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And if you don’t have dominate big men, you gotta be able to hit the 3 to make up for it, which we haven’t shown we can do this season (yet). Enrique was the MAC DPOY last year and is also a force on offense as well. I hope he makes us remember that down in the Caymans. Cant control much on offense on the scoring side if they are doubling down on him and the rest of the team isn’t hitting their shots when he kicks it out , but I see nothing stopping him on the defensive side..just gotta stay out of foul trouble.

Being critical of a team you support does not equate to being a bad or embarrassing fan. I'd like to think that our U of A educations taught us all to be critical thinkers as opposed to sheep.

Assistant Coaches getting cards for dissent I can live with a little bit. It can be argued that it is the AC's job to get the occasional card, from a strategic perspective. But it becomes a HUGE problem when players start following the coaches' examples and dissent every call. Coaches and players do not have the same role. WAY too much mouth from our players! And that shite got to stop right NOW! No card on the field is a good card unless it is earned in a tackle. Malik Henry clubbing the ball across the field after the play? Unacceptable. Not to mention Dumb. We have seen way too much of this lack of discipline recently. Coaches had best come correct on this. Bench mouths off to referee? OK. Fine. Players on field should not complain to ref. Let the bench do that. I expect this to change come Spring. And yes, the entire coaching staff will know my expectations.

didn't age well

https://pittsburghsoccernow.com/2022/11/20/pitt-dominates-akron-3-0-to-return-to-the-sweet-16/ ...The Panthers also played a disciplined performance against the Zips, who continuously lost their cool and earned a number of yellow cards. An assistant coach and Zips head coach Jared Embick earned a red card as well after the game. 10 Zips players also received yellow cards throughout the match. Noel said that the Panthers prepared well for the match and played in control, whereas Akron played in the complete opposite manner. “As soon as the ref blows the whistle, it’s just a matter of getting back behind the ball and just stick to the next action,” Noel said. “Just be ready for the next one. I really felt like our group was ready and controlled the game compared to Akron, who were more aggressive and more stressed and making a lot of fouls. We just tried to stay calm and resilient and it worked out.”...

Agreed. However, constant whining, throwing up of hands after every tackle, and engaging the refs after the final whistle is not gamesmanship.

Call it whatever you want. The way the staff behaved last week, and all season, trickled down to the athletes and we saw it explode in our faces with a home 3-0 embarrassment.

Or if you want to be someone else, be Reggie Miller.

I really enjoyed this! Ties it all together, past, present and possible future for DeAndre Yedlin. Go get 'em, D.A. Beat those Welsh bobbies! https://youtu.be/24yFAm5Cfa8

I'm having an uneasy feeling about the next three days. I think the team's depth issues will resolve over time with guys like Tavari and Lyles getting more on floor experience but they are not there yet. I think that along with the depth issues that their lack of size may bite them over the next three days as it did against Mississippi State. I don't believe you need dominant big men but you need more than two against teams like these.

Agreed. Referee Nicholas Balcer should absolutely be reprimanded / suspended.

That referee decision for the first PK looks even worse on the replay. Budler did precisely what you teach your GK to do: collect the ball.

Zips open at +3 against the Hilltoppers. This could be a very interesting week for Akron, and I don’t exactly have the highest hopes. There are far too many question marks with the rotation right now for me to feel good about coming out in the top half of this tournament. I was hoping this group was further along, but after the last two, I just don’t see it yet. Which is okay! After SDSU, I got myself a little too high, as that was one of the better games I’ve ever seen a Groce team play in the nonconference, let alone on opening night. They quickly came back down to earth. Fortunately, we’ve got a slate of great, but beatable opponents where we can see where we are and also get better at the same time. Perhaps Sammy Hunter needs a trip to that part of the world (still pretty far from home) to get the jumper going. It is indeed broke, but his body language hasn’t seemed to suffer…yet. Trimble was awful with that, and Dailey just looked so defeated and seemed to not enjoy playing basketball anymore. Also, Groce said on Zips Live Thursday that he’s been impressed with Nate Johnson so far, but has really been hoping to get more out of Tavari, Lyles, and Kobe Mitchell. I am looking forward to seeing how those guys get involved as January creeps up. Go Zips!!!

Massive choke by OU.

Easy, Noel. One team was gifted a goal to start the match. Not saying Akron shouldn't have been more disciplined and mentally tough, but claiming emotional superiority on the back of that officiating is pretty empty.

Ive explained it since the previous loss, which included embarrassing behavior by all leaders of the program. I don’t really care about bad officiating. When tasked with leading a championship caliber program, I expect far more from the people at the top then to sink to the level they have the last couple of weeks. Flat out embarrassing for Akron soccer. Scream like children at the referee, each assistant at the same time, and you get what you get. Sorry if this is offensive. 3-0 home loss in the round of 32 is pretty offensive too.

I believe that the football early signing day is now one month away (catdaddyp please correct me if I am wrong). I have reviewed the commit list in the Nation and have attended and watched the games this year and here are my comments on the additional needs. I am assuming that the current recruits are good and competent. -1. Ensure Wassel remains committed. A future QB is greatly needed. If he is red-shirted, he could be a 4-year starter. -2. A senior QB transfer to bridge the gap for Wassel -3. Defensive linemen, one additional freshman 300 lb DT and 3 transfer portal additions due to the graduation losses -4. WR, one portal transfer to replace Jacques-Louis. We currently have 3 excellent transfer receivers, and one addition will allow the Zips to sustain the three good receivers, and this addition will allow the young WR's to develop. -5. OL, one portal transfer to replace Whigan and allow the youngsters to develop -6. DB, one portal transfer to allow the youngsters to develop -7. LB, one portal transfer, two if Bubba is not coming back. I think it is crazy that he may be coming back for his 7th season. -8. TE, No needs this year -9. RB, No needs this year, Coach Joe has raved about Kellom, and we have Wiley, Price, and Norrils I am not sure about the allowable number of recruits, but here are my thoughts. Based on the commitment list and my comments, the recruitment numbers are: High School Seniors - 16 Portal Transfers - 9 I am also curious how many players Coach is going to shed off of the current roster. In Coach JoeMo we trust!!!

Hell. Of. A. Win!!!! That was a John Groce program win through and through. Everyone contributed, and even without playing to their full potential, the Zips just completely overwhelmed them in the second half. Joe Dunn was fired up on the radio! Huge shots from the new guys--Sammy, Hank, Nate if you consider him a new guy. X ran the show well, Enrique was a nightmare for WKU, Clarke and Tribble each hit timely buckets. Wow, that was fun. Groce said on the post game that the level of care in this group is high, and you could tell. The first half was okay, but really felt like a lot of the other Groce early season tournament games. Not today. Outstanding performance. Has a team with that much of a size advantage ever been out-rebounded 43-16? That is effort right there. I said after SDSU how much Hankerson stood out to me. He faded for a couple games, but was very good again today. They had him on the post game, and Joe asked about his time at NIU. He was very honest and talked about how much more fun he is having in our program, and you could hear the happiness in his voice. Groce said that the most vocal man on the bench was Mikal Dawson. Love our program. We're still not out of the woods yet, as there is plenty of room for improvement. Still 2 more games this week. I think we'll need more and better minutes out of Tavari and Amani, hopefully also some Kobe Mitchell as well. On to LSU. Go Zips!!!

Per ESPN's box score, we also held the rebound advantage 43-16?!? Can that be?

That was Groce ball! Well done, TEAM! Great intensity throughout. We punked WKU.

Now let’s go knock off a SEC team this time!

A lot to like in this game. We shot 56.3% and 40.9% from three. We held WKU to 37% shooting and 28.6% from three.

Keep it together for 6 more minutes.

HE DID IT! What a stroke!

Nate Johnson MAC FOY

Good to see the team hit some 3 pointers. Hankerson is playing his best game despite the last turnover. Clark still seems to dribble too much when he plays the point. However, good to see him hit a 3. However, he needs to improve his foul shooting. He has missed a lot of free throws early in the season.

32-30 at the half, Akron leads.

Love seeing Hank hit some big shots!

Clarke hitting the 3 is huge!

NATE JOHNSON! 3!

That move on the big boy was as good as it gets

Not having a free trial and in the age of streaming is crazy to me. Even if it was just one day trial, just so people can test out a service. They probably realize that it's so bad everyone would most likely cancel right away. On top of that most sports related subscriptions are $5-15. I can watch the Cavs all month for half the price it costs to watch the Zips play 3 games? Because that makes sense.

Did the better team win though? I didn't watch the game, but Akron led in corners (7-3) and shots (19-10 with two of Pitt's coming on PK's), which are usually good indicators of the run of play. Part of what made Porter such a good coach was his emphasis on discipline and that the players and team dictated the game through possession and a concerted focus on winning. Nothing ever interfered with those goals. Can you imagine a Porter team getting drubbed in the MACC and Sweet 16? Simple scouting by Pitt of the MACC probably showed that they could mentally dominate our team (players and coaches), and this proved to be an excellent strategy. I hope Embick can reflect on this in the offseason and return the program to form next season.

then they lost. What a heartbreaker. Feel so bad for them.

If this were Akron's football team, the ball would've bounced off that backboard, defied physics, and landed inside Michigan's hoop (to contrast the difference in luck).

I might be making it a bigger deal than it is, but this gym where the tournament is being held is tiny. Different from last years Florida trip where they played in a larger hockey arena, the depth perception should be a help for the Zips when it comes to 3 point shooting. Time to let it fly! Bold game 1 prediction: Greg Tribble knocks down his first triple of the year 🤯

Ohio loses by 4 in OT.

I could not LOVE our coaching staff more. I truly mean that. My only thing is that you cannot let refs determine the match. OBVIOUSLY the first call was horrendous and everyone knew it. But, regardless, we clearly let some things affect our attitude towards the game and the coaches certainly feed into that. Also, PITT DESERVES CREDIT! Their keeper was incredible all game, great defense, fine handling. I still go back to Shooky and Dysons terrible decisions leading to red cards. They cost us this game.

I will say when the calls continuously go your way….it is easier to complain less….

Special shoutout to Ryan Kingsford! Thanks for choosing to attend University of Akron. You are a class act, Mr. Kingsford. Too bad you are out of eligibility. We hope your foot heals well. Please come back to visit us. Once a Zip; always a Zip.

Continued Good recovery wishes for Gyuwon Chong. The young man did show an excellent ability to hold on to the ball in the midfield and make good passes into the box. I agree that the zips depended too much on crosses from the wings. However, I also feel that the zips did not have enough players in the box when the crosses were made. Everyone in the stadium would know that Malik was going to make a cross into the box and yet, Shooky or King would be the only zip in the box. That being said, Terence Okoeguale and Ashton Kamdem worked well together today on give and go's. I think that Terence Okoeguale is going to have a big year for the zips in his 2nd year. This team only loses Ryan Kingsford and Renato Kauzlaric. Ryan Kingsford broke his foot late in the summer. Most zips fans do not appreciate how Kingsford battled all year while not 100% healthy. Thank you, Ryan Kingsford for being a warrior all year. The future is very bright. They currently have the 3rd or 4th highest recruiting class for next year. Athletic director Guthrie indicated that the change to the Big East might generate a few more recruits. Caleb Borneo currently is the highest rated midfielder (by Top Drawer soccer) that has committed to a college next year. Mitchell Budler had a very good year first year as the goal keeper. Mitch is only going to get better.

Pretty harsh, but true. The last two weeks have been difficult to watch. The first pk call was a terrible call. However, you can't rely on the same people that you berate from the sidelines.🤷‍♂️

The better team won today. The first PK was a rubbish call. Budler got the ball. But the better team won. It would have been more competitive if Zips had Clapier and Shokalook.

Hunter seems to have a good shot and take good shots. I don't think he'll turn out like Maishe Dailey, Hunter has the ability to go inside as we saw last game. He just needs to get his confidence and he should be a really good player

I think you all are missing the bigger point, if this game remains canceled and we can somehow get NIU canceled we can have fewer than double digit losses for the 2nd time in three years. (Channeling my inner Zip meister). 🤣

Jealous 😡

Why have income if you don't dispose of it? Team left today. I'll be there tomorrow.

Should give serious consideration to renaming this thread " what other schools Akron recruits are going to."