The University of Akron Athletics
Men's Soccer To Host Western Michigan on Senior Night Saturday
November 02 | Men's Soccer
Buy Tickets | Men's Soccer Gameday Central | 2012 Promotional Schedule
Follow Akron Men's Soccer on Twitter and Facebook
AKRON, Ohio – Unbeaten in its last 12 matches and winners of its last 11, the No. 2 University of Akron men's soccer team will host Western Michigan in the final match of the regular season Saturday.
The Zips and Broncos will kick off at 7:30 p.m. (ET). UA will salute its four seniors – Chad Barson, Scott Caldwell, David Meves and Thomas Schmitt – prior to first kick.
Match #18: No. 2 Akron (14-1-2, 6-0-0 MAC) vs. Western Michigan (11-5-2, 3-2-1 MAC)
Date/Time: Nov. 3, 2012 • 7:30 p.m. (ET)
Venue: FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field • Akron, Ohio
Match Notes: Akron at Western Michigan (PDF)
Televison: None • Radio: None
Live Stats: GoZips.com • Video Stream: GoZips.com
Poll Position
• The Zips are the consensus No. 2 team in the nation according to all five major polls, including the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).
• Akron is also ranked No. 4 in this week's NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) behind No. 1 Notre Dame (13-3-1), No. 2 Maryland (14-1-2) and No. 3 UCLA (11-2-2). The RPI is a mathematical formula designed to objectively compare results and strength of schedule and is used by the NCAA to help determine the 48-team field for the postseason tournament.
MAC Tournament Preview
• Akron clinched its eighth MAC regular-season championship last weekend at Hartwick and earned the right to host the MAC Tournament from Nov. 9-11 at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field.
• The rest of the tournament field is much more complicated as four teams – Bowling Green, Northern Illinois, Western Michigan and West Virginia – all enter this weekend in a four-way tie for second place with MAC records of 3-2-1. Buffalo, which has won its third straight match last night at Hartwick, is also still alive for one of the final three spots with a 3-3-0 record.
• The playoff picture should be a bit more clear after the Bulls host the Huskies Friday night. The rest of the contending teams will conclude regular-season play Saturday as the Falcons host the Mountaineers and the Zips host the Broncos.
• The top four teams in the conference advance to the MAC Tournament. As the No. 1 seed, Akron will play the No. 4 seed in the second of two semifinals games on Fri., Nov. 9, at 7:30 p.m. (ET). The No. 2 seed will face the No. 3 seed earlier that day, starting at 4 p.m. (ET).
• The winners from the two semifinal matches will meet in the final on Sun., Nov. 11, starting at 4 p.m. (ET).
In The MAC
• The Zips (6-0-0 MAC) will be looking to sweep the MAC regular season for the fifth straight season Saturday. UA is 30-0 versus the league during the regular season since 2008.
• UA leads all conference members with 15 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.
• UA'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.
• The Zips are 46-2-3 (.931) versus MAC schools under seventh-year head coach Caleb Porter, who has captured a regular-season title in each year at the helm.
Zips Reset
• Robbie Derschang recorded his first goal in an Akron uniform to lift the Zips to a 1-0 victory at Michigan State Wednesday. Derschang took a corner kick from Scott Caldwell and flicked home the game-winner in the 48th minute.
• The victory upped Akron's record to 5-0 against Big Ten schools in 2012 and completed a season sweep of the conference for the third time in four seasons. UA shut out all five Big Ten opponents this season, earning victories against Indiana (1-0), Penn State (2-0), Michigan (1-0), Ohio State (1-0) and Michigan State (1-0).
Mighty Meves
• With the 51st shutout of his career Wednesday at MSU, goalkeeper David Meves became the NCAA's all-time shutouts leader. The clean sheet pushed him past the previous record holder Josh Ford, who compiled 50 shutouts in 85 games for Connecticut from 2007-10.
• Two Akron goalkeepers now stand in the top three spots in NCAA history as former Zip Evan Bush (2005-08) is third on the all-time list with 48 shutouts.
• Meves, who has already set school records for wins (73) and minutes played (8,138), has started 89 games – posting a career mark 73-7-9 – during his historic career and has allowed just 45 goals in more than 8,138 minutes of play for a goals-against-average of 0.50.
• Meves will have the chance to break another NCAA standard during the postseason as – with 8,138 career minutes – he is just 351 behind the Division I leader Brian Edwards, who logged 8,489 minutes for Wake Forest from 2004-07.
About Western Michigan
• The Broncos (11-5-2, 3-2-1 MAC) kept their MAC Tournament hopes alive by defeating Northern Illinois 2-0 Tuesday night and will be looking for a win Saturday to secure their berth to the postseason.
• After opening the MAC season with a 1-1 draw against West Virginia, WMU has gone 3-2 in the league – posting wins against Florida Atlantic (4-0), Hartwick (2-1), and the Huskies and suffering setbacks to Bowling Green (2-1) and Buffalo (2-0).
• Outside of conference play, Western Michigan, which is 5-4 on the road this fall, has shared one other common opponent with Akron this fall, enduring a 2-1 defeat at Michigan State in September.
• Senior striker Shane Lyons leads the WMU attack with eight goals and two assists in 13 contests and is one of 12 different players who have found the net at least once in 2012. Junior forward Ryan Lemasters has a team-high eight assists while starting all 18 matches.
• Junior netminder Sean Lewis has started every match, posting a 0.92 goals-against-average and making 61 saves in 1,468 minutes of play.
Western Michigan Series Notes
• Wednesday's match represents the 34th all-time meeting between the Zips and Broncos in a series that dates back to 1975. UA leads the all-time series, 29-2-2.
• Akron and Western Michigan have developed a bit of a rivalry in the postseason the last two years. UA earned a 4-0 win over WMU in the MAC final in 2010 and had its run of 10 straight victories over the Broncos snapped in last year's semifinal.
• The Zips are 15-1-1 all-time at home against Western Michigan where they have out-scored the Broncos, 56-8.
