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Disappointing to say the least. Wake Forest showed up to play, and the Zips were missing much of the first half. Our midfield looked horrible, making errant passes, allowing too much penetration into our backfield, not switching the field, giving the ball away, and then becoming overly aggressive as frustration set in. When the Zips get the ball wide, there's often no runs into the box...oftentimes there's no one there to send the ball into. I don't understand the lack of switching the field. Oftentimes, the Zips try to press through the ball through multiple defenders up the line when there are open guys on the opposite side of the field. One would think with the great teams we've had in the recent past, studying film from 2009 and 2010 would be a requirement. If it is, there seems to be few, if any, lessons learned from it. I thought this team had been showing greatness early. (I didn't see the ODU game.) We seem to be regressing, and it doesn't get any easier. Wake Forest absolutely deserved the win last night. They were the better team, and congrats to them for being ready to come into Akron and get the W. There's a lot for these Zips to work on starting with how in the H@ll to stop giving up so many goals. I think last season's goals against average was <0.70. These guys have more experience and some added help. What's going on? I think our midfield is as much to blame as anyone for giving up all of these goals, and they need to take a hard look at fixing their play. With all of that said, I still love this team and believe they have the talent to go far. But, they have to find the desire, the drive.

UA has never been a militarily-aligned university and is not a fit for something like a Cadet Corps. Before anyone jumps on me because UA has a ROTC program, don't waste your time for I will destroy you. I am a former Marine Corps Officer who checked out the ROTC program at UA while I was a student there in the 80s. Their program has always been low key and not a major presence on the campus, a good thing in my mind. Cadet Corps are not to be taken seriously, ever, and starting one at Akron informs me, as much as anything that the Scar has done there, that he is a clueless fool. College kids who are actually interested in the military pursue a genuine path to military service, not some silly pointless alternative that leads nowhere. A Corps of Cadets demeans the university, it demeans the ROTC program there and it demeans the participants. Yes, that includes the retired ROTC administrator who is now leading the cadet program.

I would have liked yours, but liked mine instead. Thank me very much. Boom.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizzou_Arena

I agree that was a real issue in last night's game as the first pass forward from the MF was uncharacteristically poor, but the WAY the defensive group plays (DM, Back line, GK) has been poor 6 out of 7 games this season and you see that in the routine nature of the goals given and the stats, which are an outlier by themselves. Let's look at the team as a whole this year by group: - Forwards are really now just 2, Sepe and Gainford, plus one AM pushed up, usually Laryea. The points are concentrated to 3 of them and Sepe has started all 7 games but has one goal and one assist to show for it (after a good pre season). Outstanding play of Laryea the highlight. - In the MF you are really playing 4 and it's usually the engine for the team's play. If it breaks down as with last night scoring suffers from lack of good balls and spreading the other team out and falling in to help defend with Souto and Balena. Souto has looked off last several games. - Defenders and GK are playing well below average for a top 25 team and other than playing Dambrot in for De vera at times, it's a fairly set mold and those players seem pretty comfortable with their spots. You do want stability in the back and will naturally sub less than up top, but this often raised point of ugly GAA probably won't go away by itself and to other's suggestion pretty much eliminates you from getting deep in post season play. The choices are changes that work, changes that don't, or status quo that will likely get you the same sort of results that are catching up with the team. I expect high scorelines to continue as staff is not one for change compared to most programs (heavy concentration starts and minutes, almost always slower to sub than opponents) and high scoring nail biters as a fan, which is more entertaining than defensive/counter affairs so I'll take it!

SportsJunkie.....If we are going to start quoting lines from the movie STRIPES, this post could get really long. But I have to be honest. When I think about something like a bunch of college kids forming a Corp of Cadets, I think about that movie as a possible outcome.

he even liked his own post

I love this year's tough schedule. The one thing that I did not like when the schedule came out....was the team flying out to La-La land.....and playing a game 3 nights after a super tough home game....and then flying all the way back after one game....to host a tough Penn State team. Cal Santa Barbara has not played a game recently in Akron. I can understand the 2011 game out there....but going out there again in a short turnaround after playing Wake Forest.....does not make sense. If the zips come out flat and listless at Cal Santa Barbara, they will drop out of the top 25. Like ZIPME87, I know this team has the talent and work ethic to go out to La-la land and put a loss on the taco throwing Gaucho team. The good news for the zips in the rankings....is that #8 Elon went to S. Carolina last night and lost 3-1 and #10 Oregon State lost last night to an unranked Gonzaga team. If the zips play like they did in the last 20 minutes last night, I am confident that this team can post "w's" against Cal Santa Barbara and Penn State. This is a solid group of high character kids and I am confident they will flip the switch completely.

I was going to comment but I don't have much of an appetite for destruction this morning.

Way to go Coach Bowden! What you talking' about? I'm the coach at AKRON!

Moving the shot clock to 30 seconds isn't going to change the game. Scoring has dropped in college hoops despite going from no shot clock, to 45 secs, to 35 secs., but 30 secs is going to change things? I'm fine with 30 seconds, but it's just one step closer to the clueless CBB media clamoring for it to be 24 seconds, just like the NBA. That's not a good thing. More scoring doesn't mean better basketball.