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Wow.  You guys really are new to this.  No Big Deal.  There are fewer rules in soccer than in other sports. 

 

Any infraction in one's own Penalty Area will result in a Penalty Kick by the opposition from the "spot" 12 yards from goal.  PK is the vernacular.  Our guy kicked their guy in the face, while both were in the Penalty Area.  That is (understandably) a foul.  Colin Biros did not connect much, but it was enough.  I have seen exponentially much worse, some really gruesome stuff.  And that kind of stuff is what we all want to avoid.  Ref could have let this one go, but he didn't.  By the letter of the law, it was the correct call for the Ref to make.

 

BTW, dimensions on Penalty Area, Goal Area, Center Circle and actual Goal are some of the only things that have rigorously standardized dimensions.  Field length and width have a general range.  Wikpedia is all over this one.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penalty_area

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10 minutes ago, fknbuflobo said:

Wow.  You guys really are new to this.  No Big Deal.  There are fewer rules in soccer than in other sports. 

 

Any infraction in one's own Penalty Area will result in a Penalty Kick by the opposition from the "spot" 12 yards from goal.  PK is the vernacular.  Our guy kicked their guy in the face, while both were in the Penalty Area.  That is (understandably) a foul.  Colin Biros did not connect much, but it was enough.  I have seen exponentially much worse, some really gruesome stuff.  And that kind of stuff is what we all want to avoid.  Ref could have let this one go, but he didn't.  By the letter of the law, it was the correct call for the Ref to make.

 

BTW, dimensions on Penalty Area, Goal Area, Center Circle and actual Goal are some of the only things that have rigorously standardized dimensions.  Field length and width have a general range.  Wikpedia is all over this one.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penalty_area

Thank you.   It's rather....uh... obnoxious for me and probably a few others who don't follow soccer to start questioning the rules and their unfair application.  I appreciate your clarifying that.  BTW there is a guard on the Zips basketball team who also gives some Oscar-worthy performances when an opponent brushes against him.

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Much thanks to all in the athletic dept who made the weekend in SB so much fun. Our ath. admin did a super job in hosting alumni and representing UA. I talked with the director of the tournament, an associate AD from UCSB  by the name of Hastings. He was very complimentary of the university, our team and Akron fans. We really do have many friends out here. Caleb Porter came to the final and it was good to see him. It was better to talk with him about the culture of Akron and how players learn to play for the colors and the school or they leave. That is still the case. Believe it or not recruits love that and come in eager to embrace the Akron culture. They want to be part of something bigger than themselves. In this age of pampered, entitled, egotistical athletes these guys are so refreshing and inspiring. 

 

Congratulations to Maryland. They were the better team, but our guys would play them again, anytime, anywhere. Let's also not underestimate the job Jared and the coaches did this year. They completely rebuilt the team - recruited individuals and created a team. Jared deserves national coach of the year. He replaced 7 out of 11 starters and at the beginning of the season it was 9 out of 11 due to injuries. 

 

I even had time to talk with our athletic administrators about the football hiring process. Let me restate that. I talked and they nodded their heads and said absolutely nothing. I appreciate that. They know this hire has to be about the best coach possible and they can not have a deadline if there are still good candidates to be found. They also recognize the passion the Akron fan base has for finding a winner who wins the right way. ZNO was even cited as an example of the passion for Akron football. I think they get it and I support them in the process. I still like Kehres though. Just my opinion.:D

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1 hour ago, 72 Roo said:

Much thanks to all in the athletic dept who made the weekend in SB so much fun. Our ath. admin did a super job in hosting alumni and representing UA. I talked with the director of the tournament, an associate AD from UCSB  by the name of Hastings. He was very complimentary of the university, our team and Akron fans. We really do have many friends out here. Caleb Porter came to the final and it was good to see him. It was better to talk with him about the culture of Akron and how players learn to play for the colors and the school or they leave. That is still the case. Believe it or not recruits love that and come in eager to embrace the Akron culture. They want to be part of something bigger than themselves. In this age of pampered, entitled, egotistical athletes these guys are so refreshing and inspiring. 

 

Congratulations to Maryland. They were the better team, but our guys would play them again, anytime, anywhere. Let's also not underestimate the job Jared and the coaches did this year. They completely rebuilt the team - recruited individuals and created a team. Jared deserves national coach of the year. He replaced 7 out of 11 starters and at the beginning of the season it was 9 out of 11 due to injuries. 

 

I even had time to talk with our athletic administrators about the football hiring process. Let me restate that. I talked and they nodded their heads and said absolutely nothing. I appreciate that. They know this hire has to be about the best coach possible and they can not have a deadline if there are still good candidates to be found. They also recognize the passion the Akron fan base has for finding a winner who wins the right way. ZNO was even cited as an example of the passion for Akron football. I think they get it and I support them in the process. I still like Kehres though. Just my opinion.:D

 

Thanks 72 Roo!!!

 

The Athletic Dept did an outstanding job with this College Cup. The pre-game parties at the Beachside restaurant were outstanding and they also held a soccer alumni dinner on Saturday evening during which we watched Darlington Nagbe and Zarek Valentin in the MLS Cup. Interim President Green and his wife were in attendance. George Van Horne asked everyone in attendance to stand up and talk about their connection to Akron Men's Soccer. Great stories.

 

Speaking of the UCSB folks, we had a number of UCSB alumni sit in our section. Told us we were the team to support! Truly, Soccer Heaven!

 

I have to reiterate your statement that Jared deserves National Coach of the Year. As you said, "he replaced 7 out of 11 starters and at the beginning of the season it was 9 out of 11 due to injuries." If I recall correctly, in August the 2018 Zips had 19 of 32 players who were not Zips in 2017 and he and staff took this team to the National Championship Game! :bow::bow::bow:

 

 

 

Edited by Zip_ME87
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Much different experience this time than 2010. 2010 I agonized over every minute because just once I wanted to see Akron athletics accomplish something really special and didn't know if we'd ever be at that point again. Would have loved to see a second star Sunday of course but not the same kind of agony. I fully believe this program will be entrenched for years to come. I even hedged my bet - I brought my daughter who is a University of Maryland graduate so one of us was going to be happy at the end darn it. :-) 

 

Edited by MDZip
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I saved my first Zips away game for this Final 4. What an amazing trip and Santa Barbara is an awesome place. 

 

On the games, I believe we got what we deserved with unfortunately was 2nd place. On Friday, Zips were incredible. From defense to attack, each player played their part. It was great to see 5 different goalscorers on the night. Everything we shot went in the goal. Excellent performances from our back line to contain a good forward in Sierakowski. He has hurt us in other games against MSU before. Many at the game were speaking of MSU goalkeeper being potential pro option for MLS clubs. Where does that leave Lundt if this is the case? 

 

Another note; did our staff lose a member? I noticed a younger guy dropping cones for warm ups at the MSU game. Anyone know who he is? I checked the website and nobody mentioned. 

 

In the final, our team underperformed. We looked bad defensively and the choice of Milanesse instead of Hernandez looked the wrong one from coach Embick. Interestingly enough, I felt it was the right choice every other game that it happened in the season. We cannot hold that against Embick. He and his staff have done a fantastic job to get this team this far. This is my first year REALLY being a fan of the zips, despite being a huge European soccer fan, and I am hooked. Nothing beats watching this Zips team live and in person. 

 

I leave Santa Barbara early tomorrow morning but I wish this journey was not over for these young men. 

 

 

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10 hours ago, YipaZip said:

I saved my first Zips away game for this Final 4. What an amazing trip and Santa Barbara is an awesome place. 

 

On the games, I believe we got what we deserved with unfortunately was 2nd place. On Friday, Zips were incredible. From defense to attack, each player played their part. It was great to see 5 different goalscorers on the night. Everything we shot went in the goal. Excellent performances from our back line to contain a good forward in Sierakowski. He has hurt us in other games against MSU before. Many at the game were speaking of MSU goalkeeper being potential pro option for MLS clubs. Where does that leave Lundt if this is the case? 

 

Another note; did our staff lose a member? I noticed a younger guy dropping cones for warm ups at the MSU game. Anyone know who he is? I checked the website and nobody mentioned. 

 

In the final, our team underperformed. We looked bad defensively and the choice of Milanesse instead of Hernandez looked the wrong one from coach Embick. Interestingly enough, I felt it was the right choice every other game that it happened in the season. We cannot hold that against Embick. He and his staff have done a fantastic job to get this team this far. This is my first year REALLY being a fan of the zips, despite being a huge European soccer fan, and I am hooked. Nothing beats watching this Zips team live and in person. 

 

I leave Santa Barbara early tomorrow morning but I wish this journey was not over for these young men. 

 

 

You may be able to figure out your question about the staff from the roster picture which is on GoZips.com at https://gozips.com/roster.aspx?path=msoc

 

In my opinion, the midfield was not in control much, and we didn't get a lot going offensively. A few good looks, but as Skye said, Maryland imposed their style on the game. The Zips didn't play much Akron soccer in the final. Great weekend and season, though. Proud of what our players, coaches, and staff accomplished. Wanted so much for them to get the trophy to top off all their hard work. What a run of tournaments (MAC and NCAA)!!! Only 1 home game in that span.

 

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The final NSCAA poll came out today, Tuesday.  @MarylandSoccer tweeted the preseason and final polls, showing the Terrapins moving from unranked to number one.  But the interesting thing I found was this: Akron received two first place votes in the last vote!  Like, huh? ?

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9 hours ago, Z.I.P. said:

The final NSCAA poll came out today, Tuesday.  @MarylandSoccer tweeted the preseason and final polls, showing the Terrapins moving from unranked to number one.  But the interesting thing I found was this: Akron received two first place votes in the last vote!  Like, huh? ?

 

The two votes are head-scratching. 

 

Even worse: people got paid to determine that the National Champion is #1, and the Runner-Up (who beat Stanford & Wake Forest en route) is #2. 

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It's been a busy few days wrapping up the year in the office, and I haven't had a chance to share my thoughts until now. Several people from my office here in Maryland watched the game and gave us a lot of respect. That always feels good.

 

As others have said, the game being on ESPNU was disgraceful, especially considering the programming alternatives on ESPN and ESPN2 at the time. What a disservice to the sport, the schools, and the NCAA. I have a fairly complete sports cable package and still had to go out to watch.

 

As for the game, we started playing our style in the first ten minutes or so. However, I suspect Maryland then made a few changes and a commitment to not let us be comfortable on the ball. From there, we were under pressure, being fouled, or played physically all over the field. There were a small handful of very minor injuries by our players after contact was apparent, and I think it strongly influenced their confidence. Maryland's size, particularly across the back line, was problematic for us too. Egbo and Kahsay never got going.

 

There weren't many chances for either team. Our best was in the first half coming in from the corner of the box on the left side. The shot was low and off the goalies' foot and then out of bounds just outside of the post. Had that been put high, it would have been in, and the rest of the game would have been different. It's amazing how soccer is so strongly determined by singular events. Against MSU, every one of those seemed to go our way. Not so against Maryland. Oh well.

 

Both teams were fairly evenly matched, but Maryland likely deserved to win. However, they won for the wrong reason. As a former state licensed referee, I am qualified to say that the first PK was terrible, especially considering the context of a championship game. There appeared to be very little contact, and the Maryland player was clearly embellishing. An indirect free kick from the spot of the foul as a result of dangerous play for the high kick would have been appropriate. Unfortunately, this call determined the game and the strategy of both teams from there on. The second PK was also questionable...very little contact, if any, with the Maryland player going down easily. Lundt should have done better to lead with his hands for the ball rather than his legs; great save for him on the PK though. The red card was also garbage. The foul was not malicious and our player had not even been verbally warned for misconduct and the offensive player was headed more towards the corner than the goal. A yellow would have been fair. The timing of these events really prevented us from getting organized and making a strong push to attack. In spite of the perfect storm of poor officiating and Maryland's physicality disrupting our game, I was happy that we still played hard through it all.

 

Going forward, Embick needs to figure out how to adjust when the other team decides to chop the game up by being excessively physical. Porter never quite figured this out either as evidence by the 0-0 loss against UVA in 2009. We may have won 3+ National Championships by now if it weren't for teams nearly or every bit as skilled as us playing defensive, physical, and direct soccer. It worked multiple times for Stanford and now for Maryland. While this strategy for other teams won't generally be effective in the MAC because the talent disparity is too great, it is becoming a consistent recipe for beating the Zips in the NCAAT. The future is bright, but figure this bugaboo out, and 2+ National Championships in the next five years is a real possibility.

 

Kudos to the seniors for leading the turnaround. Surprising run to end a now great season. At the beginning of November, I was already looking towards next season. What a pleasant surprise! Embick has my full confidence.

 

Go Zips!

Edited by UAZipster0305
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@UAZipster0305

 

Very good recap. 

 

At first blush, I thought Biros kicked the Maryland player in the face.  I agreed with the PK decision.  Upon watching it a few times now, I am not so certain.  That PK definitely altered the match.

 

Yes.  Zips must learn to deal with physical and/or direct styles.  And they did that for most of the post season.  Maryland was very well coached on beating the Zips.

 

Yes.  The future is bright as long as Embick is at the helm.  He has proven himself. 

 

If the Zips keep all their underclassman, we are poised to win the championship in 2019.

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@UAZipster0305   -----  Very nice recap. Another referee (not sure he's active anymore) with whom I spoke, agrees with you on the first PK...no contact, should have been an indirect free kick in the box. We didn't discuss the other or the red card.

 

Jared, staff, and players deserve more credit than I can put into words for this season. Looking forward to the next one. Also looking forward to:

  • Who goes pro and where
  • 2019 recruiting class announcement
  • Spring exhibitions.

The future is bright.

 

I suspect we will have at least one Generation Adidas player. Completely a guess on my part.

 

 

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