The University of Akron Athletics
Porter to Speak at Akron Roundtable on June 2
May 20 | Men's Soccer
AKRON, Ohio – Caleb Porter, head coach of the NCAA Champion University of Akron men's soccer team, will be the featured speaker at the next Akron Roundtable on June 2 at Quaker Station in downtown Akron.
Porter, the NCAA's winningest active coach and four-time Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year, will present "This is Akron – Building Champions and Pursuing Championships" at the local luncheon, which begins at Noon. For ticket information, visit AkronRoundTable.org.
Due to the nature of the Akron Roundtable Luncheon, reservations are required and cannot be accepted on www.AkronRoundTable.org less than 24 hours prior to the event. Interested persons may call the Akron Roundtable office at 330-247-8682 to request last-minute stand-by seating up to 24 hours in advance of the event. Ticket orders received less than seven (7) days prior to the event will be held at Will Call and may by picked up the day of the event beginning at 11:30 a.m.
In just five years, Porter has orchestrated a transformation at UA that has seen the Zips become the standard for all college soccer programs, culminating with the school's first team national championship in any sport in 2010. Porter, who owns a career mark of 90-13-10 (.841) since becoming the sixth head coach in Akron history in 2006, has incorporated a brand of play that is attractive and attack-oriented, yet effective on both sides of the ball. While defensive efficiency has been the hallmark of Porter's teams at UA - the Zips have led the nation in goals-against-average in two of the last three seasons - it has been this balanced and dominant style of soccer that has elevated the program to its lofty status.
In fact, over the past two seasons, Akron is the only program in the nation to finish the year ranked in the top five for both scoring offense and goals-against-average. The Zips were the second-highest scoring team in the country in 2009 (2.35 goals/game) and were ranked fifth in 2010 (2.56) despite scoring six more goals during their national championship campaign.
This rare and dangerous combination has spurred UA, which has lost just once during the regular run of play over its last 50 matches. During that time, the Zips have posted an overall mark of 45-2-3 while becoming the first school to advance to the national championship game in back-to-back seasons since Indiana accomplished the feat in 2003 and 2004.
For his efforts, Porter was rewarded with a 10-year contract extension last December that will keep him as the Zips' head coach through the 2020 season.
