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I really don't understand what you all are hoping for (those wanting JoeMo gone). Everyone in the country knows this is a s%#t job. Pay is not good, you won't be able to staff, no NIL, horrible attendance, school with debt and bad reputation, bad weather, empty stadium, no training table. But somehow you think we are going to do better than JoeMo.

I didn't notice this before, but Akron is the highest rated team in the state of Ohio. Below is where the traditional contenders for that title are currently ranked. Ohio State - 63 Dayton -88 Xavier - 102 Cincinnati - 154

Excellent observations.... A few random observations.... The first game was on September 23. That means that Saturday's game...will be almost 2.5 months since the first game. As Zips fans, we have seen great improvement from Thomas O' Rourke and Matthew Paiva during the season. I am sure that St. Louisd has also had many players improve during the season. Since that first game, St. Louis has not lost a single game. Since the first game, the Zips have a record of 7-2-2. The Billikens have a record of 8-0-5. St. Louis has only lost 2 games all year...A regular season game at Indiana and the game at Akron. As we all know, St. Louis avenged their regular season loss to IU with a huge round of 32 road win at IU. as @Zip_ME87 pointed out, SLU is finding ways to not lose. They have not lost in their last 13 games. Against IU in the NCAA round of 32, St. Louis was dominated on the statistical front but they found a way to win. In the tournament game against St. Louis, IU led 16-3 in shots, 3-1 in shots on goal and 8-0 in corner kicks. St. Louis did not have a single corner kick and they were outshot by more than 5 to 1. Yet, St. Louis found a way to win. Again, that first game(St. Louis at Akron) was a lifetime ago....2.5 months. How did the Zips and Billikens do against teams in the NCAA tounament? St. Louis has 4-2-2 record against teams that made the tournament. 1-0 win over eventual 5 seed SMU. 1-0 win over Seton Hall. 1-0 regular season loss to eventual 6 seed Indiana. 0-0 tie against eventual 8 seed Portland. Portland is still alive in the tournament. 3-0 loss at Akron. 2-1 tournament win over Kentucky (Kentucky was regular season Sun Belt champ (league includes Marshall and West Virginia) ; 1-0 win over 6 seed Indiana. 2-2 PK win over 11 seed Bryant (#6 in final RPI). In that PK win, the St. Louis players were absolutely clutch. 4 spectacular, professional penalty kicks. the zips were 4-4-3 against tournament teams. 0-0 tie with WVA ; 4-0 win over W. Michigan ; 1-0 loss at Vermont ; 3-1 home loss to U Conn ; 3-0 win over St. L ; 2-1 home loss to St. John's ; 0-0 tie at Cornell ; 1-1 tie against Seton Hall. 2-1 neutral field loss to UConn; 1-0 win over Notre Dame ; 2-0 win over the Dukies. The Zips were brutally efficient in the first St. Louis game. The zips had 4 shots on goal and scored 3 goals (75% conversion rate). The zips have scored 31 goals and they have had 97 shots on goal. (closer to a 32% conversion rate). Another observation about the first St. Louis game. The Zips earned 147 corner kicks during the year (about 6.7 per game). In the game against St. Louis, the Zips had 1 corner kick. That was the season low for the Zips. During the season, teams committed 212 fouls against the zips (about 9.6 per game). St. Louis only committed 6 fouls against the Zips. Again, that was a season low for a zip opponent. Based on the first game, the Zips are not going to get many dead ball/free kick opportunities. The weather on Saturday is going to be much different than the September 23 game. The September 23 game had a very experienced referee (Chico Grajeda). Who knows...whehter Saturday's referee will be as solid as Chico Grajeda. Saturday is going to be a battle. The Zips should be favored due to being at home and the fact that they are in good form. However, I do not expect an easy 3-0 win. The Zips need to come out ready.......and win this game in Regulation. I am sure that Indiana was very, very confident against St. Louis since they had won during the regular season. The Zips are hungry and they can beat the Billikens two times this year....but it is going to be a knock down battle. Go, ZIPS !!! https://gozips.com/sports/mens-soccer/stats/2025/saint-louis/boxscore/10933

Yay, for him. Maybe he has great success. It's been one year. Little Zips history lesson... J.D. Brookhart 2004-09 (29-43) fired Rob Ianello 2010-2011 (2-11) fired Terry Bowden 2012-2018 (35-52) fired Tom Arthur 2019-2021 (3-24) fired Oscar Rodriguez interim 2021 0-3 It's obvious that Akron WANTS to win at football because they are not afraid to change coaches, I don't doubt that, but they either keep striking out with coaches OR they give up on them when it starts getting rough. Bowden went 8-5 and won the first bowl game in school history and was let go three years later when he went 4-8... It isn't always greener on the other side. Joe Moe has shown improvement each year despite having the odds stacked against him. Things like one less practice a week are a big issue. Not having NIL money is a big thing yet somehow, he still brings in decent talent and is able to compete in the MAC with really nothing to offer except playing time. I just don't understand the urgency to get rid of him when the team has shown improvement. I agree that there were games that could have/ probably should have been won, but nearly every program could say the same thing and there aren't too many undefeated teams still out there. Everyone on here that wants rid of Joe Moe assumes the next guy is automatically going to be better or is going to be the next Ryan Day and what if it isn't? What if it is the next Kenni Burns and it sets the program back ten years??? Joe Moe has steadily improved the program with no money, less staff, less recruiting opportunities, and less practices I would rather see him stay and see what he can do with those things added.

Every Zip coach and every Zip player should be very proud. Phenomenal effort....especially with the injury of Stefan Dobrijevic ...early in the game Thinking good thoughts for Stefan Duke did not have a single shot on goal. Zips were the much more skilled soccer team and the much classier, professional soccer team. I don't slight any zip by mentioning names......as all of the starters were outstanding..... and every single sub....starting with Ignacio Alem and Jack Sullivan....ending with Jamai Royer, Nathan Ferguson and Braxton Hayes.....played outstanding fundament soccer. Thorough beat down of an ACC Powerhouse...... For the zips fans living far from Akron, I also want to compliment Chad Welker and womens asst soccer Josh Kay. Josh and Chad were outstanding on commentary.

Home and away. They come here next year.

Anyone thinking Zips’ victory will come easily on Saturday is very foolish. Long-time Zips faithful have been to this stage of the tournament many times. These contests are frequently decided in either OT or PKs. Remember vs. California in 2010? Remember vs. Creighton in 2012? Remember vs. Creighton in 2015? Defeating a quality tournament opponent requires squad cohesion, maximum effort, and near flawless execution. And a little luck also helps.

I just wish something would happen one way or the other. Wish he’d take a job or announce he’s here for another year.

I had to scroll to the top of the thread to make sure I had hadn't inadvertently fallen into the football forum. LOL.

I don't condone fighting or destruction of property, and I don't particularly like seeing an away team heckle the home fans and players. However, if I condone home fans getting in the heads of players for 90+ minutes, then I don't feel that I can be a snowflake when it's over and the away team does a little jawing when they prevail. Curious, where was this discussion at the end of our game at Creighton?

I'm still cold two hours later but it was worth it!

GOOOOOAAAAAALLLL! 1-0 Zips.

TJ McConnell rocking an Akron Soccer sweatshirt

Match is scheduled for Saturday at 1 pm.

I was really concerned for @NWAkron when they rolled out the new t-shirt cannon. He was safe because they clearly didn't practice with their new toy. But after a few more games....

Apparently not 100000000000% committed after all

The Sweet Spot.

How we fare with our Big East brethren #8 UConn #21 Butler #22 St. John's #40 Akron #49 Seton Hall #53 Villanova #114 Xavier #118 Creighton #121 Georgetown #124 Providence #168 Marquette #178 DePaul

So Bowling Green had to wait until Nate Johnson moved to K-State to beat him? 😉

And the Billikens will come to Akron!

Tremendous article from the Cleveland Plain Dealer (this is currently not a subscriber only article...hopefully, all can access?) I have not yet seen the press conferences....but this has quotes from several zips players, Coach Embick and the Duke coach https://www.cleveland.com/sports/college/2025/12/akron-zips-mens-soccer-gives-duke-the-cold-shoulder-moves-into-ncaa-elite-eight-with-2-0-victory.html “The crowd drove us through that game,” Daragh Reilly said. “You could see in the last 10-15 minutes, we were getting tired. We were trying to push each other, but every time we got a play, we made a tackle, the momentum kept swinging back to us. “Big shoutout to the fans tonight. I don’t think we could have been anywhere near without that tonight.” “Awesome performance not only from our team, but from the fans and community that packed this place in this weather and were behind us the whole game,” Coach Embick said. “We fed off that energy, and I think that really helped us through some moments where maybe we weren’t playing as well as we wanted.”

Great crowd for a pretty cold night tonight. Late in the game a large plastic bag blew down the field and ended up in the Zips goal. We remarked it was the best shot on goal Duke had in the match.

This is a hilarious Wentz Financial Group promo. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRNi583ku8Y/?igsh=MWRzaWt5YW41OHZ5dA==

Should have had four winners ... Steve Zakuani in 2008 as well as Emil last year. Still angry about both! In 2008, Zakuani scored 20 goals and 7 assists over 23 games to become a finalist for the Hermann Trophy Marcus Tracy: He won the 2008 Hermann Trophy for the nation's most outstanding college player while at Wake Forest University where he scored 13 goals and 10 assists in 24 games. 2024 Emil Jaaskelainen: Started all 21 games for Akron in 2024 en route to recording an NCAA-best 23 goals and 54 points, while also leading the nation in game-winning goals (6), goals per game (1.10) and points per tilt (2.57)... Michael Adedokun: Led Ohio State with 11 goals, 11 assists and 33 points

4pm tip. Freeze your butt off at soccer at 1, drive home to watch some hoops under 3 blankets at 4. Sounds like a great saturday

Groce was not happy with the defense in the post-game. He said if they're going to be great, as opposed to just good, they have to get better on defense.

Barre had the heart condition flare up at Duquesne which seemingly really limited his availability. The hoopla surrounding him came from his highlight film when he committed. He's quite athletic and long; fits this system really well once he gets going.

Good luck to 290 lb Rob hauling his butt up and down the court chasing the Zips gazelles.

Thought he showed potential, but it seemed clear he was on the staff’s bad side for reasons I am sure were legitimate. Think he’ll end up transferring down.

Serious question for all the Joe haters, if joe leaves what are your expectations? for the first three to four years you can't possibly expect to win more than two or three games a season and how much time are you going to give the new coach before you start calling for his removal? The issue with Zips football is not coaching it is not being able to compete financially with other institutions. Football players at akron get 91$ a month, big 10 football freshman players 35k a year. how do u compete with that? i watched a segment on lane kiffin. supposedly LSU is giving him a 25 million dollar war chest just for football. Kansas just got a huge donation from a hedge fund guy named booth for football and they named the stadium after him so now they have a huge war chest for football. the elevators at akron don't work in the dorms, don't work in the parking garages and they get 91$ a month. there are bigger issues than coaching. but honestly, how long do u give a new coach with a new staff and most likely a huge turnover of players because it wont be "his team" for four years of his players?

Congratulations to Remi Agunbiade and Jack Roman for making the team of the week. The leader,,,,,the Captain....Daragh ...was honorable mention. (come on, top drawer soccer !!!....no shots on goal !!!!.....the whole Akron back 4 defensemen need to be recognized) https://www.topdrawersoccer.com/college-soccer-articles/mens-team-of-the-week:-dec-2_aid55426 F: Remi Agunbiade, Akron(m) - The Canadian sophomore saved the best performance of his career for when it mattered most, scoring both goals to defeat Duke and move on to the Elite Eight. M: Jack Roman, Akron(m) - Roman was a headache for Duke as he assisted one and played all 90 minutes in the 2-0 victory.

Kiffin looks out for Kiffin. Always looking for the bigger, better deal. Ole Miss was willing to match the 13 million a year salary, but what they couldn’t do is match the promised 25-30 million player payroll that LSU was offering. Kiffin felt, right or wrong that winning a couple of games in the playoffs was going to be the ceiling at Ole Miss. Because he wouldn’t have the depth to compete against Georgia, Alabama or Ohio State. Also, last year Ohio State won the Championship with a running back they poached from Ole Miss, Quinshon Judkins. That had to sting. All while Kiffin is trying to piece a team together with transfers. Bottomline, if you can’t win a Championship in Oxford, Miss (SEC), then college football is in a worse place than college basketball. And that’s saying something.

We didn't even get 20 minutes! 16 total minutes for the season he was here!

NET rankings have been released. Akron currently sits at #42. Others of note. UB - #87 Miami - #108 BGSU - #111 Toledo - #150 Kent State - #157 https://stats.ncaa.org/selection_rankings/nitty_gritties/47272

Top Drawer soccer (TDS) predicts that a zip 2027 recruit will do well this weekend in ECNL tournament. https://www.topdrawersoccer.com/article/?categoryId=0&articleId=55414&articleTitle=ecnl-boys-sc:-under-19-players-to-know Lazar Ivanis, Cleveland Force FC – The success of local talent Jack Roman at Akron suggests that a 2027 grad like Ivanis could hit the Big East program and make a difference. Ivanis is a midfielder with the profile and quality to change games for the Force U19s.

I believe we’re recruiting him as a DB.

If Akron hadn't been screwed by the NCAA with the Northwestern game, Zakuani wins the Hermann Trophy that year. Emil last year was inexcusable as well.

Most insane OT ever.

Akron loses big to the coach they fired who started 2 freshmen and 2 sophomores, with 4 of their 5 starters being Ohio recruits. Big yikes.

Move it to Brook Park once new stadium is built.

22-9 end of 1Q. We’re going to get run out of our own gym by the coach ole Chucky ran out of town aren’t we.

I'm impressed that they're using correct pronouns.

Only John Groce can take a "question" like the one at 5:07 and turn it in to a really solid response

I didn't think we played very well, yet we still cruised and emptied the bench at the end of the game. Lyles played great. Evan Mahaffey had a solid game. Eric had bursts of being the best player on the floor. I was pleasantly surprised to see Barre. Looked like a highly skilled offensive big. A little slow on D and he didn't rebound very well. Wish we had a better crowd. This team deserves better. Go Zips.

Barre with 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks in 13 minutes. Should be a rotation player moving forward.

I feel the same way. The offense is clicking, but the defense is just okay. By no means locked down.

That's not fair. They played Indiana (East) and Trinity Christian is among one of the finest basketball programs in Palos Heights, Illinois.

This guy is a true Princeton genius. Sitting out this season to preserve eligibility while finishing his Princeton degree. He'll then get paid 6 figures minimum to finish his final season of eligibility next year.

If the NCAA really cared, they would force bigger schools to pay restitution or kickbacks for poaching players. Something like 15-25% of the NIL deal paid back to the former school. Not a lot, but it's better than nothing and would provide resources to replace outgoing athletes.