Akron Opens NCAA Tournament Play Hosting No. 8 Princeton

AKRON, Ohio – The 13th-rated University of Akron men's soccer team will open its quest for its second-ever NCAA Championship on Thursday (Nov. 21) welcoming No. 8 Princeton to FirstEnergy Stadium in the first round of the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship. The 6 p.m. tilt with the Tigers will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Chad Welker calling the action.

Tickets for the contest against the Tigers are available for purchase at http://www.gozips.com/Tickets. Fans are asked to park in Lots 6, 9 and 10 surrounding InfoCision Stadium and the Stile Athletics Field House. For complete parking information click here.

GAME INFO
Akron vs. Princeton | Nov. 21 | 6 PM | FirstEnergy Stadium | Live Stats | ESPN+

HEAD COACHES
Princeton: Jim Barlow (Princeton, 1992), Overall Record: 222-187-70 (28th Season), Record at Princeton: 222-187-70 (28th Season)
Akron: Jared Embick (Indiana Wesleyan, 2000), Overall Record: 191-81-44 (15th Season), Record at Akron: 144-60-36 (12th Season)

SCOUTING AKRON
The Zips under the leadership of 12th-year head coach Jared Embick enters its tilt versus Princeton on Thursday (Nov. 21) at 11-4-4 on the campaign, including 7-0-1 in the BIG EAST Conference, following a 2-1 overtime setback against Georgetown on Nov. 14.

Redshirt senior Emil Jaaskelainen (Bolton, England) leads the Zips in goals (23), assists (7), points (53), shots (85), shots on goal (42) and game-winners (6), while redshirt senior Dyson Clapier (Layton, Utah), senior Wan Kuzri Wan Kamal (Carbondale, Ill.), redshirt senior Victor Gaulmin (Guipavas, France), junior Stefan Dobrijevic (Uniontown, Ohio), redshirt freshman Nathan Ferguson (Glen Carbon, Ill.) and senior Malik Henry (Hamilton, Ontario) have added four, four, four, two, two and two goals, respectively, to go along with Henry owning a team-best nine assists. Redshirt junior GK Mitch Budler (Lincoln, Neb.) has collected 48 saves and owns a 1.00 goals against average.

Akron returns six starters in 2024, including 2023 All-BIG EAST Conference performers, seniors Jonas Buechte (Rantigen, Germany) and Henry.

The Zips will also be bolstered by the return of key 2023 contributors in Budler, Clapier, Dobrijevic, juniors Ashton Kamdem (West Chester, Ohio) and Daragh Reilly (Meath, Ireland) and Wan Kamal.

SCOUTING PRINCETON
Princeton comes into play versus the Zips on Thursday (Nov. 21) at 12-6-0 on the campaign, including a 5-2-0 mark in the Ivy League, following a 3-1 victory over Penn in the title game of the Ivy League Championship on Sunday (Nov. 17).

Junior Daniel Ittycheria leads the Tigers in goals (9), points (19), shots (69), shots on goal (29) and game-winners (4). Sophomore goalkeeper Andrew Samuels has posted 26 saves en route to posting a 0.90 goals against average and two shutouts.

The Tigers are ranked 20th in the NCAA in corner kicks (6.17), 35th in shots per game (13.78) and winning percentage (.667) and 46th in shots on goal per contest (5.72). Individually, Ittycheria is rated sixth in shots per game (3.83), 13th in game-winning goals (4), 16th in shots on goal (1.61) and 41st in total goals (9), while junior Jack Jasinski is ranked 15th in total assists (9) and assists per match (0.53).

SERIES HISTORY
Akron is meeting Princeton for the fourth time in program history. The Zips lead the series, 2-1-0. In the last meeting between the two schools, Akron earned a 1-0 road triumph past the Tigers on Sept. 18, 2005. In the lone encounter between the two schools in Akron, the Zips earned a 6-0 victory over Princeton on Sept. 10, 2004.

IN OUR LAST MEETING (SEPT. 18, 2005 – PRINCETON, N.J.)
Akron earned a 1-0 decision past Princeton on Sept. 18, 2005, in Princeton, N.J.

AKRON VERSUS THE IVY LEAGUE
• The Zips are meeting a team from the Ivy League for the first time this season and ninth time overall.
• Akron owns a 4-4-0 (.500) all-time record versus the current eight men's soccer members – Brown (0-1), Cornell (0-2), Penn (1-0), Princeton (2-1) and Yale (1-0) of the Ivy League.
• In their last encounter with a school from Ivy League, the Zips earned a 1-0 decision past Yale on Sept. 25, 2021, at FirstEnergy Stadium.

ZIPS' NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Akron maintains a 33-29-9 mark in 71 matches in NCAA Championship history, including capturing the school's first national championship in any sport in 2010. The Zips are 12-6-3 under head coach Jared Embick. Since 2005, Akron owns a 24-9-9 ledger.

Seven Zips have earned playing time in the NCAA Tournament during their Akron careers. Jonas Buechte enters action versus Princeton as the team's NCAA Tournament career scoring leader with one assist.

Buechte has recorded a team-best five shots. Additionally, Malik Henry, Dyson Clapier, Wan Kuzri Wan Kamal and junior Stefan Dobrijevic have registered 2 (2), 2 (0), 2 (1) and 1 (0) shots (shots on goal), respectively. Mitch Budler has pulled in three saves for the Zips.

JAASKELAINEN NAMED BIG EAST OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Emil Jaaskelainen has turned in an amazing run of play this season and was named the BIG EAST Player of the Year. In eight BIG EAST games for Akron, he recorded 12 of his NCAA-leading 23 goals on the strength of team-high marks in goals (12), points (28), shots (34), shots on goal (18) and game-winners (4), while ranking second in assists (4). He delivered a hat trick against Villanova (Oct. 12), while posting league braces versus Marquette (Oct. 26), Creighton (Oct. 23), DePaul (Oct. 19) and Butler (Sept. 20). Overall, he has recorded nine multi-goal affairs on the season.

Jaaskelainen ranks first in the BIG EAST in goals (1.21), points (2.79), shots (4.47), shots on goal (2.21) per game as well as leading the league in total goals (23), shots (85), shots on goal (42), points (53) and game-winning goals (6) and rating ninth in assists (7). In league-only affairs, Jaaskelainen led the BIG EAST in total goals (12), points (28), shots (34), shots on goal (18) and game-winners (4), as well as goals (1.50), points (3.50), shots (4.25), shots on goal (2.25) and game-winners (0.50) per contest, while rating third in total assists (4) and fifth in assists per tilt (0.50).

Individually, Jaaskelainen leads the NCAA in total goals (23), total points (53), game-winning goals (6), goals per game (1.21) and points per tilt (2.79), while ranking third in shots per match (4.47) and shots on goal per outing (2.21) and 46th in total assists (7).

YDRACH HONORED AS BIG EAST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Redshirt senior Beto Ydrach (Orlando, Fla.) was honored as the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, the league announced on Nov. 12. He helped direct the defensive efforts of the Zips, who posted eight shutouts on the campaign, including recording six clean sheets in eight league contests. Offensively, Ydrach added three assists on the strength of 11 shots, including three on goal.

BUDLER CHOSEN AS BIG EAST GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR
Mitch Budler was chosen as the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year, the conference unveiled on Nov. 12. Budler has posted 48 saves on the campaign en route to recording a 1.00 goals against average on the strength of eight shutouts. In league play, Budler collected 23 saves and a 0.63 goals against average and notched six clean sheets in eight games.

SEVEN ZIPS EARNS ALL-BIG EAST ACCOLADES
Seven Akron men's soccer standouts garnered All-BIG EAST accolades when the league unveiled in 2024 award winners in a vote of the league coaches released on Nov. 12.

Emil Jaaskelainen headlined the Zips' award winners as he selected as the BIG EAST Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Year and was a unanimous First-Team honoree.

Beto Ydrach was tabbed as the BIG EAST Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Year and pulled in First-Team All-League honors.

Mitch Budler garnered BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year accolades and was a First-Team All-Conference selection.

Akron head coach Jared Embick and his staff of Ger Coppinger, Michael Nanchoff and Attila Schmidt were recognized as the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year.

Dyson Clapier rounded out the First-Team All-BIG EAST selections for the Zips.

Pulling in Second-Team All-BIG EAST laurels were Malik Henry and Wan Kuzri Wan Kamal, while Jonas Buechte earned Third-Team honors.

AKRON CAPTURES BIG EAST TITLE
Akron captured its first-ever BIG EAST regular season title with a 3-0 triumph at Marquette (Oct. 26), a game after claiming the BIG EAST Midwest Division crown on the strength of a 3-0 victory past Creighton (Oct. 23).

AKRON NOTES
• The Zips own a 1-0-0 ledger in games versus Princeton at home as Akron posted a 6-0 triumph over the Tigers on Sept. 10, 2004.
• All three contests between Akron and Princeton have resulted in a shutout, with the Zips earning the win in two of the three games.
• Akron has outscored Princeton by a 7-2 margin in series history, including 6-0 at home.
• Emil Jaaskelainen equaled the BIG EAST record for goals (12) and points (28) scored. Jaaskelainen matched Ryan Finley of Notre Dame in 2012 (12 goals in 8 games) and Jarrod Smith of West Virginia in 2006 (12 goals in 10 games) in goals scored, while equaling Smith in the same season with 28 points.
• The Zips allowed the fourth-fewest goals (5) in conference play this season in BIG EAST history.
• Emil Jaaskelainen's 12-shot performance versus Villanova (Oct. 12) equaled a BIG EAST record in league play set by Mac Steeves of Providence on Oct. 24, 2015.
• Emil Jaaskelainen has posted nine multi-goal efforts on the season after recording a brace against DePaul (Nov. 9). He collected a first-half hat trick against Villanova (Oct. 12) after netting a pair of goals against Wright State (Oct. 8). He also notched a hat trick in an 8-0 Akron victory over Saint Francis (Sept. 24) and added a pair of goals in 3-0 triumphs over Marquette (Oct. 26) and Creighton (Oct. 23), 4-0 victory past DePaul (Oct. 19), a 4-3 win over Butler (Sept. 20) and a 3-3 draw versus Cleveland State (Sept. 2).
• Jonas Buechte and Wan Kuzri Wan Kamal appeared in their 75th career games as a Zip against Georgetown (Nov. 14).
• The Zips have allowed only seven first-half goals this season, including only two over the final 30 minutes of the initial stanza.
• Mitch Budler collected his 100th career save against Butler (Sept. 20) and enters play versus Princeton with 132 career stops.
• Emil Jaaskelainen enters play versus Princeton with 66 career goals, a mark that is rated No. 1 among active career leaders in Division I and third overall across all divisions. Additionally, he is ranked third in career points (153) across all divisions.
• In league-only affairs, Emil Jaaskelainen led the BIG EAST in total goals (12), points (28), shots (34), shots on goal (18) and game-winners (4), as well as goals (1.50), points (3.50), shots (4.25), shots on goal (2.25) and game-winners (0.50) per contest, while rating third in total assists (4) and fifth in assists per tilt (0.50).
• The Zips are rated second in the NCAA in total assists (57), third in total points (151) and assists per tilt (3.00), fourth in points per match (7.95), fifth in total goals (47) and goal differential (28), sixth in scoring offense (2.47), 14th in shots per game (15.37), 20th in shots on goal per contest (6.26), 23rd in shutout percentage (0.42), 30th in winning percentage (.684), 34th in goals against average (1.00) and 41st in corner kicks (5.68).
• Individually, GK Mitch Budler is rated seventh in the NCAA in shutouts (9), 14th in goalie minutes played (1,718:13) and 36th in goals against average (1.00), Emil Jaaskelainen is ranked first in total goals (23), total points (53), goals per match (1.21), game-winning goals (6) and points per outing (2.79), third in shots per game (4.47) and in shots on goal per contest (2.21) and 46th in total assists (7). Additionally, Malik Henry, Victor Gaulmin and Dyson Clapier are 15th (9) and 28th (8) in total assists and 24th (0.47) and 48th (0.42) in assists per game.
• Mitch Budler is rated eighth among active career leaders in D1 in solo shutouts (23), 18th in goals against average (0.99) and 27th in goalie minutes played (4,825.83). Emil Jaaskelainen is first in D1 active leaders in points (153) and goals (66), second in points per game (1.87) and in goals per tilt (0.80), 15th in assists (21), 22nd in assists per contest (0.26) and 30th in games played (81). Malik Henry is rated 15th in career assists (21) and 19th in assists per tilt (0.29).
• Through 54 career games, GK Mitch Budler has been dominant in net for Akron having recorded 132 saves en route to owning a 0.99 goals against average on the strength of 23 shutouts.
• Thirteen different Zips have scored a goal this season, including four newcomers.
• Twenty-three Zips have registered a shot this season, including 11 newcomers.
• All but one field player for the Zips to have played in a game this season has posted a shot for Akron.
• Eleven Akron newcomers have appeared in a match for the Zips this season.
• The Zips recorded a season-best 27 shots against Temple (Sept. 14).
• Akron has posted double-digit shots in 14 tilts this season.
• The Zips are 1-1-2 versus ranked teams this season following a 2-1 overtime setback against No. 24 Georgetown (Nov. 14), a 1-1 draw at No. 2 Notre Dame (Aug. 22), a 1-1 tie at No. 5 Western Michigan (Aug. 30) and a 4-0 triumph past No. 13 VCU (Sept. 6). A year ago, Akron was 2-0-1 against ranked squads after a 0-0 draw with No. 15 Notre Dame (Sept. 19), a 2-0 victory over No. 11 Florida International (Sept. 11) and a 1-0 triumph past No. 7 Vermont (Aug. 28).
• Since the start of the 2015 campaign, the Zips own a 34-23-10 mark against ranked opponents.
• Dyson Clapier is Akron's active career leaders in goals (18), assists (20), points (56), shots (138), shots on goal (62) and game-winners (6). Emil Jaaskelainen, Wan Kuzri Wan Kamal and Stefan Dobrijevic have scored 23, seven and six goals, respectively.
• The Zips own a 144-60-36 mark over the last 12 seasons under head coach Jared Embick. Akron's 144 wins are ranked seventh in all of Division I.
• Under head coach Jared Embick, Akron's record following a loss is 28-14-7.
• The Zips have scored two or more goals in 111 of the squad's last 203 matches.
• Akron has held opponents scoreless in 45 of its last 94 home contests at FirstEnergy Stadium.
• Akron owns a 92-18-15 record in its last 125 home matches.
• Since Oct. 1, 2015, Akron owns a 97-47-32 record.

UP NEXT
The advancing team between Akron and Princeton will travel to Bloomington, Ind., to battled 13th-seeded Indiana on Sunday (Nov. 24) at 1 p.m.

AKRON ATHLETICS NOW CASHLESS
The University of Akron Athletics Department announced its transition to cashless payments for all ticketing, concessions, and merchandise purchases at all Akron athletic venues, concession stands, and gear shops, beginning with the start of the 2024-25 sports seasons. For more information click here.

Akron Opens NCAA Tournament Play Hosting No. 8 Princeton

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Players Mentioned

Mitch Budler

Jonas Buechte

Dyson Clapier

Stefan Dobrijevic

Nathan Ferguson

Victor Gaulmin

Malik Henry

Emil Jaaskelainen

Ashton Kamdem

Daragh Reilly

Wan Kuzri Wan Kamal

Beto Ydrach

The University of Akron Athletics