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Gutsy effort by the short handed zips great win

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."

The conference standings will show why Sunday's game at BGSU is a big game Tie for first Akron 3-2 Bowling Green 3-2 3. Western Michigan 4-3 4. West Virginia 3-3 5. Northern Illinois 4-4 6. SIU-Edwardsville 2-5 Remaining schedules Akron April 11 at BGSU April 14 ...home against Western Michigan 4 days...later...April 18.....play the same team ...Western Michigan at Kalamazoo Bowling Green all 3 remaining games are at home...but they play 3 very good teams April 11 host the mighty Akron Zips April 14 ....host West Virginia April 18.....host Northern Illinois Western Michigan April 11.....host SIUE April 14 and 18...away and home with Akron West Virginia April 11.....at Northern Illinois April 14....at BGSU April 18....home against SIUE Northern Illinois April 11....home with W. VA April 18......away at BGSU As mentioned before, NCAA bids will be announced on April 19 unless something changes, it looks like Akron and Bowling Green will play 8 league games Western Michigan and Northern Illinois will play 10 league games SIU-E and West Virginia will play 9 league games

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.

I LOVE Will Jackson at Left Back!!! That is his position at next level; he may as well get started now.

Agreed @fknbuflobo ... I loved Will Jackson's play at left back. Nate Metsack stepped up at right back. Lots of work to be done but what a team effort.

Well whaddya know... AKRON, Ohio – Junior starting pitcher Conor Steinbaugh (Georgetown, Ill.) was recognized by D1Baseball.com after an impressive start to the season which has Steinbaugh leading the nation in walks allowed per nine inning as stated in College Baseball's Control Artists: 2.0 on Tuesday. Steinbaugh is currently ranked No. 1 in the NCAA for walks allowed per nine innings and leads the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio, highlighted by 33 strikeouts without issuing a base on balls. He leads the Mid-American Conference in both statistical categories as well as walks and hits per inning pitched with a 0.78 WHIP and ranks No. 16 in the NCAA. Steingbaugh currently owns a 2-2 overall record with five starting appearances, 28.1 innings pitched and a 3.49 earned run average. He limits the opponent to a .206 batting average, allowing 22 hits with four doubles and three homeruns to go along with 11 earned runs and two hit batters. Akron will be back in action at Skeeles Field for a #MACtion weekend series against the Ball State Cardinals. Game one is slated for Friday, April 9 at 3 p.m. followed by a Saturday doubleheader and Sunday 9-inning affair, both days starting at Noon. Fans can follow the action by Zips Digital Network live stream or via live stats on GoZips.com.

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.”

Zippy5 the issue I have is a player being in quarantine for 10 days due to contact tracing. That should not be the case. These players are not at risk, should be tested after a few days of quarantine and then allowed to rejoin the team activities.

Don't feed the troll