Men's Soccer to Host Western Michigan in MAC Semifinal Friday

November 10 | Men's Soccer

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AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron men's soccer team will host Western Michigan in the first of two Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinal games Friday at 5 p.m. at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field.

Match #20: Akron Zips (13-3-3, 6-0 MAC) vs. Western Michigan Broncos (6-11-2, 2-2-2 MAC)
Date/Time: Nov. 11, 2011 • 5:00 p.m. (ET)
Venue: FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field • Akron, Ohio
Radio: None • Television: None
Video Stream: MAC-Sports.com • Live Stats: GoZips.com

This Weekend's Story lines
• The top-seeded Zips will look to capture their fifth-straight MAC Tournament championship this weekend.
• UA is unbeaten in its last 37 matches (35-0-2) against the MAC, including postseason play, which is the fourth-longest streak in NCAA history.
• Akron is 25-8-5 (.724) all-time in the MAC Tournament since joining the league in 1993 and 8-1-1 (.850) under head coach Caleb Porter.

Ticket Information
• Limited reserved (both chair back and bleacher back) seats are available for this weekend's games and may be purchased for $15. General admission ($10) and youth ($5) tickets are also on sale now.
• Students of all four participating schools will be admitted free of charge with valid ID.
• 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).
• Tickets may also be purchased at Gate 1 of FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field one hour prior to kick off.
• If you can't make it to the game, click on GoZips.com to watch a free video stream.

MAC Tournament Breakdown
• FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field will once again be the host site of the Mid-American Conference this weekend. Akron has hosted the league tourney in each of the last four seasons.
• The top-seeded Zips, who captured their seventh-straight MAC regular-season championship last month, will host fourth-seeded Western Michigan in the first of two semifinal games Friday. No. 2-seed Northern Illinois will then meet No. 3-seed Buffalo in the nightcap, starting at 8 p.m.
• The winners of each semifinal match will meet in the championship game Sunday, starting at 4 p.m.

Akron at the MAC Tournament
• The Zips are 12-1-2 all-time in the MAC Tournament at home where they are unbeaten in their last 14 contests. UA suffered a 1-0 setback to Bowling Green in its first league tournament match at home in 1994 but has gone 12-0-2 since then.
• Akron has advanced to the MAC Tournament championship game in each of the past seven seasons, winning the crown six times.
• In all, the Zips lead all league members with eight MAC Tournament championships.
• Akron has brought home the trophy in each of the last four seasons (2010, 2009, 2008, 2007). The Zips also captured the crown in 2005, 2004, 2002 and 1998.
• With a pair of wins this weekend, UA would sweep both the MAC regular season and tournament championships for the eighth time in school history.

Akron vs. the MAC
• Since joining the MAC in 1993, Akron has posted a record of 117-18-10 (.841) against league members, including postseason play, and won 14 regular-season championships.
• UA will match Indiana for the third-longest conference unbeaten streak (including postseason play) in NCAA history with a positive result Friday.
• Akron dominated the league again this season, earning five shutouts in six matches and out-scoring the competition 17-2 overall.

About Western Michigan
• The Broncos (6-11-2, 2-2-2 MAC) scored two second-half goals to rally by Bowling Green in the regular-season finale and claim the fourth and final spot in the MAC Tournament last weekend.
• Reigning MAC Player of the Week Kai Mendes netted the game winner in the 69th minute to complete the comeback.
• The victory snapped a four-game winless streak for WMU, which tied Hartwick 4-4 on the road in its previous match.
• Western Michigan is led in scoring by Shane Lyons, who has found the net six times, including a pair of game winners.

Western Michigan Series Notes
• Friday's match will represent the 33rd meeting between Akron and Western Michigan. UA defeated WMU earlier this season in Kalamazoo, 3-0, and leads the all-time series, 29-2-1.
• It will also mark a rematch of last year's MAC final. After playing to a scoreless draw at halftime, the Zips blitzed the Broncos with four goals, including two by Darren Mattocks, to earn a 4-0 victory.
• Aodhan Quinn found the net twice and Luke Holmes added a late goal to lead the Zips to a 3-0 win at Western Michigan earlier this season.
• Akron has won the last 10 meetings between the two schools dating back to 2004.

About Northern Illinois
• No. 2-seed NIU, which enters the tournament having won four of its last five matches, posted a record of 12-5, 4-2, during the regular season.
• The Huskies' NCAA RPI was as high as No. 16 before suffering a 1-0 defeat at Milwaukee on Nov. 2, which dropped them to No. 31 in the latest release.
• NIU is ranked 12th nationally with a goals-against-average of 0.69 and has posted nine shutouts in 17 matches for a shutout percentage of .530, which is 15th-highest among Division I schools.
• All-MAC First Team goalkeeper Jordan Godsey has started all 17 games, allowing 12 goals (0.69 GAA) and making 53 saves. He was one of three first-team honorees this season for NIU, along with striker James Stevenson (6 G, 2 A) and defender Francis Otira.

Northern Illinois Series Notes
• Akron owns a commanding 18-3-1 (.841) lead in the all-time series against the Huskies and has won the last seven meetings dating back to the 2007 season – including a 2-0 decision at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field earlier this season.
• NIU is the only MAC school to defeat UA during the postseason under Coach Porter. The Huskies posted a 1-0 victory on their home field during Porter's first year with the Zips in 2006.

About Buffalo
• Third-seeded UB is the only MAC school to hold a lead against the Zips this season and did so twice on their home field as UA rallied from second-half deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 to earn a 5-2 victory.
• The Bulls enter this weekend with a record of 8-7-2 overall and 3-2-1 in MAC play. They played Hartwick to a 1-1 draw in their regular-season finale.
• They landed one player on the All-MAC squad, midfielder Andy Tiedt (5 G, 4 A), who earned second-team status.

Buffalo Series Notes
• UA leads the all-time series, 21-1-1 (.935) and has won its last eight meetings with the Bulls, including its 5-2 come-from-behind victory on the road this season.
• The Zips' last postseason meeting with the Bulls came in the MAC Tournament semifinals last season at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field. UA earned a 3-1 victory to advance to the title game.

Zips Reset
• Akron finished up the regular season on a strong note, earning a 2-0 win at Florida Atlantic last Sunday. With the win, the Zips recorded a perfect 6-0 mark in MAC play for the fourth consecutive season.
• Senior Luke Holmes netted the game winner in the 39th minute while sophomore Darren Mattocks added his team-leading 18th goal of the season in the 62nd minute.
• The Zips defense smothered the Owls all match and allowed just three shots (none on goal) after halftime. For the game, Akron doubled up Florida Atlantic on shots, 14-7.

Akron Sweeps MAC Specialty Awards
• For the fifth straight season, UA swept the Mid-American Conference specialty awards as Darren Mattocks was named Player of the Year, Wil Trapp was named Newcomer of the Year and Caleb Porter was named Coach of the Year.
• Mattocks is the ninth Akron player to earn the league's highest individual honor since 1993 and follows Darlington Nagbe (2010), Teal Bunbury (2009), Steve Zakuani (2008), Corey Sipos (2007), Sinisa Ubiparipovic (2006) and Ross McKenzie (2005) as the seventh consecutive Zips player to receive the award.
• Trapp, who was the No. 1-ranked freshman in the nation according to Top Drawer Soccer last month, becomes the 10th UA player to earn newcomer honors and the sixth in the last seven seasons, following Mattocks (2010), Zarek Valentin (2009), Nagbe (2008), Zakuani (2007) and Evan Bush (2005).
• It is the fifth consecutive season Porter has be named MAC Coach of the Year.
• Furthermore, 10 Akron players received All-MAC honors, including seven first-team selections. Joining Mattocks and Trapp on the First Team were Scott Caldwell, Aodhan Quinn, Luke Holmes, Chad Barson and DeAndre Yedlin. Bryan Gallego, David Meves and Thomas Schmitt each received Second Team honors.