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Akron vs WMU


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Every one of our players should be embarrassed about tonight's game. I saw no heart / desire to win. It's one thing to lose to a better team, but WMU sucks. To let them win on our field, ugh :puke: If my team can't bother to show up, I don't know why I bother. I don't miss home games, happily getting there an hour before kickoff to show how much I care about and support them. I have plans to go to Northern Illinois, but if tonight"s performance reflects how much our players care, then why should I make that long trip? What's with all the backward passing and screwing around in front of our own goal. A bunch of wusses who are afraid to pass the ball forward? I don't get it. How many times do they have to be punished before they realize how stupid that is to be so timid. There's a time to pass backwards, but they're doing it way too often. I accepted this team is young, but that only goes so far. The talent is there; they've been playing together for sometime now and have shown how good they can be. Their testicles have dropped. It's time to stop being afraid and assert themselves. This is Akron. It's totally unacceptable to step on Cub Cadet Field and not give a crap. Jared needs to start holding everyone of them accountable. They should not have been allowed to leave that field so quickly after that lack of performance.

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http://www.ohio.com/sports/zips/mac-soccer-western-michigan-1-akron-0-zips-suffer-first-home-loss-to-broncos-1.535270

From the ABJ.

The Zips started the second half with five different players than had started the match.

“I was trying to get guys in there that had a fresh mind,” UA coach Jared Embick said. “I wanted guys that watched the game to come in and play with some urgency.”

...

“We needed to move the ball quickly, attack with speed and be stronger on the ball,” Embick said. “We were poor in a lot of the aspects of the game that we’ve been starting to become good at.”

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http://www.ohio.com/sports/zips/mac-soccer-western-michigan-1-akron-0-zips-suffer-first-home-loss-to-broncos-1.535270

From the ABJ.

The Zips started the second half with five different players than had started the match.

“I was trying to get guys in there that had a fresh mind,” UA coach Jared Embick said. “I wanted guys that watched the game to come in and play with some urgency.”

...

“We needed to move the ball quickly, attack with speed and be stronger on the ball,” Embick said. “We were poor in a lot of the aspects of the game that we’ve been starting to become good at.”

“We were outplayed and I think they deserved the result,” Embick said.

Coach, we were outplayed because our players didn't show up. It's time to start calling them out. You don't play for Akron and not give a crap. How can you stand on the sideline and not get in their faces? These guys need to learn that if you don't show up ready to play at your best, there are consequences. Standing on the field for however long it takes after the game to go through every poopy pass, mistake, lazy play, etc. each player made and how they won't play like that again, running sprints after the game, being called out in front of teammates for laziness/poor attitude/stupidity, etc. One missing starter should not result in a loss, at home, to crappy WMU. This is unacceptable.

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Over the many years,and I mean many years of Zip soccer, we have gone from a good program, to a great program, to an elite program. Now we have had a drop off somewhat. I did not beleive I would be saying this, and I am still confident, but we could actually miss the NCAA tournament.

If you have been paying attention to what has been going on in college soccer this season, you will have noticed that many teams with much higher ranking than us,have lost to lower if not unranked teams. Sometimes those loses which they sustained were while playing at home.

West Mich is now in good shape to host the MAC tournament. Look at the standings. The match-up next Sat to watch, in addition to the Zips ,is West Mich at BG. If Broncos win that they will no doubt end up hosting the tournament.

The importance of last night's loss cannot be overstated.

Get it going ZIPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Not the result one would expect after a solid week layoff to get ready for the sprint to MAC and NCAAs as well as finally back in good graces of the polls and and favorable RPI winds. Should still win the MAC even if at WMU and a PSU win would be great tone setter to revitalize things here late.

After a nice run of home wins and a remarkable comeback win over WVU the team gave way to another lack of early intensity. A turnover or mistake in the back (DM Souto this time) with lack of strong defending from CBs as the ball comes into the 18 even numbers with the GK around the play but not very imposing combine to allow the goal. I get queasy every time the ball enters the area as most of the goals this year look very similar in those respects, which conversely does speak to how well they defend when given time to get organized. Maybe NM and WF goals were different but the CBs/GK were contributors there too. Is there a defender the other team wants no part of? Maybe Souders who is now on the outside, where he was needed and seemed like a brilliant move on Embick's part.

As for just missing a starter, missing Laryea to cumm yellows is like missing Souto in the first several games. It severely impacts the engine of this team in the MF. You can miss almost anyone else for a given match, but Najem/Laryea/Souto seem vital. Things don't develop, Saad stays home more instead of getting high and wide, etc. Add Sanda start with no collegiate minutes and an unfortunate history of injuries was experimental at the least, but maybe there was not enough confidence in Aguilar or Quirk to start them even though they have 12 between them. It looked like a wonderful gesture to a local product but maybe your first minutes are later in a game we control to build some experience and confidence, not as CM in a key but easily looked past MAC match where a win gets you really close to hosting the tourney.

On game day coaching Embick was quiet and more cerebral before becoming HC and has been the same since. That probably won't change, but that type can win big too while it relies more on the captains and seniors to police effort and get after lazy or sloppy play from the others, and to take the blame when they themselves fall short, to man up. The team is young and maybe the few Juniors and Seniors are not filling that role, so you have a gap where it gets quiet on the field and around the bench and the team heads back to shower and wait for the film session after sleeping on it. Maybe that is where the sparks fly and the coaches get into them so we just can't see it right after the game where you would think its time for a tongue lashing.

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@Station14, you are correct. In soccer, they go by points. 4-1 Zips would have 12 points. 3-0-2 WMU would have 11 points. Zips would host MAC Tourney in that scenario. Of course this scenario also assumes we don't pee our shorts vs Northern Illinois or Buffalo. It sucks that we no longer control our own destiny and have to rely on BG or WVU for help. Ask the Portland Timbers how great it was to win their game Saturday only to have Vancouver also win and take the last playoff spot.

@SwitchIt: Sparks flying in the film session is not as impactful as standing on the field immediately following a loss in front of fans, friends and family and not being able to go enjoy your evening with your girl for comfort right away. There needs to be some fear of losing for motivation. Even without colorful language, I'm sure "the circle" is something the players would be motivated to avoid. As far as missing Richie, this is not the beginning of the season. These guys better darn well know by now how to step it up to fill in for 1 guy no matter what position against a crap team like WMU. This is D1 NCAA soccer, not pre-teen academy. I'm not as upset by the mistake of giving up the goal as I am by how much of the game was played in front of our own goal/on our half of the field and that we had no shots on goal until around the 80th minute. Totally unacceptable. Also unacceptable that Jake seemed to be the only player directing anything. Where the heck were our captains and upper class players? That should have been corrected at half time. The HC can't be the players buddy. That's for assistants. The HC needs to call out his players and remind his captains and upper classmen they have a responsibilty to lead.

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Well put @ZipME87. I totally agree that it would be desirable to take them ALL to task for that poor performance and make them remember that bad taste as to avoid it in the now short future of this season.

My point is that Embick is quiet by nature and this team happens to also be quiet, with exception of maybe Souders on occasion. Embick's personality was like this before he was hired as HC, and before coming to Akron, and so on. I don't think he is their buddy or friend either, I think he is rather neutral.

Add: See interview for WVU game to see where he was after that game => http://www.gozips.com/sports/msoc/video/index

I also agree that not taking the game to WMU and settling for a listless back and forth affair with no SOG until 80' was a bigger issue than the goal given, but feel Sanda for Laryea was a big give and helped to start things off poorly (no disrespect to Sanda, just not ready for the task in first D1 game) which never seems to get righted and instead became a sub fest and ended as it began.

Onward!! :-)

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