The University of Akron Athletics
Men's Soccer Continues NCAA Tournament Journey at Charlotte Sunday
November 23 | Men's Soccer
NCAA Tournament Printable Bracket | NCAA Tournament Interactive Bracket
Akron at Charlotte Match Notes (PDF)
AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron men's soccer team will travel to Charlotte to face the 49ers in the third round of the NCAA Tournament Sunday.
NCAA Tournament - Third Round
Akron Zips (15-3-4, 6-0 MAC) at Charlotte 49ers (15-4-2, 6-1-2 A-10)
Date/Time: Nov. 27, 2011 • 7 p.m. (ET)
Venue: Transamaerica Field • Charlotte, N.C.
Radio: None • Television: None
Video Stream: Charlotte49ers.com • Live Stats: NCAA.com
Sunday's Story lines
• Akron will continue its national championship title defense at Charlotte Sunday in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
• The winner of the match will advance to meet the winner of 3rd-seeded UCONN and 14th-seeded James Madison next weekend, Dec. 2-4, in the quarterfinals.
• The Zips, who have advanced to the national championship game in each of the last two seasons, are attempting to become just the fifth school in NCAA history to win back-to-back titles.
Zips Reset
• UA continued its journey through the NCAA Tournament, earning a 3-2 victory at sixth-seeded SMU to advance to the Round of 16 for the fourth-consecutive year.
• The score was not an accurate indication of the run of play as Akron jumped out to a 3-0 lead with less than 15 minutes left in the second half. SMU scored a pair of set-piece goals, the second coming on a penalty kick in the 83rd minute, to make it a contest.
• Sophomore striker Darren Mattocks stayed hot in NCAA Tournament play with his second and third goals in the last two rounds. The Jamaican gave UA a 1-0 lead in the 22nd minute on a header, then netted the eventual game-winner in the 76th minute on a breakaway goal.
• It was also another big game for Luke Holmes, who scored UA's second goal on a direct free kick and added an assist. The senior and 2010 NAIA National Player of the Year has now recorded five points (1 G, 3 A) in two NCAA Tournament games this season.
• Although the margin for shots overall was close – with Akron edging SMU, 18-16 – the Zips were clearly the more dangerous team with an 11-5 advantage for shots on goal.
The Best Time of the Year
• Akron is unbeaten in its last 12 matches during the regular run of play in the NCAA Tournament, dating back to the 2009 season. In fact, its last true loss – excluding a 3-2 penalty kick defeat to Virginia in the 2009 national championship game – came at the hands of Northwestern in the second round of the 2008 NCAA Championships.
• In all, the Zips are 10-3-2 (.733) at the NCAA Tournament under Coach Porter and 9-1-2 (.833) since 2009.
Akron at the NCAA Tournament
• The Zips are making their 26th all-time appearance in the NCAA postseason. It is also the fifth consecutive season they have qualified for the 48-team playoff.
• Akron captured the school's first team national championship in any sport last December with a 1-0 victory over top-seeded Louisville in the NCAA College Cup final. It was UA's second consecutive appearance in the national championship game after falling in penalty kicks (3-2) to Virginia in 2009.
• Akron is unseeded at the NCAA Tournament for the first time under Coach Porter. The Zips were the No. 14 seed in 2007, No. 5 in 2008, No. 1 in 2009 and No. 3 in 2010.
• The Zips are attempting to become just the fifth school in NCAA Men's Soccer Division I history to win consecutive national championships. Indiana, with Coach Porter on staff as an assistant at the time, was the last to do it in 2003 and 2004. Virginia, San Francisco and St. Louis are the three others.
• Just two schools (Indiana and Virginia) have won back-to-back championships in the last 35 years of Division I men's soccer. The Hoosiers accomplished the feat three times (2003-'04, 1998-'99 and 1982-'83) while the Cavaliers won four straight titles from 1991-'94.
Mattocks on the Attack
• Mattocks is in the midst of one of the most prolific scoring seasons in school history. With 21 goals in 21 matches, the sophomore enters Sunday's match tied for third place on the school's single-season list. Two-time All-American Louis Nanchoff is second after scoring 22 goals in 1975 and Pete Millich, Akron's all-time leading scorer, found the net 31 times in 1961 to set the milestone.
• Mattocks, who has scored at least one goal in each of UA's NCAA Tournament games thus far, is also second in the country in scoring and trails Coastal Carolina's Ashton Bennett by just one goal.
• Dating back to his freshman season in 2010, Mattocks, a Soccer America Preseason All-American, has now scored a staggering 39 goals in 46 career games in an Akron uniform. Moreover, nearly a third of his goals (12 of 39) have been game-winners.
About Charlotte
• The 49ers (15-4-2) are making their seventh appearance in the NCAA Tournament and have advanced to the Round of 16 for the first time since 1996 when they went all the way to the semifinals.
• Charlotte earned a 3-1 upset at 11th-seeded UAB last weekend. The 49ers took a 1-0 lead just 43 seconds into the match on a goal by senior Evan James and led 3-0 in the second half. The Blazers got one goal back in the 51st minute but that's as close as they would get.
About Charlotte
• Charlotte, which is 8-0 at home this fall, went 6-1-2 in the Atlantic 10 but was defeated by Xavier in the conference tournament final, 2-1, in overtime.
• The 49ers are led in scoring by Atlantic 10 Freshman of the Year Giuseppe Gentile, who has eight goals, including four game winners, and a pair of assists. Sophomore goalkeeper Klay Davis has started all 21 games between the pipes where he has posted a goals-against-average of 0.87.
Charlotte Series Notes
• Akron and Charlotte will be meeting for just the third time in their all-time series Sunday and for the first time in the NCAA Tournament.
• It will also be the first meeting since 1994. The 49ers posted a 5-1 victory in the first meeting as the host of their tournament in 1992. The Zips returned the favor at the same tournament two seasons later with a 2-1 overtime win.
• Akron went 1-0 against teams from the Atlantic 10 during the regular season, posting a 4-0 win at Saint Louis in September.
Postseason Experience
• Although UA lost a Major League Soccer-record seven starters to the SuperDraft last January (including just two seniors), its four returners – Chad Barson, Scott Caldwell, Darren Mattocks and David Meves – have compiled a wealth of NCAA postseason experience in a short amount of time.
• On top of that, all four have played key roles in Akron's deep tournament runs.
• Juniors Barson, Caldwell and Meves have each appeared in all 12 NCAA Tournament games over the past three seasons, posting a record of 9-1-2.
• In those 12 games – against the best competition – Barson and Meves have helped the Zips record six shutouts while holding teams to one or fewer goals nine times. Furthermore, both players came up with huge defensive stops in the final seconds of the 2010 national championship win against Louisville to preserve UA's win.
• Caldwell, who was named the Most Outstanding Offensive Player of the 2010 College Cup, scored three goals during the Zips' march through the NCAA Tournament a year ago and found the net again in the first round against Northwestern.
• Mattocks, a sophomore, has started all seven NCAA Tournament games since 2010 and has a pair of game-winners under his belt with the decisive strike in a 2-1 win against Indiana in the third round in 2010 and again last Sunday in a 3-2 victory at sixth-seeded SMU.
