The University of Akron Athletics
Men's Soccer to Play No. 10 Creighton in Exhibition Saturday in Indiana
August 19 | Men's Soccer
AKRON, Ohio – The defending NCAA Champion University of Akron men's soccer team will play preseason No. 10 Creighton Saturday in Ft. Wayne, Ind., at 8:30 p.m. (ET) as part of the Shindigz National Soccer Festival.
The match will represent the Zips' final tune up before their season opener against Cleveland State a week from Saturday (Aug. 27) at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field and the culmination of an aggressive offseason by head coach Caleb Porter and his staff that resulted in the influx of 15 new faces to the roster following a record-setting loss of seven to the Major League Soccer SuperDraft.
"After finally accomplishing our ultimate vision of winning the national championship, we were only supposed to lose two players to graduation but ended up losing seven," Porter said. "Those seven players were the most any team had ever lost to the MLS and that's a positive thing for our program. But it also left a big void and meant that we had to go to work immediately if we wanted to stay at the standard we were at. We could have easily chalked this season up as a rebuilding year, but that's not the way I'm wired and that's not the way our players are wired."
The Zips, who captured the school's first team national championship in any sport last December, incorporated a mix of Americans, Internationals and transfers to a core lineup that features four returning starters. Of those returners, three – juniors Chad Barson, Scott Caldwell and David Meves – had experienced UA's back-to-back College Cup final run while sophomore Darren Mattocks, a Freshman All-American in 2010, returns after netting 18 goals (the third-highest total in the country) a year ago.
"We have four returning players who played key roles in us winning the national championship last season," Porter said. "And those four players are as good as any in the country and are the backbone of our team. David Meves is a two-year starter in goal and one of the best keepers in the nation. Chad Barson is a two-year starter at central defender and helped us record 33 shutouts in his two years.
"Scott Caldwell was one of the most underrated players on our team last year and really hit his stride at the end of the year. He is, in my opinion, one of the top midfielders in the country. Darren Mattocks was our leading scorer last year with 18 goals as a freshman. He returns as – without question – one of the most lethal strikers in the country."
The Blue Jays finished the 2010 campaign with an overall record of 13-5-2 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament where they were defeated by SMU in penalty kicks, 5-3. The Zips handed the preseason Missouri Valley Conference favorites a 1-0 setback at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field during the regular season last October.
• The UA men's soccer program recently conducted a Preseason Media Day. To watch all the clips from the event, click here.
