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It might not be enough in the end, but Evan keeps a clean sheet in the 1st leg to give the Impact a chance against the Red Bulls. He may have had the benefit of a "no call" early in the match with BWP bearing down on goal, but he made a couple of nice saves as well. Mancosu's strike off of a pass from Donadel was pure quality.

I have to openly object to hyperbole

These are a couple of good posts. So what should be our ideal goal then? I propose it's winning seasons and program stability. Ohio University has looked like this with Frank Solich as the head coach: 2005 4-7 2006 9-5 2007 6-6 2008 4-8 2009 9-5 2010 8-5 2011 10-4 2012 9-4 2013 7-6 2014 6-6 2015 8-5 2016 6-3 As much as I despise OU, it's because of their stability and relative success that I do. It's jealousy. I think having a program stable like OU should be the goal, with getting local kids to buy into the program. I don't believe we're going to drastically improve attendance, but there will be some who attend games to watch the local games who weren't there before. Improve the culture through stability, improve the culture and game day experience to attract young alumni post-graduation. I do feel that the Zips and Bowden ARE changing the culture. The question is how fast, and how fast do they need to be?

Voodoo?

If you want data on last Saturday's closed scrimmage see: Scrimmage

Add to this: If I was the coach of a team playing the Zips, we would have gotten gouged a lot more because I wouldn't stop running until the Zips could stop it. And they can't stop it. We traded Cody Grice, Rodney Coe, Daryl Monroe, Dylan Evans and Jatavis Brown for what we have out there on the field now. There is no comparison. Whatsoever. Not only were these 5 guys a lot better players than what we have out there now, they provided something that the defense has absolutely none of right now. Leadership. It's a bitter pill to swallow and I have lamented the fact this entire season but the defense is a mess. This defense is as bad as Ianello's defenses were. The only thing that camouflages that a little bit is that the offense isn't totally offensive like it was under Ianello. A lot of people have thrown Coach Amato under the bus this year, but you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

I picked the Zips to win. The only way that happens is if Woody has a really big day and the D stops the run.

The original question.

It's because you hear what you want to hear. What I said was winning 11-12+ games each and every year isn't obtainable, which is what it would take for bandwagon fans to care enough to turn off the OSU game and actually attend. The first 7-8 win season, which is still winning, they will disappear. So no winning doesn't solve everything because Joe Akron only cares when you win big time. Akron's basketball program has been winning for over a decade now and yet they still manage to average around 3500 fans in a 5500 seat arena. They only mount a sell out streak when they are having an historical run, which has been like once or twice. As great of a coach as Dambrot is not even he can get the Zips to perform well enough for Joe Akron to care on a year in and out basis.

1) That would be a significant difference maker, I agree. 2) Winning more games correlates to jumps in attendance? (See Akron Zips Basketball) (See Response #1). 3) OU's football success over the last decades was cited as an attainable level of success by Balsy, and I agreed. It was not someone's lofty aspiration.

Pretty much what I was getting at. They need to make the game day experience fun. Something like OU where they are consistently .500 or better isn't bad, however, I'd like to have a spectacular season sprinkled in here and there.

Jatavis Brown's knee injury will not necessitate surgery. He may miss 1 or 2 games.

https://www.prephoops.com/2016/10/recruiting-report-dylan-swingle-2018/ “Other schools to show interest are Clemson, Northern Kentucky, Pitt, Ohio State, Ohio University, Belmont, and Dayton and Xavier are both really after me lately,” said Swingle, who mentioned one school he’s particularly high on right now. “Akron has been down to a bunch of my open gyms and have been after me pretty hard, and I’m liking them a lot.” This kid is the Real Deal! Same town that Jake the Snake Kretzer hails from, Bainbridge, OH (different HS -- can you believe Bainbridge has more than one HS?)

We're in contention for the MAC Championship THIS season...stop selling it out.

I don't see the zips in person as often as many of you. However, the lineup that faced BGSU had nowhere near the talent as last year's final four team BGSU - Shane Wiedt and Brad Ruhaak...as Danilo has been injured last two matches College cup...Danilo and Brad... Shane has improved greatly but he is not at Danilo's level Left Def. back...Andrew Souders vs. Niko De Vera...Niko played behind Andrew last year. Andrew was all league multiple times. No comparison in talent level of the 4 defensive players Forward - Stuart was at the top of his game last year in the NCAA's. Stuart played very little against BGSU. Stuart has dealt with knee issues all year so the center forward position does not have the same talent level. Midfield - Richie Laryea was the #6 or #7 overall pick. His speed opened up so much space for Adam, Sam, and Stuart. As ZIPME87 said, Nick and Jonathan will improve greatly but they would not be a top 7 draft pick after this year. Holding midfield...Victor will go down in Akron history as one of the best holding midfielders to ever play at Akron. Pau Belana and Goncalo Soares have gigantic shoes to fill on both defense and offense. This team can still do well....but they need Stuart and Danilo back healthy and they need to have the same 11 players available for the remaining matches in the regular season and post season. To say that the talent is very similar.......is a statement that I can not agree with

Some interesting thoughts there, Hilltopper. I'll start by saying that I agree that next year could probably be the make or break year. We return literally the entire offense outside of Natson and the majority of the defense. What we are mostly losing on defense (DBs), the young ones look capable of being fine replacements. We also have some talented LBs (King, Davis) who will be eligible to play alongside Gilbert. I do agree that trying to hit homeruns every season with someone else's rejects is not the way to build a consistent winner. HOWEVER, we have gotten some great, invaluable players via transfer. We wouldn't be close to where we are if it weren't for transfers. I don't even think its debatable. One thing we need to keep in perspective is that Bowden's first real recruiting class are currently redshirt juniors. This is a recruiting class that came directly after Bowden's own 1-11 season. Some have worked out, but many have and will not. There is still a need to take on transfers, though less so as time goes on as DEPTH (as I mentioned above) is built, I've noticed the past 2 seasons that more and more first year recruits look like they can be contributors. Do you agree with that? I think that's a sign that recruiting is improving, albeit slowly. I believe Bowden himself has stated that he will take less as time goes on. I believe we have had similar discussions about Coach Dambrot as the basketball program's growth has stagnated. One of the main arguments I recall is that the program is a lot better than it was prior to Dambrot. Its interesting to me that you have a different take when it comes to the football program.

What exactly would that role be? From what I saw during Pats tenure with the Zips they did everything in their power to make him the focal point of the team.

The key to being good in spite of a bad defense is keeping them off the field. If we can manage a productive, ball-control offense and get a turnover or two, that may be enough to win. We have to be very good with offense and special teams though. If not, this game could look much like WMU.