Men's Soccer to Host Wake Forest on Senior Night Saturday

October 28 | Men's Soccer

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AKRON, Ohio – The No. 7 University of Akron men's soccer team will continue its final homestand of the regular season Saturday when Wake Forest pays visit to FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field.

Match #17: No. 7 Akron Zips (12-2-2, 5-0 MAC) vs. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (8-6-2, 4-3 ACC)
Date/Time: Oct. 29, 2011 • 7:30 p.m. (ET)
Venue: FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field • Akron, Ohio
Radio: 1350 AM (WARF) • Television: None
Video Stream: MAC-Sports.com • Live Stats: GoZips.com

Saturday's Story lines
• Akron will honor its three seniors, Michael Balogun, Matt Dagilis and Luke Holmes prior to the start of Saturday's game.
• Saturday will mark the first appearance by an ACC school in Akron since 1993 when the Zips defeated Maryland, 4-1, in the season opener.
• UA is unbeaten in its last 47 matches at home, which represents an NCAA record. The Zips initially broke the record of 39 games on Aug. 27 in their season opener against Cleveland State.

Ticket Information
• General admission tickets for Saturday's game are on sale now! To purchase your ticket, click on GoZips.com/Tickets, call 1-888-99-AKRON (25766) or visit the C.P. and Cornelia S. Chima Athletics Ticket Office at InfoCision Stadium – Summa Field (located at the southwest corner of the venue, near Gate 1, at the corner of East Exchange and South Union streets).
• If you can't make it to the game, tune in to 1350 AM (WARF) to hear all the action or click on GoZips.com to watch a free video stream. Steve French (play-by-play) and Simon Spelling (color) will have the call.

Zips Reset
• Sophomore Darren Mattocks continued his scoring spree with two goals and an assist as Akron earned a 3-0 win against Bowling Green Wednesday night.
• With the victory, the Zips locked up their seventh-straight Mid-American Conference regular-season championship and the right to host the MAC Tournament from Nov. 11-13.
• After playing to a scoreless draw at halftime despite an 8-0 advantage in shots, the Zips found the net three times after the break. Mattocks netted his team-high, fifth game-winning goal of the season in the 48th minute.
• It was UA's 10th shutout of the season. Goalkeeper David Meves made a couple of key saves in the second half to preserve the clean sheet.

About Wake Forest
• The Demon Deacons, who won the NCAA Championship in 2007, enter play with a record of 8-6-2 overall, including a 4-3 mark in Atlantic Coast Conference.
• Wake Forest has won three of its last four matches after recording back-to-back wins at NC State (5-2) and vs. William & Mary (1-0). During that stretch, WF also earned a 4-3 win over 2009 national champion Virginia, which was ranked No. 25 at the time.
• Along those lines, the Deacs are 1-3 this season against nationally-ranked teams with losses to No. 1 Louisville (2-0) on Sept. 2, No. 8 North Carolina (1-0) on Sept. 16 and No. 16 Boston College (2-0) on Oct. 7.
• Wake Forest, which played nine of its first 10 matches of the season at home, is 1-2-1 on the road this year.

Wake Forest Series Notes
• Akron and Wake Forest will be meeting for the fifth time Saturday with the schools splitting the all-time series with two wins apiece.
• The Zips earned a 2-0 win at Wake Forest in the opening weekend of the season last year. It was a dominating performance for UA, which did not allow a shot on goal for the match. Mattocks and Darlington Nagbe each scored for Akron, which had earned a 3-0 shutout at North Carolina the previous match.
• UA is 1-1 against Wake Forest under head coach Caleb Porter with both contests played on the road.

Mighty Mattocks
• With his fifth multiple-goal performance of the season Wednesday, striker Darren Mattocks upped his season total to 17 goals in 15 matches. Dating back to his freshman campaign, the Jamaican has now found the net a staggering 35 times in 40 career contests.
• Mattocks has scored at least one goal in all but five matches this fall and has found the net at least once in six of his last seven overall.
• Despite being a snub on the preseason Hermann Trophy Watch List, Mattocks, a Soccer America Preseason All-American, figures to make a strong run at the prestigious award. Akron has had a Hermann Trophy finalist in each of the past three seasons (Steve Zakuani in 2008, Teal Bunbury in 2009 and Darlington Nagbe in 2010) and back-to-back winners in '09 and '10.

Akron on the Attack
• The Zips, who have been shut out just twice all season, are averaging more than two goals (2.31) per game collectively. That average is nearly have half a goal higher (2.66) in their last nine matches, as Akron, which is the sixth-ranked scoring attacking team in the country, has scored 24 goals during that time.
• In all, Akron has netted two or more goals 11 times in 16 matches this fall, including a 5-0 rout of Cleveland State on Aug. 27, a 4-0 shutout at Saint Louis on Sept. 10, and a 5-2 come-from-behind win at Buffalo on Oct. 21.
• Seven Zips have recorded at least two goals and nine different players have found the net at least once. Along those lines, six different players have notched game-winning goals in 2011, paced by Mattocks, who has five.
• As a team, Akron has recorded 39 assists on 37 goals. In fact, four different players have notched five or more assists, led by sophomore Aodhan Quinn, who leads the club with nine. Junior Scott Caldwell follows closely with eight.

Department of Defense
• Staying true to its brand, Akron has been proficient on the other side of the ball as well with 10 shutouts and nine goals allowed through 16 games this fall.
• UA has held its opponent to one goal or less in all but two matches – a 3-2 setback at No. 19 UC Santa Barbara and a 5-2 win at Buffalo. In fact, the Zips' 3-2 overtime loss at No. 19 UC Santa Barbara was so out of character it was just the third time in UA's previous 90 matches – dating back to the 2008 season – Akron had allowed more than two goals in a single game.
• The Zips' defending effectiveness is more impressive when considering the nearly complete turnover the back four underwent during the offseason. Junior Chad Barson, who has started every game of his college career, is the lone veteran on a unit that has three first-year starters. Of those three, central defender Bryan Gallego and right back DeAndre Yedlin are true freshmen. Left back Eric Stevenson is a redshirt sophomore.
• Junior goalkeeper and Soccer America Preseason All-American David Meves has logged every minute between the pipes for UA. He enters play with a GAA of 0.57 and 39 saves. His 36 shutouts for his career are ranked second all-time in Akron history.