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Uazipster some great observations however, you are giving Ezana credit for the good work done by David Egbo egbo had the great first shot followed up by Niko

Actually Skip, I didn't do either of that. All I did was post facts. 1) Comparing scores really means nothing. There are countless examples that prove this. If it did, we probably would have finished in last place in the MAC last year after the opening game loss to YSU. 2) I recall you predicting somewhere between 10-15 wins this season and being one of the most critical of the Groce hire. So why are you moving the goal posts and finding it "concerning" that we might not look as good as the MAC favorite?

Horrible all. No way that is a foul.

Lots of great observations and thoughts here, many of which I share. These are mine: 1) Being there in person allowed me to see how amazing Stanford was at getting into our passing lanes. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. Same with their relentless pressure for 90 minutes. This is how you beat the Zips. Don't allow them to play their game and get into a rhythm. If that can't be done by intercepting passes and winning one-on-one battles, foul. 2) I normally don't think a referee makes a difference in the outcome. Quite the contrary on Friday night. Stanford's ability to press and take away any technical advantage we had was fully enabled by the referee not awarding a free kick or giving a yellow card for persistent misconduct.The no-call near the beginning of the second half on the soft pass-back to the keeper where our player was in on goal and clearly held from behind was absolutely horrible. It should have resulted in a red card and penalty kick, which likely would have tied the game and changed its entire dynamic. Had our player ended up on the ground, I think the call would have been made. 3) The field was close to frozen and a bit choppy. It too took away from our technical advantage leading to many missed touches and errant passes. Stanford had the same problem, but possession is not their style, so it affected their game much less. 4) Although Embick did well to make changes in the second half with Holthusen and Gainford wide and Egbo up top, it was clear we were uncomfortable playing the ball long or through rather than working lots of combination passes. We were way out of our comfort zone and have no experience being forced to play more directly. 5) Egbo gave us a chance up top and did a wonderful job beating a player and taking a shot. The Stanford GK did well to make the initial save and smothered the rebound. This was another potentially game-changing moment that didn't go our way. 6) #'s 1-5 above were a perfect storm for the Zips to lose and be dominated in a way that I had never seen before. A game against UCLA a few years ago may be the last time this happened, but I missed that game. 7) Stanford clearly deserved to win, but I had hopes that we'd get a goal back after which anything could have happened. In soccer, the better team often loses, but Stanford just knows how to win. They are a very complete and experienced team. Stanford is the best in the country, and I think today will again prove that. 8) Zip_ME87, I had no problem with Stanford's first goal celebration in front of the Rowdies.The goal was on the Rowdies' side of the field. Had it been us scoring and being in the face of their fan group, I would have loved it! Besides, one of my best Zips soccer memories was against Stanford at home in the NCAAT - Elite 8, circa 2010, right when Tiger Woods' personal problems were blowing up in the media. Bunbury scored on a header to the near post then ran to the corner where I was standing. A teammate held the flag like a caddy and Bunbury simulated a putt, walking towards it and fist pumping just like Tiger. Absolutely classic! 9) MDZip, I had the same observation regarding our banner. I walked the concourse and found every one but ours. After asking several staff members on my way out, I was told it was near the media entrance, which was restricted to fans. The staff member was kind enough to escort me and allowed me to get a few pictures. If you'd like a copy, PM me your email address, and I'll pass it along. 10) In asking around for our banner, I spoke to the Tulsa coach who was wearing an NCAA badge. He was wonderful...had nothing but respect and praise for our program and said he'd personally look for and inquire about our banner. He gave me his personal phone number and said he'd let me know if/when he found it and where it was. Interestingly enough, Tulsa won 2-0 at Stanford this season; he seemed surprised that I knew that. Great guy. I am now a supporter of Tulsa, except when they play the Zips. 11) I agree with MDZips and Zip_ME87, the stadium was wonderful, but this event should not be held in December in a cold climate region. It's unfortunate because such playing conditions take away the technical aspects of the game, thus forcing it to be more direct and physical. These are already huge criticisms of the college game from a player development standpoint. Why not just alternate between locations in Florida and those in the southwest (SoCal, AZ, NV, etc.). Perhaps this is a good reason to make soccer an NCAA spring sport instead? Then, the four best teams in the country could play warm-weather, highly skilled matches anywhere in the country. 12) The event staff was excellent. Even though against policy, I was allowed re-entry to get my gloves from the car. It would been a long and miserable night had I not been permitted to get back in with my gloves. This in addition to the banner locating (#8, above) and speaking to the Tulsa coach (#10, above) made my night in spite of the Zips loss. Kudos to everyone involved in those experiences. 13) Zips fans showed up in greater numbers than the other schools, though IU's were likely close.Very encouraging for the program and university. 14) I watched most of the IU-UNC game. It was clear to me that neither are at Stanford's level. I would have liked our chances against either. I think we are the second best team in the country, and the best team caught us on a bad day. Nothing wrong with that. Great season, Zips!

I know Keyondre White mentioned signing early (and enrolling in Jan) in one of his interviews shared on here.

After 7 games Utomi is hitting 50% of his field goals (excellent) but even better from 3 pt range at 50.9% (incredible). Top 15 in the country.

Niko is a class act. Best wishes to him in his future

I'm giving all my likes to this comment. Teams are not the same from one point of the season to the next. Very entertaining watching my team score 94 points. Fun rooting for players that see a lot of floor time. I'm hopeful with all the floor time experience the kids are getting, they continue to improve with a March payoff (this season or the next...)

A couple comments from being there. Great facility to hold it in but not so sure Philly in December is the right place. Were lucky that the snows held off until today otherwise it would have been pretty dicey getting there. Also not a fan of the configuration of the stadium forcing you to go into Gates at one end of the stadium and walk all the way around the stadium to get back to the parking lot after the game. Also mild annoyance that as I walked around the inside the stadium I saw a national championship banners from every year from 2009 through 2016 but not one for the Zips. Also for those that were there why was some idiot Stanford fan sitting right in the middle of the Akron section? He wasn't awful but he didn't need to be there plenty of room in the Stanford section. One Akron student decided she'd had enough and went and stood in front of him to help convince him to move. He didn't (and she didn't so some Indiana fan decided she needed to get involved and called the Usher). Thank goodness the Usher convinced him he needed to go back to the Stanford section. Nothing on the game everyone's already covered that pretty well and I'm sure my view was clouded by that showing. You might be able to tell I didn't enjoy this one so much. And that's not even getting into that the cheapest tickets to even get into the stadium were $33. If it's ever held there again and the Zips go I will certainly return but I'm not going to be happy about it, :-) Oh yeah and $11 "crab" fries.

Well, the Zips just played their best home game of the season against the best team they've seen at the JAR so far. Some defensive lapses early in the second half but otherwise a solid effort. Fantastic ball movement tonight. P.S. I was happy to see NWAkron come out of it unscathed by the t-shirt cannon. He flinched a little when it rolled out, but never took his eye off of it and stood in there like a champ!

Knowing that Western beat them by 20 is a little troubling. So yes, something more convincing would have made me feel better.

I like the interviews they do at the half with different faculty. Always feel like I learn somethingl.

I really liked how Groce called time out when we were 8 down. And I really like how the asst coaches are coaching That Cotton steal and Ivey lay up was beautiful. Couple of EMan blocks and Parrish also making a difference. Shooting over 60%

15 assists on 16 field goals! Team ball.

TennZip beat me to that correction. We have not seen David Egbo’s best stuff yet. You can bet on that one.

Regarding the banner at the College Cup, does anyone have an interest in writing to the NCAA and requesting that it be given to UA? Now that the College Cup is over, it may otherwise be disposed of, which would be tragic. It could also be an awesome addition to someone's man-cave!

No, but if the Zips score 100 everyone in the crowd will get a sample of Minute Rice.

What in God's name was that odd contest last night? Were they supposed to make Star Wars type noises? Also, the hippity hop ball race was a farce last night. Clear cheating. PED's, corked bats, blood doping and now cheating in the damn hippity hop ball race. What's the sports world coming to?????

Good call ZIP. You know your NCAA Mens Soccer. (87 points, I believe)

Stanford just 3peated. Embick needs to have the team watch tape on them. They ALWAYS look to score. I think there can be a nice balance between our style and their style.

I see 247 Sports lists him as a 3 star composite. I am guessing we are hoping to ink some of these better recruits on early signing day this month.

credit to the plain dealer for doing a follow up article and being positive http://www.cleveland.com/sports/college/index.ssf/2017/12/akron_soccer_season_a_success.html

My hand's not raised. I'm thrilled with how our freshmen are playing. I forget how many times I noticed last night we were playing with 3 freshmen and a sophomore complementing either Ivey or DuVivier. I haven't seen a player as legit as Utomi in a Zips' uniform in I don't know how long. I don't want to be a prisoner of the moment & say "ever." But... Sayles is a full grown man. The foul should have been called on his dunk attempt (with under a minute left, I believe?) He went up strong and deserved that call. As LittleRooDude pointed out, I love that our big men go up strong. It's refreshing & why people buy tickets to watch b-ball at this level. Go up strong & dunk the ball or force the official to call the foul. E-Man's confidence has quadrupled this season. He wants the ball down low. Even hit a short-mid-range jump shot last night! At the end of the day, however, I think our season is going to go as DuVivier goes. Which makes sense; he's the starting PG & our only senior. It seems as if when DuVivier has his jump shot we win; when he doesn't have his J we lose. Of course, DuVivier having/not having his jump shot also presently correlates with our home/away games thus far. So we'll see. DuVivier/Utomi/Ivey is an outstanding 3-man combo & should give the MAC fits. If all three are on... forget about it.

67, 76, 75, 83, 94. Those are the point totals we've put up at home this year, with that first game including a measly 22 pt. first half. Additionally, we have three players averaging double digit PPG so far, with two more right on the cusp of double digits. Not sure how you've come to the conclusion we're not going to be able to score much this season, especially at home. Must have been old rubberbands that broke immediately, because I sure saw a lot of unfurling t-shirts. At least the ones that were rubberbanded didn't end up in the rafters. Three great and true statements here. The basketball has been very entertaining. In the past, I've watched these bigger schools (or even other mid majors ) do the simple things such as back cuts and zone defenses, and wonder why the heck we never did any of that. We are really covering all the bases early on this year. Lots of zone defenses, back cuts, offensive rebounds, jumping the passing lanes. It's a BLAST! This team is truly a TEAM, and they're only going to get better. I really commend Ivey for finding his role on this team as a leader and a do-everything-but-not-out-of-control-hero-ball player. His entry pass to Big Mark was a thing of beauty, and I don't know how many times he's kept a possession alive by tipping out an offensive rebound; it's intelligent ball. When was the last time we didn't bail out after shots and actually go for offensive rebounds? When was the last time we committed to playing a zone, and played the zone effectively? When was the last time we had a guard big enough, physical enough, and intelligent enough to drive to the basket for "easy" baskets? When was the last time we had players intelligently pull up for the mid-range jumper AND knock it down relatively consistently? When was the last time our big men actually looked to slam the ball home or at least go up strong?

When was the last time we had a guard with a double-double and one of the stats was assists? Feel like it’s been a few years.

They used rubberbands around the t-shirts tonight. It's a good thing NW Akron was heads up this time.

We had 26 assists tonight on 34 FGs. I believe that's 2 off the record under the previous regime. Not bad for a bunch of kids! ?

90-86. Game Over?

What a 1-2 punch Utomi and Ivey have become. Really fun to watch.

Utomi's puttin' the team on his back! What a player he's turned into!!

is it the man-bun? dude is from ohio - ugh

Really feels like every Zips opponent is shooting like 90%. Really lacking hustle on the Akron team. Needed to step it up.

I wonder what the combined shooting percentage is of our opponents. I feel like we've mainly played teams that simply struggle to miss, especially from beyond the arc. If we win, it's a well-earned victory. If we lose, it's a well-earned victory by App State.

Notice that Appalachian State has only turned the ball over two times, the entire game. That is about our lack of pressure.

I can't help comparing this result to the way MLS teams adapted to Caleb Porter's Portland Timbers teams! Of course Caleb and his staff were able to RE-adjust enough to win an MLS Cup and Conference title this year. We'll have to see how future opponents learn from this match. One factor is -- we will continue to have at or near the most skilled and athletic talent in the college game. That allows you to play a variety of styles.

It always is, no matter what game you're watching.

Ivey: 10 points, 7 assists at the half! Not bad...

Nice first half. I think this App State team is the most talented team the Zips have faced at the JAR this year.

espn3 video is a couple minutes behind real time

Poke takes the contact and still gets it to go down! Still need to work on that FT though Love the effort by him.

Reghi with the night off I guess. His replacement just called Appy State the Warriors.

Ben and Nate Brown mentioned in this article... and Jared talks about AN10.... https://www.brotherlygame.com/2017/12/8/16752810/reading-united-college-cup-jelani-pieters-will-campbell-ben-lundt-nate-brown

Oh boy. For those who aren't "in the loop", there's going to be a lot of angry people who show up at 2pm and find out that there's no game. I just wish we could have avoided an afternoon game from the outset. It makes no sense considering what people are going to be doing during the day on Saturday, with just 2 weeks until Christmas.