in its last 16 regular-season road games (14-0-2) dating
back to the 2008 campaign. Akron was a perfect 10-0 on the road
heading into last year's College Cup.
Speaking of Home...
UA was a perfect 13-0 at Lee Jackson Field last fall and
enters the 2010 campaign unbeaten in its last 26 home matches
(25-0-1) overall. This is the second-longest active streak in the
nation (South Florida is unbeaten in its last 30 home matches) and
the 10th-longest run in NCAA history. This streak includes both
conference and NCAA postseason contests.
Lee Jackson Field of Dreams
Lee Jackson Soccer Field will have a completely new look
this fall as the 44-year-old home facility for both The University
of Akron men's and women's soccer programs underwent an extensive
five-month renovation over the summer that will make it one of the
best college soccer venues in the nation.
The two-phase project, which was made possible due to an outpouring
of support from the community, includes the installation of a new
playing surface, a two-tiered grandstand with reserved chair-back
and bleacher-back seating, field lighting and team meeting rooms,
among other amenities. After setting five attendance records at the
pitch in 2009, interest for Akron soccer has never been greater as
season ticket sales have seen a five-fold increase this fall with
more than 700 season tickets already sold.
The Zips will take to the first for the first time in a
regular-season match when Cal State Northridge comes to Lee Jackson
Field in the first day of The University of Akron Tournament on
Sept. 17.
Dispelling The Mid-Major Myth
Since 2005, the Zips have posted the best winning
percentage in the nation with an overall record of 86-13-12 (.829)
- Wake Forest is second with a mark of 91-19-12 (.795). But it is
important to note that while Akron plays in what is considered to
be a mid-major conference (Mid-American), it plays anything but a
mid-major schedule.
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 Ten Conference last year with wins over
Indiana (1-0), Ohio State (3-0), Michigan (5-1), Penn State (3-0)
and Michigan State (2-1).
Furthermore, UA defeated six teams (St. Louis, Indiana, Ohio State,
Tulsa, Penn State, Michigan State) that qualified for the NCAA
Tournament last year, out-scoring them, 13-1, during the regular
season.
Porter Profile
Head coach Caleb
Porter, the 2009 NSCAA National Coach of the Year, begins his
fifth season at Akron.
• Porter, a three-time MAC Coach of the Year, enters the
weekend with an overall record of 68-12-8 (.818) and a 20-1-1
(.932) mark in Mid-American Conference play.
• The Zips are 7-3-2 (.667) against top-25 schools (NSCAA
rankings) during the regular season in four years under Porter,
including 5-0-1 since 2008. Akron defeated No. 14 Tulsa (1-0), No.
8 Indiana (1-0) and No. 15 Ohio State (3-0) during the regular
season in 2009.
• Porter has led the Zips to three straight MAC Tournament
titles and NCAA postseason play in three of four seasons -
including a national championship appearance in 2009, a Round of 16
appearance in 2008 and a Second Round appearance in 2007.
• Porter's recruiting classes have been ranked in the top 5
nationally in each of his four years at the helm. UA recruits were
ranked No. 5 in 2007 and 2008; No. 1 in 2009 and No. 2 in 2010.
• Porter's teams have led the nation in goals-against-average
in each of the past two seasons. Akron's GAA of 0.27 in 2009 was a
program best and third-lowest, single-season mark in NCAA
history.
• Since Porter took over in 2006, the Zips have allowed two or
more goals in a game just seven times in 88 contests (8.0
percent).
• Porter has produced seven professional players in four years
at Akron. Steve
Zakuani, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2009 MLS Draft,
headlines a list that also includes Teal
Bunbury (No. 4 overall in 2010), Blair
Gavin (No. 10 overall in 2010).
• Bunbury was the 2009 Hermann Trophy winner after leading the
nation with 17 goals in 25 games while Zakuani was a finalist for
the prestigious award in 2008 after leading all Division I soccer
with 20 goals in 23 games.
Akron went 1-1 during its exhibition schedule with a victory
over VCU (3-1) and a setback at No. 16 South Florida (2-1). Junior
forward Darlington
Nagbe and junior defender Kofi
Sarkodie led the attack with a pair of goals each.
Did You Know?
• Akron matched an NCAA record with 23 consecutive
wins in 2009 and advanced to the national championship game for the
second time in school history.
• UA's 19 shutouts in 25 matches last fall represented the
second-highest, single-season total in NCAA history while its
goals-against-average (0.27) and shutout percentage (.760) were
third all-time.
• The Zips also captured their league-leading 12th MAC
regular-season championship, their seventh MAC Tournament title and
broke five attendance records at Lee Jackson Field - culminating
with UA's 1-0 NCAA quarterfinal win over Tulsa last November in
front of 4,254 fans, the largest crowd ever to witness an Akron
soccer match.
• Akron is also unbeaten in its last 22 league matches
(20-0-2) with its last MAC defeat coming four years ago; a 1-0
upset at Northern Illinois in the 2006 MAC championship game.
