The University of Akron Athletics
Men's Soccer To Host West Virginia In Key Conference Clash Saturday
October 19 | Men's Soccer
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AKRON, Ohio – The No. 3 University of Akron men's soccer team will host new affiliate Mid-American Conference member West Virginia Saturday in a battle of the league's top two teams.
The Zips and Mountaineers will kick off at 7:30 p.m. (ET) in a match that will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1350 AM (WARF) and streamed on GoZips.com. Longtime Voice-of-the-Zips Steve French (play-by-play) and former Akron All-American Simon Spelling (analysis) will have the call.
Match #14: No. 3 Akron (10-1-2, 4-0-0 MAC) vs. West Virginia (8-3-2, 3-0-1 MAC)
Date/Time: Oct. 20, 2012 • 7:30 p.m. ET
Venue: FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field • Akron, Ohio
Match Notes: Akron vs. West Virginia (PDF)
Televison: None • Radio: Fox Sports 1350 AM (WARF)
Live Stats: GoZips.com • Video Stream: GoZips.com
Poll Position
• The Zips are ranked third or higher in four of the five major polls this week, including a No. 3 designation from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).
• The Zips are also the top-ranked team in the NSCAA Great Lakes Region ahead of Marquette (12-1-0), Notre Dame (11-3-0), Indiana (9-2-2) and Louisville (8-4-1).
MAC Showdown
• The Zips (4-0-0) and Mountaineers (3-0-1) enter Saturday's match as the only two undefeated schools in MAC play and will each have the chance to control their postseason destiny with a victory.
• With two more league contests remaining following Saturday's game, the winner will have a distinct advantage in the race for the regular-season title and right to host the MAC Tournament.
• Following Saturday's match, UA will finish its conference schedule at Hartwick (Oct. 27) and at home versus Western Michigan (Nov. 3) while WVU closes out its schedule on the road – at Northern Illinois (Oct. 27) and Bowling Green (Nov. 3).
• Northern Illinois currently sits in third place in the MAC with a league mark of 2-1-0, followed by Bowling Green (2-2-0), Western Michigan (1-1-1), Hartwick (1-2-0), Buffalo (0-3-0) and Florida Atlantic (0-4-0).
• The MAC Tournament, which will consist of a semifinal round and final, will be held from Nov. 9-11 and hosted by the regular-season champion.
Meves Matches Career Shutout Mark
• Zips senior goalkeeper David Meves, who has recorded 48 shutouts over a four-year career, will have the opportunity to stand alone at the top of the school's all-time list in that category Saturday.
• With two saves against Michigan last Tuesday, Meves matched Evan Bush (2005-08) for the Zips' standard.
• Meves (69 wins) broke Bush's record for career victories earlier this season and is approaching another of Bush's milestones with 7,778 minutes for his career. Bush set the standard with 8,009 minutes during his four-year career.
In The MAC
• UA leads all conference members with 14 regular-season championships (Kentucky, which competed in the MAC from 1995-2004, is ranked second with four crowns) and eight conference tournament titles. Bowling Green and Kentucky are tied for the second-most tournament titles with three apiece.
• The Zips are 44-2-3 (.929) versus MAC schools under seventh-year head coach Caleb Porter, who has captured a regular-season title in each year at the helm.
• Akron's bid for a fifth straight MAC Tournament title was dashed by Western Michigan last season when the Broncos eliminated UA during the semifinal round in a penalty kick shootout (4-3) after the teams played to a 1-all draw.
About West Virginia
• The Mountaineers, who are ranked 38th in the NCAA RPI, are 6-1-1 in their last eight matches and enter play with an 8-3-2 record overall.
• WVU, which is 8-1 at home this year, is still looking for its first road win after four contests. The Mountaineers suffered a pair of tough 1-0 setbacks at then-ranked No. 1 North Carolina and No. 23 Wake Forest early in the season, played Penn State to a scoreless draw, and then tied Western Michigan (1-1) three weekends ago.
• They are led by Hermann Trophy candidate Eric Schoenle, who paces the club with five goals through 13 matches. The senior defender was also recently named a finalist – along with UA midfielder Scott Caldwell – for the Senior CLASS Award.
• Schoenle is one of 13 Mountaineers to find the back of the net at least once in 2012. Senior midfielder Uwem Etuk also fuels the WVU attack with two goals and five assists.
• West Virginia picked up a 3-1 win at home against Hartwick last Sunday. Etuk recorded the game-winner and added an assist as the Mountaineers bounced back from a 3-2 loss to Elon on Oct. 2 with their second-straight win.
West Virginia Series Notes
• Saturday's match represents the 12th all-time meeting between the Zips and Mountaineers in a series that dates back to 1966. UA has won each of the last five matches and leads the series overall, 8-2-1.
• Akron last defeated West Virginia in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field as part of its national championship run in 2010. The Zips jumped out to a 3-0 lead early in the second half behind a pair of goals by Darren Mattocks but had to hold on as WVU found the back of the net twice in the final 10 minutes of the match.
• UA is 2-0 against WVU under seventh-year head coach Caleb Porter, including a 1-0 decision during The University of Akron Tournament in 2008.
• The Zips are 5-1 all-time against the Mountaineers at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field where it has out-scored WVU 25-8.
Zips Reset
• The Zips extended their win streak to seven matches and their run of shutouts to eight with a 1-0 win over Michigan Tuesday night at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field.
• Aodhan Quinn scored the lone goal of the match by finishing a cross from DeAndre Yedlin in the game's 14th minute. UA had to settle for the lone goal despite out-shooting the Wolverines 24-8 overall and 10-2 on frame.
• Michigan goalkeeper Adam Grinwis turned the Zips away repeatedly with eight saves and a U-M defender came off the line to clear a close shot by Reinaldo Brenes in the first half to keep UA from adding to its lead.
Akron On The Attack
• After recording 21 goal in their last seven matches, the Zips feature the eighth-most prolific attack in the nation (2.31 goals/match).
• Three players have found the net five or more times for UA, led by Hermann Trophy candidate Scott Caldwell (7 G, 5 A). Reinaldo Brenes, the reigning MAC Player of the Week, also has seven goals to go with two assists while Eric Stevenson has tallied five goals and four helpers.
• In all, 10 different Zips have recorded at least one goal in 2012 and seven players have tallied at least one game-winner. Brenes notched a game-winning goal in three consecutive matches against Buffalo (Sept. 29), Florida Atlantic (Oct. 5) and Penn State (Oct. 10).
• This balanced distribution is a stark contrast to last year's club which was led by future Major League Soccer draftee Darren Mattocks. As a sophomore, Mattocks netted 21 of the Zips' 48 goals on the season (43.8 percent). Caldwell was second on the team with six goals in 2011.
• A key to the Zips' success this season and in years past has been their ability to draw first blood. Akron has out-scored opponents 18-1 in the first half in 2012 and is now 104-3-4 (.955) when scoring first since 2006. Moreover, UA is 77-2-2 (.963) when it leads at halftime and 86-1-3 (.972) when it scores two or more goals during that time.
The Department of Defense
• Akron, which matched an NCAA record with 11 consecutive shutouts last fall, has shut out its last eight opponents (10 total overall) in 2012. In fact, the Zips, who entered the week ranked third in the nation in goals-against-average, have not allowed a goal in their last 661:30 of play dating back to Sept. 9th vs. Notre Dame.
• As a team, Akron has allowed just five goals this fall, which represents the second-lowest total in the nation. Only North Carolina has been more effective with three goals allowed in 13 matches.
• Since 2006, Akron has shut out its opponent 92 times in 149 contests – or 61.7 percent of the time – while limiting opponents to one goal or less 132 times (88.6 percent).
No Place Like Home
• The Zips enter play with a 5-0-1 mark on their home field, where they have been defeated just once since the start of the 2008 season (50-1-6).
• Furthermore, UA has yet to allow a goal at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field in 2012, spanning 560 scoreless minutes, and has out-scored the opposition 19-0 during that time.
• Historically speaking, there has been no better home field advantage in the country than the one enjoyed by the Zips. With a 5-0 victory over Cleveland State on Aug. 27, 2011, Akron surpassed Tulsa for the NCAA's all-time standard for the longest home unbeaten streak (40 matches). The Golden Hurricane set the original mark of 39 games from 1988-'92.
• The Zips would remain unbeaten on their home field for eight more matches (6-0-2) in 2011 to push the record to 48 contests (44-0-4) before Michigan State ended the remarkable run with a 1-0 victory on Nov. 2, 2011. During the historic stretch, Akron out-scored its opponents 119-21 at home while posting 31 shutouts.
