The University of Akron Athletics
Men's Soccer to host Michigan State in Regular-Season Home Finale
November 01 | Men's Soccer
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AKRON, Ohio – The No. 6 University of Akron men's soccer team will play its final home game of the regular season Wednesday night when Michigan State comes to FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field for a 7:30 p.m. ET kick off.
Match #18: No. 6 Akron Zips (12-2-3, 5-0 MAC) vs. Michigan State Spartans (6-7-4, 2-2-2 Big 10)
Date/Time: Match #18 • Nov. 2, 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
Wednesday's Story lines
• Akron will play its final home game of the regular season Wednesday.
• UA is unbeaten in its last 48 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.
• UA is 24-10-1 all-time versus Michigan State and 12-1-1 versus the Big Ten Conference since 2009.
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.
Akron In Good Postseason Position
• Despite losing seven starters to Major League Soccer last January, the Zips, who have used 11 different starting lineups in 17 matches this fall, remain among the nation's elite teams and are poised for another deep tournament run.
• The Zips enter the week with an RPI (ratings percentage index) of 10. The RPI is a quantity used to rank teams based upon wins, losses and strength of schedule and is the greatest indicator of determining tournament seeding.
• The top 16 teams (out of 48) that qualify for the NCAA Tournament receive a first-round bye and the guarantee of one home game. The top eight seeds are guaranteed the right to host at least two home games, while the top four seeds earn home field advantage through the NCAA College Cup.
• Akron is one of just 11 teams in the country with two or fewer losses. No. 1 New Mexico, whom the Zips played to a 1-1 draw in September, remains the nation's only unbeaten team with a record of 15-0-2 entering the week.
• Moreover, both of UA's losses have come in overtime and against teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament a year ago.
• Along those lines, UA is one of nine nationally-ranked programs with two losses. Other two-loss teams include No. 2 Creighton (15-2-0), UCONN (14-2-2), No. 3 North Carolina (13-2-2), No. 4 Maryland (13-2-2) and No. 5 South Florida (12-2-2). Cornell (8-1-5), which is not nationally ranked, has just one loss entering the week.
Zips Reset
• UA owned leads of 1-0 and 2-1 but couldn't make them hold in a 2-2 draw with Wake Forest last weekend.
• The Demon Deacons found the equalizer in the 87th minute to foil a night that saw the Zips post a 20-10 advantage on shots, including a 6-1 margin in the two overtime periods.
• Akron received corner-kick goals from Thomas Schmitt, who found the net in his second consecutive match, and Reinaldo Brenes, who scored for the first time in a Zips uniform.
About Michigan State
• The Spartans enter play with a 6-7-2 overall record, including a 2-2-2 mark in the Big Ten Conference.
• It has been a tale of two seasons for Michigan State, which opened the year with just one win in its first seven matches (1-5-1). Since then however, the Spartans have gone 5-2-1 and enter play unbeaten in their last four contests (2-0-2).
• During that recent unbeaten run, MSU has posted victories over Michigan (1-0) and Western Michigan (2-1) while drawing No. 13 Indiana (2-2) and Bowling Green (0-0).
• Michigan State is 1-2-3 on the road this season and 0-2-1 versus nationally-ranked opponents. Both losses have been one-goal margins however as the Spartans suffered a 2-1 loss at No. 5 UCONN and a 1-0 defeat vs. No. 22 Notre Dame.
• MSU is averaging just over one goal per match (1.06) and is led in scoring by freshman and Ohio native (Sylvania) Adam Montague, who has four.
Michigan State Series Notes
• Akron and Michigan State will be meeting for the 36th time Wednesday with the Zips leading the all-time series, 24-10-1.
• UA is 2-0 versus MSU under head coach Caleb Porter with wins in each of the past two seasons. Akron earned a 2-1 win at home in 2009 and a 1-0 victory in East Lansing last November.
• The Zips went 1-10 in their first 11 meetings with the Spartans in a series dating back to the 1962 season, but are unbeaten in their last 24 matches (23-0-1) since then. A 2-2 tie in East Lansing in 1993 is the lone blemish during the run that dates back to the 1970 campaign.
Porter vs. the Big Ten
• UA is 16-5-5 (.712) all-time versus teams from the Big Ten under sixth-year head coach Caleb Porter, who played and coached at Indiana prior to arriving on campus in 2006.
• During that time, the Zips have out-scored their competition, 46-20.
• Akron's record against the league has been even more impressive recently as the Zips are a combined 14-2-3 (.816) versus the Big Ten over the last three seasons, including a mark of 12-1-1 (.893) since 2009.
• The Zips are 2-0 against Michigan State under Porter overall with wins coming in each of the last two seasons; 2-1 in 2009 and 1-0 in 2010.
