The University of Akron Athletics
Men's Soccer To Host Buffalo In First MAC Home Match Saturday
September 27 | Men's Soccer
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AKRON, Ohio – The No. 7 University of Akron men's soccer team will continue Mid-American Conference play this Saturday night when Buffalo comes to FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field for a 7:30 p.m. (ET) kick off.
Match #9: No. 7 Akron Zips (5-1-2, 1-0-0 MAC) vs. Buffalo Bulls (2-7-1, 0-0-0 MAC)
Date/Time: Sept. 29, 2012 • 7:30 p.m. ET
Venue: FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field • Akron, Ohio
Match Notes: Akron vs. Buffalo (PDF)
Televison: None • Radio: None
Live Stats: GoZips.com • Video Stream: GoZips.com
Poll Position
• The Zips enter the week ranked No. 7 by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).
• Akron is also highly ranked in the other four major polls, including Soccer America (No. 3), Top Drawer Soccer (No. 4), Soccer Times (No. 6), and College Soccer News (No. 10).
• Further, Akron is ranked first in the NSCAA Great Lakes Regional Rankings. Marquette (8-0-0) is second, followed by Notre Dame (7-1-0), Indiana (6-1-1) and Northwestern (6-0-2).
About Buffalo
• The Bulls, who enter play with an overall record of 2-7-1, will be playing their first conference match of the season Saturday.
• Buffalo snapped a six-game losing streak last Friday by earning a 2-1 victory over Albany, then suffered a 3-0 setback to Robert Morris two days later.
• UB has struggled with its attack through the first half of the season, averaging less than a goal per game (0.80). Nonetheless, the Bulls have a pair of three-goal scorers on their roster in junior Richard Craven (3 G, 1 A) and senior Maksym Kowal (3 G).
• The Bulls went 8-8-2 overall last season, including a 3-2-1 mark in conference play. They were defeated (1-0) by Northern Illinois in the semifinals of the MAC Tournament in Akron a year ago. UB was picked to finish seventh in the 2012 MAC preseason poll.
Buffalo Series Notes
• Saturday's match represents the 24th all-time meeting between the Zips and Bulls in a series that dates back to the 1996 season. UA has dominated the series with a record of 21-1-1 while out-scoring UB, 57-12, during that time.
• Akron's lone loss to the Bulls came in the form of a 2-1 setback in Buffalo during the first round of the MAC Tournament in 2000.
• Since then, UA has gone unbeaten in its last 16 matches (15-0-1) against the Bulls – including a scoreless draw in the 2005 MAC Tournament final (Akron advanced 7-6 in a penalty kick shootout) – while out-scoring UB 35-5 during that stretch. UA is 11-0-1 all-time at home versus Buffalo.
• The Zips earned a bizarre 5-2 victory at Buffalo in the schools' last meeting in 2011. After playing to a scoreless draw at halftime, Akron stunned the Bulls with five second-half goals while battling back from deficits of 1-0 and 2-1. Future MLS draft pick Darren Mattocks found the back of the net three times in an 18-minute spurt to lead the Zips in the romp. Scott Caldwell and since-graduated Luke Holmes also scored a goal for UA, which out-shot the Bulls 23-5 for the match and 11-4 on frame.
Akron vs. The MAC
• Since joining the MAC in 1993, Akron has posted a record of 118-18-11 (.840) against league members, including postseason play, and won 14 regular-season championships.
• The Zips have been even better against the league under seventh-year head coach Caleb Porter, who owns a 41-2-3 (.924) mark against the MAC. In fact, the only school to defeat UA under Porter's watch is Northern Illinois, which accomplished the feat twice during the coach's first year at the helm in 2006. Both matches were 1-0 setbacks.
• Since that second defeat to the Huskies in 2006, the Zips have gone unbeaten in 39 consecutive matches (36-0-3) against the league, which represents the third-longest streak in NCAA history. Furman owns the NCAA's all-time record, going unbeaten in 46 straight conference matches from 1999 to 2003.
• Akron has won the MAC regular-season championship in all six years under Porter and in each of the last seven seasons overall.
• The Zips' 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.
• UA leads all league 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.
No Place Like Home
• Historically speaking, there has been no better home field advantage in the country than the one enjoyed by the Zips at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field.
• With a 5-0 victory over Cleveland State on Aug. 27, 2011, the Zips 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.
• Akron is 2-0-1 on its home field this season where it has been defeated just once since the start of the 2008 season, spanning 56 matches (48-1-7). Moreover, the Zips have trailed at home just six times during the last five seasons for a total of 82 minutes and 43 seconds.
Zips Reset
• Akron opened its MAC schedule with a dominating 2-0 victory at Bowling Green last Saturday. The Zips out-shot the Falcons, 30-10, including a 14-3 advantage in the first half alone.
• Alfred Koroma, who had missed the previous two matches due to a leg injury, scored the first goal for Akron shortly after entering the match as a substitute in the 18th minute. Koroma took a short pass from Dillon Serna and buried a shot from just outside the box.
• Hermann Trophy candidate Scott Caldwell gave the Zips some breathing room just two minutes later with his fifth goal of the season. Caldwell, who has now scored three times in his last two matches, slotted the keeper from straight on after making a long run.
Akron On The Attack
• With a pair of first-half goals against the Falcons Saturday, the Zips improved their record to 100-3-4 (.953) when scoring first since 2006. Moreover, UA is now 78-1-8 (.943) when it shuts out its opponent and 82-1-3 (.971) when it scores two or more goals during that time.
• Along those lines, UA has done a good job taking the lead early this fall, out-scored its opponents 5-1 in the 16-30 minute interval of matches.
• Akron has received scoring contributions from eight different players through as many matches this season. This distribution is a stark contrast to the Zips' attack in 2011, which featured current Major League Soccer rookie Darren Mattocks, who registered 21 of UA's 48 goals for the season.
The Department of Defense
• With shutouts in their last three matches, the Zips have not allowed a goal in their last 301:30 minutes of play.
• UA goalkeeper David Meves, who was named to Soccer America's National Team of the Week last week, has been outstanding during that stretch. The senior has recorded 12 saves during that time while upping his career shutout total to 43. He now trails the school's all-time record holder Evan Bush, who posted 48 clean sheets over a four-year career from 2005-08, by just five.
• As a team, the Zips are ninth in the nation with a shutout percentage of 0.63 (five shutouts in eight matches) and tied for 18th in the country (with Northwestern) with a goals-against-average of 0.59 (five goals allowed).
News and Notes
• The Zips completed a brutal stretch of their schedule from Aug. 31 to Sept. 16 in which they faced six teams who have been ranked in the NSCAA top 25 this season. Akron completed the gauntlet with a record of 3-1-2, posting notable wins over then-ranked No. 10 Indiana (1-0) and No. 11 South Florida (5-0), and playing No. 2 Creighton (1-1) and No. 10 St. John's (0-0) to draws.
• Entering the season, the Zips had posted the highest winning percentage in the nation (.824) since 2006 with an overall record of 105-17-14. Maryland was second with a mark of (.757; 97-27-12), followed by Monmouth (.752; 84-22-17), Wake Forest (.737; 94-28-17) and Connecticut (.729; 83-24-22).
• The margin for error was incredibly thin for the Zips in 2011 as all four losses were decided by one goal, including two defeats in overtime. Moreover, three of those setbacks were 1-0 results.
