The University of Akron Athletics
Men's Soccer to Conclude Regular Season at Florida Atlantic Sunday
November 04 | Men's Soccer
AKRON, Ohio – The No. 6 University of Akron men's soccer team will play its game of the regular season Sunday at Florida Atlantic. The Zips and Owls will kick off at 2 p.m. (ET)
Match #19: No. 6 Akron Zips (12-3-3, 5-0 MAC) vs. Florida Atlantic Owls (5-7-2, 0-4-1 MAC)
Date/Time: Nov. 6, 2011 • 2:00 p.m. (ET)
Venue: FAU Soccer Stadium • Boca Raton, Fla.
Radio: None • Television: None
Video Stream: None • Live Stats: FAUSports.com
Sunday's Story lines
• Sunday's game will mark the regular-season finale for both teams.
• With a win against the Owls, Akron will post a perfect MAC regular-season record of 6-0 for the fourth consecutive year.
• The Zips are undefeated in their last 36 (34-0-2) matches against the MAC overall, which matches the fourth-longest conference run in NCAA history. Furman, which posted a 46-match streak from 1999 to 2003, owns the all-time mark.
MAC Tournament Preview
• By defeating Bowling Green last week, the Zips claimed the seventh-consecutive Mid-American Conference regular-season championship and the right to host the league tournament next weekend.
• As the No. 1 seed, UA will host the No. 4 seed on Friday, Nov. 11, in the first of two semifinal games at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field at 5 p.m. The second semifinal between the No. 2 seed and the No. 3 seed will follow at 8 p.m.
• The winners of each semifinal match will meet in the championship Sunday, starting at 4 p.m. The tournament champion will earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
• Heading into play this weekend, Buffalo (8-7-2, 3-2-1) and Northern Illinois (11-5-0, 3-2-0) have clinched a spot in the league tournament while Hartwick (5-5-5, 1-1-3) and Western Michigan (5-10-2, 1-2-2) are jockeying for the final berth.
• Hartwick, which is in sole possession of fourth place, is in with a win against NIU Saturday and can still qualify with a draw if it receives some help around the league.
• Western Michigan will play Bowling Green in its regular-season finale Saturday and will need a win, couple with a Hartwick loss to get in.
Zips Reset
• UA suffered its first home loss since the 2007 season Wednesday in a bitter 1-0 decision to Michigan State. The Zips out-shot the Spartans, 17-5, and owned an 8-0 margin in corner kicks but could not take advantage.
• MSU's Rubin Bega netted the game-winner in the 87th minute to snap the Zips' NCAA-record 48-game home unbeaten streak.
• Freshman Wil Trapp rang the cross bar with a rocket in the first half and senior Matt Dagilis appeared to find the equalizer in the 88th minute on a corner-kick header but Michigan State keeper Jeremy Clark, who finished with six saves, made the stop just before the ball broke the goal line.
About Florida Atlantic
• The Owls enter play with a 5-7-2 record overall, including a 0-4-1 mark in MAC play.
• FAU, which earned a 1-1 draw against Western Michigan last month, is winless in its last five matches with a 0-4-1 record.
• Florida Atlantic suffered in-league defeats to Buffalo (2-0), Northern Illinois (1-0), Bowling Green (3-0) and Hartwick (4-1) and are 3-1-1 overall at home.
• The Owls are led in scoring by senior striker Darnell King, who is fourth in the league with five goals, despite missing three matches this fall.
• Junior goalkeeper Jeremy Crumpton has started all 14 matches, allowing 22 goals in 1,292 minutes (1.53).
Florida Atlantic Series Notes
• Akron and Florida Atlantic will be meeting for the fifth time Saturday with the Zips leading the all-time series, 4-0.
• UA has outscored FAU, 20-1, in those four games in a series that dates back to the 1993 season.
• The Zips earned a 3-0 victory over the Owls last year at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field. Kofi Sarkodie netted a pair of goals and Michael Nanchoff scored the otheras UA out-shot FAU, 16-2, including a 7-0 margin on goal, for the match.
Akron vs. the MAC
• Akron has won a MAC regular-season championship each season under sixth-year head coach Caleb Porter and the last six overall. UA has also claimed each of the last four MAC Tournament titles dating back to 2007.
• In all, the Zips lead all league members with eight MAC Tournament championships since joining the conference in 1993.
• UA is 31-1-1 (.955) against the MAC during the regular season under Porter all-time and 5-0 versus the league in 2011.
• Akron has won its last 26 regular-season matches against the MAC dating back to the 2007 season.
• The Zips are also unbeaten in their last 36 (34-0-2) conference matches, including postseason play, which is the fourth run in NCAA history.
