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Huge, gigantic win over West Virginia


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https://gozips.com/news/2021/4/7/mens-soccer-sobhys-golden-goal-lifts-akron-past-west-virginia-in-2ot-3-2.aspx

 

"That was unbelievable, the guts, the heart, I hope people appreciate how special that was," Akron head coach Jared Embick commented. "We have had guys train two days since March 17 having to play minutes, guys just grinding it out, nowhere near full fitness from what we have been having to go through. To gut it out, to grind it out, to stick together and play, I hope people really realize that probably was one of the most special efforts I have ever seen from a team. I'm incredibly proud."

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the article on go zips....references that West Virginia was #1 in soccer RPI

 

here is an article from a West Virginia TV station ....about RPI

 

https://www.wboy.com/goldandbluenation/morewvusports/wvu-mens-soccer-ranks-no-1-in-rpi/

 

The Mountaineers rank No. 1 in RPI through matches played April 4. The MAC team with the next best RPI is Bowling Green at No. 20, and then upcoming opponent Akron at No. 31. 

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https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/sports/college/zips/2021/04/07/university-akron-mens-soccer-zips-edge-west-virginia-3-2-double-overtime/6969972002/

 

some absolutely wonderful pictures in the article and gallery

 

https://www.beaconjournal.com/picture-gallery/sports/college/soccer/2021/04/08/akron-zips-vs-west-virginia-mens-soccer/7135630002/

 

Sobhy got a head on it and pushed it into the right corner to end it.

“We knew it was our heart. It was our mind that was going to win us this game, and it did,” Sobhy said. “We’re all tired. Everyone was cramping, but we saw our way through it.

 

“I can’t tell you how big time of an effort that was,” Embick said. “It was probably one of the greatest I’ve seen in my time of coaching.”

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This is going to be a long , passionate post about how proud that I am ...of zips soccer.....

the players ...and the coaching staff.

I am going to start by posting the news article from the WVU site...and quotes from their coach

 

https://wvusports.com/news/2021/4/7/mens-soccer-wvu-falls-in-double-ot-at-akron.aspx

 

WVU led 14-9 in shots ...and 8-2 in corner kicks

 

"It's cruel when it happens that late in the game, with just two minutes left," Mountaineer coach Dan Stratford said. "Although, it wasn't like we were trying to hang on at the end by any stretch. In fact, I thought it was quite the opposite. I thought we had the better of the game throughout, quite honestly. The stats will likely support it and so will the possession, I would anticipate. I have to give credit to Akron, they're a quality team. That was a great game of football, really, and I wish we didn't have to be on the receiving end of an unfortunate result."

 

 

    Now, my comments  .....and my long passionate post

After the Northern Illinois game,  I posted that the zips had to play NIU.....without an incredible amount of key starters and key reserves

Pol Hernandez, Will Jackson, Jason Shokalook, Johnny Fitzgerald, Marco Milanese, Federico Serra and Nick Scott....

A good friend...also pointed out that Josh Hangi...also did not play in the NIU game

 

For tonight's key game against a West Virginia team...with a road win over a very good Charlotte team...and a home win against a top 10 team - Marshall, the zips played without arguably....their 2 best players this year.....Diogo Pacheco and Pol Hernandez

Pacheco has been an absolute beast all year on the left side......In my opinion, he has the most valuable zip this year

Pacheco played against NIU.....but was not available for last night's game against WVU

   Pol Hernandez has improved so much during his time at UA.....Pol has been an outstanding offensive threat all year from the Left back spot....Pol also battles on defense

   Credit to both Diogo and Pol...for their hard work and tremendous improvement at Akron....get well soon, guys.......hope to see you both doing great work from the left side soon

 

Marco Milanese was also not available tonight.....Daniel Strachan and Carlo Ritaccio were both absolute warriors against WVU and were absolutely gassed by the end of the game

   would have been so nice to have a great, quality player....like Marco Milanese ...to spell them for a little bit....

but that was not an option tonight.....but yet....the will and determination of the 2 outstanding center backs was huge in helping the zips persevere

 

This may have been Carlo Ritaccio's finest effort as a zip.  My heart absolutely broke for Carlo when a fluky bounce earned a PK for WVU.   The zips could have crumbled with a fluky bounce late in the game....but they did not.  They kept defending with all of their heart....and they should be very proud.

Carlo was an absolute leader on the field.  Several times, I saw him calming down Dyson Clapier and Sam Tojaga.   Carlo was a tremendous captain tonight.  Carlo, Zips nation is very proud of you tonight.   The West Virginia coach was correct....WVU had the bulk of the possession.   I lost track of the number of times that Daniel Strachan had great clearances under pressure.

 

The zips played also tonight without ....Federico Serra.....Serra has been a key player this year and has had some outstanding moments.

 

Many people, myself included....were calling for Tonny Temple to get the start against WVU.  Tonny has done some great work this season.  Tonny Temple was not available for tonight's game.  Dyson Clapier and Jason Shokalook and Ryan Combe all have to be exhausted...but they gave herculean efforts up front with Temple not available

 

I can not say enough good things about Will Jackson and Jason Shokalook.  Both were unavailable for NIU.  They are probably 2 of the guys that Coach Embick was talking about....with 2 days of training since the middle of March.

Will Jackson....put forth one of the most unselfish, tremendous efforts tonight that I have ever seen.

Since the moment that Will Jackson has stepped on campus, he has played the glory position.....center forward....

Tonight, Will Jackson did what the team needed...Pol Hernandez was not available to be the zips great left back

Will Jackson moved from the glory position...center forward....to the left defensive back position...

Will Jackson is not match fit...the way that he would like to be....but he defended all over the field

Truly unselfish, magnificent effort.  The zips would not have won with out Will Jackson.

 

Jason Shokalook should be a senior in high school.  I am very happy that he started at Akron a year early.  He is a high school senior in age....but he has a man's size heart

He hustled down a ball....and made a tremendous feed to Colin Biros....that resulted in the 2nd goal

Jason fired a shot off the post in the 2nd OT...and then aggressively challenged the GK...

as Hazem said, Jason should have been the hero....but Jason kept fighting for his teammates...and Hazem got the win for the zips

   Jason gave a tireless, team first effort tonight.   After being inactive for so long, his fitness is not where he wants....but his effort and heart were vital  in the zips win.

 

Be honest, zips fans....who had heard of Nate Metsack before the NIU game?   Nate  played an incredible amount of minutes tonight at right back....and his defensive efforts kept the high powered WVU team from putting more goals in the net.

 

Colin Biros - 2 magical moments tonight....his 22 yard goal strike was an absolute thing of beauty.   His corner kick on the first goal...was tremendous.  Corner kicks have not been a super strength for the zips over the past few year.  Colin Biros is an outstanding corner kick taker.   Colin is the zips engine.   When he is good, the zips are good.

 

Dyson Clapier was aggressive and had some very good runs with the ball.  Johnny Fitzgerald consistently challenged for the ball in the midfield and had some quality runs.  Sam Tojaga has not been fully healthy this year.....but he fed a quality ball into the box in the 2nd overtime.   All Hazem Sobhy....did was....win the game

 

    It is 4:00 in the morning as I type this.  I could not sleep as I was so proud and excited about the zips effort.   I do not want to slight any players.   This was a total team effort.  This team has been thru a 3 week period....that very few athletic teams have ever encountered.   The courage, resilience and the heart of this team should be greatly admired.    They beat an NCAA tournament caliber team...with zips players that have been very sick and that have not been able to train.  Ryan Combe had to play an upfront winger position tonight after playing right back all year.  Will Jackson did what was best for the team and moved from center forward to left back.

 

   Finally, the coaching staff.   They have not been able to work with a full team for the past 3 weeks.  The coaching staff made bold adjustments tonight.  Moving Will Jackson to outside back and moving Ryan Combe away from right back.    This was not classic Akron possession soccer against West Virginia.....but the coaches put together a game plan that gave the zips the best chance of winning.  Kudos to Coach Embick, Coach Ger C. and Coach Nanchoff.  Great adjustments.....and great belief in your players.   The effort and heart put forth by the players tonight show how much they care and like playing for this coaching staff.

 

    I am so very proud of these players and this coaching staff.  This team is not perfect but they battled their hearts out for 108 minutes tonight.   Great effort, zips.

 

 

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As with most programs, our players wear those halter monitors (for lack of a better term).  What is monitored?  Heart Rate?  Mileage?  I honestly do not know.  But I wonder how many miles Dyson Clapier covered last night.  Dude was all over the pitch!  And I do not remember him exiting the match.

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Colin Biros was instrumental.

   CK serve led to Carlo Ritaccio Goal

   25 yd rocket to score (set up by a fantastic run down the left side by Jason Shokalook)

   Free kick serve to Shookalook in the penalty area started the sequence that led to the golden goal

 

 

 

Edited by Zip_ME87
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3 hours ago, fknbuflobo said:

Coach Embick, you deserve to be proud of your team's effort in this victory!  Congratulation!

 

 

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5 hours ago, fknbuflobo said:

As with most programs, our players wear those halter monitors (for lack of a better term).  

Lol.  I hate it when the Beacon runs pictures of our players in those monitors.  If you don't know what they are - and I assume most Joe Akronites do not - they look like sports bras. Lol

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https://sondasports.com/blog/soccer-tracker-improve-your-teams-performance/

 

...There are several types of soccer trackers. One of the first to be introduced were cameras with an optical sensor. They were responsible for following a player throughout the game to record his basic statistics. Not only did they mark his route and the “heat zone”, but they were also able to recognize tackles, shots at goal, passes, etc. ...

 

...Today, most GPS soccer tracking systems include a GPS tracker, Heart Rate Monitor, and an application gathering and combining the measured data.

The information we gather using such systems can be divided into three important sections. The first includes biological data, consisting of internal factors such as the heart rate, oxygen and fatigue, as well as measurements of values such as lactic acid and others. These measurements can be performed for example, by tracking the High Metabolic Distance using GPS soccer trackers. ...

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On 4/8/2021 at 1:53 PM, fknbuflobo said:

As with most programs, our players wear those halter monitors (for lack of a better term).  What is monitored?  Heart Rate?  Mileage?  I honestly do not know.  But I wonder how many miles Dyson Clapier covered last night.  Dude was all over the pitch!  And I do not remember him exiting the match.

 

I don't know either but seriously, they should change the design of them.

 

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