The University of Akron Athletics
Men's Soccer To Face No. 11 Penn State In Marquee Matchup Wednesday
November 05 | Men's Soccer
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AKRON, Ohio – The No. 9 University of Akron men's soccer team will return home for a match against Big Ten Regular Season Champion No. 11 Penn State Wednesday night. The Zips and Nittany Lions are scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. ET FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field.
Match #17: No. 9 Akron Zips (12-3-1) vs. No. 11 Penn State Nitany Lions (11-4-1)
Date/Time: Nov. 6, 2013 • 7:00 p.m. ET
Venue: FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field • Akron, Ohio
Match Notes: Akron vs. Penn State (PDF)
Televison: None • Radio: FOX Sports 1350 AM (WARF)
Live Stats: GoZips.com • Video Stream: MAC-Sports.com (Free)
Tracking The Zips
• Zips Athletics will provide a free video stream (MAC-Sports.com) and live stats (GoZips.com) for Wednesday's match.
• Follow @ZipsMSoc on Twitter for updates throughout the match as well as for insider access throughout the season.
On The Air Waves
• Wenesday's match will air live on FOX Sports 1350 AM (WARF) with the pre-game show starting at 6:45 p.m. ET.
• Longtime voice of the Zips' Steve French will handle play-by-play duties, while former Akron All-American Simon Spelling will provide analysis.
Zips Reset
• Winger Robbie Derschang stayed red hot last week in leading the Zips to a 2-1 win at Michigan with the first two-goal performance of his Akron career.
• Derschang scored both goals in the first 36 minutes of the match. He finished a combination play that started with a cross from Saad Abdul-Salaam and a one-touch pass from Matt Foldesy in the 15th minute to give UA a 1-0 lead. The Zips then took a 2-0 advantage in the 36th minute on his unassisted score.
• In all, it was the second two-goal effort of the senior's collegiate career. Derschang also scored two goals in a match against Bradley as a freshman at SMU in 2010.
• Derschang has scored three goals in his last two matches after moving from left back to forward. Furthermore, he has netted the game-winning goal in each game.
• After completely dominating Michigan through 44 minutes, the Zips allowed a re-start goal at the 44:30 mark when U-M's Tyler Arnone connected with Ezekiel Harris on a long free kick from near midfield.
• Akron, which played without its top returning goal-scorer Reinaldo Brenes for a fourth straight game due to a leg injury, out-shot Michigan 22-12 overall and 8-6 on goal.
Akron Versus The Big Ten
• The Zips are 2-0-1 against the Big Ten this season and 8-0-2 against the league dating back to last fall.
• UA picked up a 1-0 win at home against Ohio State on Sept. 24, played then-ranked No. 17 Michigan State to a scoreless draw on Oct. 23 and earned a 2-1 victory at Michigan last Wednesday.
• In all, Akron is 24-4-5 (.803) versus teams from the Big Ten since 2007. During that time, the Zips have out-scored their competition, 60-21.
About Akron
• The Zips are unbeaten in their last six matches (5-0-1) and have been defeated just once (9-1-1) since Sept. 15.
• UA enters the week ranked 27th in the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and will have an opportunity to pad its postseason resume Wednesday as Penn State enters play ranked 12th in the RPI.
• For his efforts last week, Robbie Derschang was named Top Drawer Soccer's National Player of the Week Tuesday. It was the third major accolade garnered by the senior, who was also named to the National Team of the Week by College Soccer News and Mid-American Conference Player of the Week on Monday.
• Akron is led in points by true freshman midfielder Adam Najem with 11. Najem is tied for the team lead in goals scored with four while also contributing three assists. He has been on a hot streak recently as nine of his 11 points (four goals and one helper) came during a five-game stretch from Oct. 9-26th.
• Another Zips player peaking at the right time is Saad Abdul-Salaam, who has recorded an assist in three of his last four matches.
• The Zips scored multiple goals in the first half for the first time this season at Michigan. In all, UA has out-scored its opposition 9-3 in the first 45 minutes and improved to 11-1-0 when scoring first. Akron is also 6-0-0 when leading at halftime.
• UA's possession-style attack has provided opposing teams very few scoring chances this season. As a unit, the Zips are ranked seventh in the nation with a goals-against-average (GAA) of 0.59 and 15th with a shutout percentage of 0.50. Dating back to its 2-1 win at Cleveland State on Oct. 9, UA has allowed two goals in its last 490:01 minutes of play.
• All but three of Akron's 16 games have been decided by one goal this season. The Zips are 11-2 in that scenario.
About Penn State
• The Nittany Lions suffered their first loss in Big Ten play by way of a 1-0, double-overtime setback in Columbus to Ohio State last weekend. Nonetheless, with a 5-1-0 mark in conference play, PSU has already wrapped up the regular-season title.
• Penn State played Rutgers and St. John's the same weekend as Akron but did not have the same results, falling 4-1 to the Scarlet Knights and 1-0 to the Red Storm.
• Saturday's loss at OSU snapped a five-game win streak for the Nittany Lions. PSU defeated Indiana (2-0), Michigan (3-1), Michigan State (2-1), Northwestern (2-1), and Penn (2-1) during that run.
• Penn State is led in scoring by junior forward Jordan Tyler, who has found the back of the net five times. Junior goalkeeper Andrew Wolverton has logged every minute in between the pipes and enters play with a GAA of 0.83 and five shutouts.
Penn State Series Notes
• Wednesday's game will represent the 33rd all-time meeting between the Zips and Nittany Lions. Akron leads the series with a record of 15-12-5 (.547) dating back to the 1978 season.
• Akron has won four straight matches against PSU and is unbeaten in its last eight (6-0-2) since 2005.
• UA claimed a 2-0 victory at Penn State last fall, thanks to a pair of first-half goals by Reinaldo Brenes and Scott Caldwell. The Zips out-shot the Nittany Lions 12-10 overall and 5-3 on frame.
• Akron has won its last seven matches on its home field against PSU – a run that dates back to the 1996 campaign.
MAC Championship On The Line
• With just one week of the regular season to play, Akron stands all alone in first place of the MAC standings with 12 points and a 4-1-0 record.
• Western Michigan is currently in second place with nine points and a 3-0-1 record. The Broncos can jump ahead of the Zips with a win at Northern Illinois Tuesday night.
• Regardless of what happens in DeKalb, Akron can capture their ninth-consecutive MAC regular-season championship with a win at WMU this Saturday in the regular-season finale for both teams.
• The winner of the MAC regular-season championship earns the right to host the MAC Tournament and is awarded the top seed. The semifinals and final of the MAC Tournament will be played on Nov. 15 and No. 17, respectively. The winner of the MAC Tournament earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.
Up Next
Akron will conclude the regular season at Western Michigan Saturday with a chance to secure its ninth straight MAC Championship. The Zips and Broncos will kick off at 1 p.m., ET.
Tickets
Tickets can be purchased online anytime at ZipsTickets.com, or from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET on Mondays through Fridays by either calling 1-888-99-AKRON (25766) or visiting The C.P. and Cornelia S. Chima Athletics Ticket Office at InfoCision Stadium - Summa Field (located at 375 E. Exchange Street, near Gate 1 at the southwest corner of the venue, at the corner of E. Exchange and S. Union streets).
