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I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't concerned. Although the Zips conceded goals in the last minutes often in 2019 leading to the string of losses that started the season, I was more concerned with the midfield maintaining possession and linking up with the forwards as well as the final third attack and inability to score than I was with the play of the backline. In 2019, and the 2018 regular season, our Zips struggled to finish/score, to maintain possession in midfield, and to make good link ups though the midfield to the wingers and forwards. There was also a discernible lack of speed, in my opinion. Having not seen any of these recent matches or practices, I don't have any idea how the Zips look. Hopefully, these 2 preseason losses are mostly due to trying out different players and formations to find the right combinations.

Imagine shooting 53% from the field, 17-19 from the FT stripe and getting beat on your own floor. A simply amazing W for us tonight.

It worked for the MISL. ?

The Zips get an opportunity to avenge their ugly early season loss to the NIU Huskies this Tuesday at the JAR. The good news is that the game is on ESPN3. The bad news is that it's a 2:00 p.m. start. Who wouldn't want to get back to DeKalb as soon as possible? Going into Saturday's game in Brimfield against PCCC the Huskies are 2-10/1-6 in the MAC with their sole MAC win its 67-65 win over the Zips on January 12th. The Huskies had 7 consecutive postponements going into Brimfield and have not played since January 16th! 6'2" sophomore guard Tyler Cochran leads NIU in scoring and rebounding at 13.8 ppg and 7.4 rpg. He did not play against the Zips in the first game.

Let's not ask for too much now. For the second week in a row they actually have a story in Saturday's paper about a Friday night game. ?

Thanks slowroll. Agreed on all of your points. Hopefully, we will see the team come together more quickly this season, and hopefully injuries are minimal although the inclement weather will not help. I like the attacking talent on this team as well as the many important players returning. Coaches can only do so much; I'm looking for some leaders to step up on the field and take charge (like Loren Christian Jackson does for Zips Men's Basketball). I met many of the newcomers last Spring before COVID set in, and I know they are quality people just like those returning and those who came before. I challenge them to take ownership and put in the hard work above and beyond that which they believe is already above and beyond. GO ZIPS!!!

Great assessments TennZip and Zip_ME87. I definitely agree with the apparent lack of speed last year. I'll also add that it took a while (maybe 5 or 6 games?) for the coaches to settle on a lineup. Left and right backs, in particular, were a bit of rotating cast and that impacted midfield possession and quality chances up top. There were key injuries as well, right? And then there was the lack of good finishing - - that was a bit hard to watch at times. Looks like there's some great attacking talent on this year's squad along with many important returners. Hopefully the coaches can figure out the attacking pieces of the puzzle soon.

REPlay on espnu right now!!!

good, legitimate question. Discussion is needed and welcome on this board. I am a passionate fan but I sure don't consider myself a "futbol expert." Your question is really hard to answer due to Covid restrictions. Normally, by this point....the local futbol experts on this board would have seen several practices. Several posters on this board would have seen both exhibition matches. That being said, I remember the 0-7 start from 2019. The zips open the season with #3 Pittsburgh, #9 Marshall and #12 Kentucky. Confidence and momentum are gained more easily by wins. Losing 2 exhibition games against teams not ranked in the top 25..... does not provide momentum. Pittsburgh and Kentucky both played matches in the fall. I would be lying if I said that I was not concerned about the possibility of another slow start to the season. Top drawer soccer has the zips rated as 6 in the country. College soccer news has the zips as a pre season number 26. I hope that the game at Pittsburgh is streamed so we can have "informed" discussion on the board. Coach Embick's comments in the Welker interview were very encouraging. I am a huge Diogo Pacheco fan. If he stays healthy, I think that he can do very good things. This team has 2 kids up front....(Jason Shokalook and Tonny Temple)....that were ranked in the top 50 by top drawer soccer. Neither was in the starting lineup for either exhibition and none of us know the minutes played for those 2 key upfront guys and the starter for both games (Will Jackson). Like Zip_ME87 said, we need to see improvement from 2019.....in controlling possession in the midfield and scoring goals. Dyson Clapier sounds like a great January addition. Wil Meyer held the zips scoreless in 110 minutes in the 2018 NCAA quarterfinal. Experienced goal keeper and 2 experienced talented center backs.....is a great backbone for this team. Not sure where Daniel Strachan will play...but he is a leader....and was arguably the 2019 MVP. There are many reasons for optimism .......but this team has many new pieces.... Pittsburgh will be a humongous test. Go, Zips

This game epitomizes what makes MAC basketball so unlike most other leagues. Many of these mid-major conferences most of the good teams all play a similar style. In the MAC it's a box of chocolates up and down the ranks. A good matchup for one team is a bad matchup for another. Witness Akron-Miami (and it has been this way for a few years now). Miami is good enough to beat a good team on a given night. Akron 'could' lose to a team it should beat on any given night. MAC basketball.

He is in for his defense as he is much superior to Trimble defensively. His athleticism is great and helps his defense but he has yet to develop a shot. Wynn is more interchangeable for Dailey and Ali as a forward in the rotation while Tribble is in the guard rotation.

That shot by Jackson makes the weekly highlights for sure!

As much as Riak could make us nuts with his bad hands and lack of offense, this is a game where his defense would make a difference against the dribble penetration.

What a shot by LCJ!!!

It's a good game.

If you have two teams that are tied for first, the first tie-breaker is head-to-head. Akron and Toledo split the season series. The next tie-breaker would be win percentage against 3rd place team. That's currently tied so it would move onto the 4th then 5th etc. until one has a better win percentage against the other against that same common opponent. Since our losses are to the 2 MAC cellar dwellers and Toledo's were to 2 middle of the MAC teams, we come out ahead.

Even better. Bosnia is nice.

If Toledo can cut this to single digits...........................they can lose by single digits.

Well Toledo is about to screw my betting, but I suppose I can sacrifice my $30 if the Zips benefit. They are ice cold right now.

Saw 2 seconds of the Stony Brook game today and Jayden looks good (especially without a cast). Good for him.

Shocked that I am the one to drop this in here at last...? But...Ives Galarcep interviewed perhaps my all-time fave from the National Champions, Z. aka Mr. Z, or in Amish Country Zarek Valentin on his excellent podcast last week. At 29, Zarek is now the Houston Dynamo player rep and on the MLSPA Ex Comm. Ives and Z discuss among other topics the All Time College Soccer Final Four team, in which the 2010 Akron squad features prominently and they mention Zarek's brother Julian's Wake Forest team and have a great college soccer discussion. Another very interesting subject brought up is that Z's international football career may not be over, as he's very interested in playing for his ancestral Puerto Rican national squad. Hope the podcast stays up for a while, in case anyone misses it. The part with Zarek lasts over 45 minutes. https://sbisoccer.com/2021/02/the-sbi-show-episode-299-with-special-guest-zarek-valentin/amp?__twitter_impression=true

I have to admit, I kind of miss going into a bad Napoleon Dynamite accent and yelling "Deng" when Riak came into the game. He had terrible hands, but he always hustled and called out a lot of our defensive sets. He would be very valuable to this team.

And it went straight in It didn't ricochet off the backboard. #stillbitter ??

Thats the look I saw in Groces eyes after LCJ drained that 3. The Hustle is the last few minutes with the steals and the crazy baskets reminded me of those OU tourney teams. Dakich pulled himself together last night and watched the game and gave some good insights. Zips are getting these national TV games in part because of LCJ. Theres a star on the floor.

The Walk On was third leading scorer, and leading rebounder and shot blocker. He might be pretty good when he grows up.

The Redhawks made 17 of 19 Freethrows but missed when it counted and Mekhi Lairy is a dangerous guard. I still can't believe Jackson made that three point heave. We are lucky to escape Millett with the win.

Man, what a great game. Both teams were making high-level shots. Maishe’s steal was huge. LCJ’s the ? Ive got to note that I don’t have much confidence in what Tribble brings to the floor. He must be playing great D? He doesn’t have great handles & can’t shoot. I think I’d rather see Wynn get those minutes.

Hell of a game !!! Miami has impressed me tonight.

Dailey steal was huge

Is there any way to get these two bozos off the play by play?

This morning's Beacon headline- "Lairy, Zips beat Redhawks." Doh!