Men's Soccer Heads to Tulsa to Face Golden Hurricane Saturday

September 20 | Men's Soccer

Akron Match Notes in PDF Format

AKRON, Ohio – The No. 4 University of Akron men's soccer team will look to remain unbeaten when it travels to Tulsa to take on the Golden Hurricane Saturday at 8 p.m. (ET).

Match #7: No. 4 Akron Zips (4-0-2) at Tulsa Golden Hurricane (4-3-0)
Date/Time: Sept. 24, 2011 • 8:00 p.m. (ET)
Venue: Hurricane Stadium • Tulsa, Okla.
Radio: None • Television: None
Video Stream: TulsaHurricane.com (subscription) • Live Stats: GoZips.com

Saturday's Story Lines
• The Zips, who are one of just 12 Division I programs yet to sustain a loss this fall, will jump back on the road to face a familiar foe Saturday when they take on the Golden Hurricane of Tulsa at 8 p.m. (ET)
• Although the Zips and Golden Hurricane have met just four times in their all-time series history, they have squared off three times in the past two seasons alone.
• UA, which has been defeated just once during the regular run of play in its last 56 matches dating back to the start of the 2009 season, is 4-0 against Tulsa all-time.

Poll Position
• Akron will enter play ranked No. 4 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll, which is the only poll recognized by the NCAA.
• The Zips are also ranked highly in the other four major polls, including a No. 4 designation by the Soccer Times, a No. 5 ranking by Top Drawer Soccer and Soccer America and No. 7 ranking by College Soccer News.

About Tulsa
• The Golden Hurricane, who will be facing a ranked opponent for the third time this season, will enter play with a 4-3-0 record after splitting a pair of games at the SMU Classic last weekend.
• In its last game, TU rallied from deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 to defeat Dartmouth, 3-2. Freshman Stephen Robertson found the net twice in the contest, including the game-winner with just 48 seconds left in regulation.
• Tulsa has already hosted two nationally-ranked opponents thus far this season and has gone 1-1 in those matches. TU posted a 2-0 win against No. 25 Loyola Marymount on Sept. 4 and suffered a 0-1 setback to No. 3 Connecticut on Sept. 9.
• The Golden Hurricane boast three players with two or more goals this year, including sophomore midfielder Omar Mata, who leads the pack with three goals and three assists.

Familiar Foe
• Although Akron and Tulsa have met just four times (all UA wins) in their all-time series, they have faced off three times in the last two seasons alone.
• UA defeated then-ranked No. 2 Tulsa, 4-0, at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field last season in a meeting of the top two teams in the country on FOX Soccer Channel. Then in 2009, the Zips handed the Hurricane a pair of losses; once during the regular season in Tulsa and another in the NCAA quarterfinals in Akron. Both contests were 1-0 UA wins.
• As a side note, the Zips will be heading to the home field of the school that they surpassed to set their current NCAA record, 42-game home unbeaten streak. Tulsa had held the previous mark of 39, which it set from 1988-92.

Zips Reset
• Akron went 1-0-1 at its tournament last weekend at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field, posting a 1-1 draw with No. 16 New Mexico and a 1-0 victory over Cal Poly. Chad Barson, Scott Caldwell and Wil Trapp were named to the All-Tournament Team.
• Caldwell assisted Michael Balogun's corner kick goal against the Lobos Friday, then netted the game-winner against the Mustangs on a penalty kick in the 83rd minute Sunday.
Aodhan Quinn passed the ball from just beyond midfield to DeAndre Yedlin, who created space on the right flank, dribbled past his man into the top of the penalty area and was tackled from behind to set up the decisive goal against Cal Poly.
• David Meves, who started all 200 minutes between the pipes for the Zips last weekend, combined with the UA defense to record his fourth shutout in six matches this fall.

Captain Caldwell
Caldwell, one of two team captains (Barson) on the 2011 Zips, continues to enjoy his best season to date at UA. In addition to matching Darren Mattocks for the team lead in goals with four against Cal Poly, it was his second game-winner in six matches this fall.
Furthermore, with six assists in as many contests, Caldwell is the nation's leader in assists per game (1.0) for the second consecutive week and is tied for sixth in points per game (2.33)

More Caldwell
• Caldwell has recorded at least one point in each of his last four matches and in all but one game this season overall.
• After going scoreless in the first 35 games of his collegiate career, Caldwell has found the net nine times in his last 14 matches; dating back to the last eight games of the 2010 postseason. Moreover, four of those goals have been game-winners, including the decisive blow in the NCAA championship game last December.

Road Warriors
• In addition to their success at home, the Zips have been nearly as unbeatable on the road since 2008, posting a record of 27-4-6 and out-scoring the competition 71-18.
• Akron has been defeated just once during its last 28 (23-1-4) regular-season road and neutral site matches.
• Moreover, UA is 6-1-2 versus nationally-ranked opponents on the road during that time with its lone "loss" coming in a 0-0 draw to Virginia in the national championship game in 2009.

Where We Rank
• Akron enters play ranked fourth in the nation for goals-against-average (0.3) and tied for 21st in scoring offense with 13 goals in six matches (2.17/contest). With four shutouts in 2011, UA is also ranked seventh in shutout percentage (.670).
• Mattocks, who is tied with the team lead with four goals, is ranked 24th in the country in goals per game (0.8) and is 35th in points per game with an average of 1.80 per match.
• Meves has allowed just two goals in nearly 600 minutes between the pipes and is fourth in the country in GAA (0.302) and 27th in save percentage (.846).

Did You Know?
• Akron has yet to allow a first-half goal this season, out-scoring its opponents 7-0 in the opening frame. In all, UA has out-scored its foes 13-2.
• Four Zips have recorded at least two goals this season. Caldwell and Mattocks lead the way with four apiece while senior Michael Balogun and freshman Akeil Barrett have each found the net twice.
• Along those lines, three different players have notched game-winning goals in 2011, paced by Caldwell's two. Mattocks recorded the decisive blow against Cleveland State and senior Matt Dagilis headed home the game-winner at Saint Louis.
• UA has yet to allow more than one goal in a game this fall and has allowed more than one goal in a game just five times in its last 56 matches, dating back to the start of the 2009 campaign.