The University of Akron Athletics
Porter Discusses U.S. U-23s Appointment with Local Media
October 26 | Men's Soccer
AKRON, Ohio – University of Akron head men's soccer coach Caleb Porter discussed his new appointment as the head coach of the U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team with members of the local media Tuesday.
Click on this News Channel 5 (WEWS) video to hear his comments.
Porter, who will continue his role as the head coach of the Zips, was named head coach of the U-23s last Thursday. Porter will lead the U-23 team in its quest to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games when they compete in the CONCACAF qualifying in March next year.
Porter, who led Akron to its first team national championship in any sport last December, is the NCAA's winningest active coach with a career record of 101-15-12 (.836) over five and a half years. He is the fastest coach to reach 100 career wins in program history and is among the fastest of all Division I coaches all-time, accomplishing the feat in fewer games (126) than legendary Hall of Fame coaches Bruce Arena (140), Sigi Schmid (131) and others.
Porter joins an exclusive group of current college coaches serving as head coach of a U.S. Olympic qualifying team that includes Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (men's basketball) and Wisconsin's Mark Johnson (women's hockey).
Porter is hoping to lead the U.S. to its second-consecutive Olympic Games and its fifth since the tournament became an Under-23 event in 1992. The USA's best finish came in 2000 when the team reached the semifinal round before falling to Spain and finishing fourth. He had served the last three seasons as assistant coach on the U.S. U-18 National Team.
At Akron, Porter has recruited and developed 12 players who have been drafted into Major League Soccer in the last five years alone, including No. 1 overall pick Steve Zakuani in 2009, No. 4 pick Teal Bunbury in 2010 and No. 2 pick Darlington Nagbe in 2011. Moreover, the Zips set an MLS record with five of the first eight selections in the 2011 SuperDraft and seven draftees overall.
After leading the Zips to back-to-back national championship games, the 36-year-old Porter signed a 10-year contract extension to remain UA's head coach last winter.
