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I subscribed to the Beacon and there is almost nothing about UA. The sports section has focused mostly on a preview of area high school football programs. I know the Zips have struggled, but you'd hope that the hometown newspaper would assign someone (anyone) to cover camp, etc.

This is legit the worst coverage I can remember. Nothing from the university besides pictures and a few highlight videos. Nothing from the ABJ. Sad.

https://www.topdrawersoccer.com/article/?categoryId=21&articleId=53632&articleTitle=mens-soccer-transfers-to-watch-for-2024 Emil Jaaskelainen, Akron One of the leading strikers in the last few years of college soccer, Jaakelainen scored 43 for Long Island as a two time NEC Player of the Year. The Zips were looking for a Jason Shokalook replacement and they found one in a grad senior that could be the difference in winning a Big East title.

this is encouraging.....2 zips mentioned.... I also think that transfer Maximus Barboto is going to have a big year for the zips https://www.topdrawersoccer.com/article/?categoryId=21&articleId=53632&articleTitle=mens-soccer-transfers-to-watch-for-2024 Victor Gaulmin, Akron One of the best DIII players in NCAA history will take on DI soccer for his final season of eligibility as Gaulmin transfers to Akron from St. Olaf College. An All-American in all three seasons, the French midfielder led the Oles to the DIII national title last fall, scoring 16 and assisting 10 in 26 matches. It will be interesting to track how Gaulmin’s dominance and ball striking excellence translates to the highest level of college soccer.

I am so hoping that all of my negativity the past few seasons has left my body, and I can enjoy women's soccer this season. I have been a huge critic of Coach Simonetti, but it sure looks like she's worked very hard since the end of 2023 to make this program work. She's doing the hard part, and the incoming class, at least on paper, promises to add talent in the right places. We're still in Florida, so I didn't get to see either of the exhibitions, but it sounds like they played well against Dayton and St. Bonaventure. My "goal!" is to get behind the women and not be such a pain in the butt re: Coach. She's showing she's willing to put in the time to make the squad a winning one, and that's a lot for me. Go Women's Soccer! Go Zips!

QB1 posted some better shots of the new unis on Instagram. New stripes are consistent across both sets. Gold-white-blue-white-gold. Also upgraded to the latest Nike jersey template. The Zips are now using the same uniforms as the NFL and big CFB programs. Numbers have been updated to match the new Zips brand font. Similar to the numbers being used by all other sports. It's a small detail, but I really like the consistency. I really hope they keep gold pants in the rotation. They look really nice when paired with a gold helmet and navy jersey. Wonder what helmet options we'll see? Most likely white, but I'd love them to bring back matte navy.

Good luck to the lady Zips this fall. I predict that they will exceed expectations. Go Zips !!! https://getsomemaction.com/news/2024/8/12/womens-soccer-western-michigan-selected-as-favorite-in-mac-preseason-coaches-poll.aspx

take a look at the pre season 2023 Top Drawer soccer first team All American team again, this was 2023....12 months ago....last year, Akron had Joel and Dice on pre season All American team and did not even make the NCAA tournament. So, pre season accolades.....do not guarantee great success We all know that Dice struggled with injuries in 2023 I am encouraged to see how highly that Emil J......was thought of...pre 2023 Zips need a healthy Dyson Clapier in 2024. Top Drawer Soccer(TDS) will announce their 2024 top 25 poll on Monday August 19 TDS will announce their 2024 pre season All American teams on Tuesday August 20 below is what TDS predicted...12 months ago..... TDS August 2023 Preseason Best XI Teams First Team F: Alex Meinhard (Clemson), Emil Jaaskelainen (LIU), Stas Korzeniowski (Penn) M: Christian Soto (Washington), Joran Gerbet (Clemson), Laurence Wootton (Ohio State), Dyson Clapier (Akron) 😧 Tommy Silva (UCLA), Joel Sangwa (Akron), Ronan Wynne (Denver) GK: Alex Lopez (Tulsa) https://www.topdrawersoccer.com/college-soccer-articles/2023-mens-division-i-preseason-awards_aid52390

to answer your 2nd question... again, a yes Emil played 85 minutes. 4 shots 3 of them on goal you might have to click on individual...when you click on box score link below https://gozips.com/sports/mens-soccer/stats/2023/long-island/boxscore/8958

I am very , very impressed......by your knowledge of world soccer I went to zips roster....and could not answer your first question.... I went to LIU 2023 roster....and I was super impressed by the work done by their soccer SID. Here is the answer to your first question: Personal: Emil is the Son of Maria and Jussi Jaaskelainen Father Jussi made 530 appearances with the Bolton Wanderers from 1997 through 2012, had a Premier League stop with West Ham United Wanderers during a two-decade goalkeeping career in England, and played 56 international matches representing Finland Has two brothers, William and Robin Brother William plays in EFL League Two with AFC Wimbledon Under the 2023 history....this is also very impressive about Emil (pre season top 11 All American) Ranked No. 5 in nation in Top Drawer Soccer preseason D-I player rankings and No. 76 in postseason D-I player rankings Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Best XI first team https://www.liuathletics.com/sports/mens-soccer/roster/emil-jaaskelainen/3760

Is Emil the son of (or related to) Jussi, former Bolton Wanderer's Goalkeeper? I see he lists his hometown as Bolton, so I wonder. Also, didn't we play LIU last season with him in their lineup?

https://unitedsoccercoaches.org/2024-ncaa-division-i-players-to-watch-forwards/

The Akron football Twitter and Instagram accounts actually do a pretty good job of posting a lot of pictures and videos but there is zero coverage in regards to what is actually happening. It would be nice to see a few interviews with some coaches or players. It’s unbelievable how little the ABJ does to cover this team. I’m not asking for a daily report but maybe one every few weeks??

Can somebody with inside information, (Hilltopper?) tell me why we are doing an MTE instead of a tournament in Florida, Bahamas or some other location. I see these games being played at best to a half empty jar. I doubt if any of these teams will bring fans to Akron and I see little enthusiasm for Akron fans to attend. I know the U will highly publicize this MTE (LOL). What are the financials on the MTE. Does Akron pay for these teams to play? Does Akron have to pay when they go to a tourney in Florida? Is Akron saving money doing to an MTE instead of a tourney?

This out-of-the-box marketing cost the University $0, but highlights Akron in a great light to the national audience. Personally I love the logo and think it competes in class with the best letter logos in college athletics. It's definitely a sharper Arby's A though - great find.

It's just annoying to continually hear people pour out a misguided take about how educators "aren't real". Especially when talking about a freaking University. It's braindead level stupid. The attack on educators and education has to stop. As if educators aren't somehow "real world" people. Just ridiculous.

No one gets mad that you can’t pay with a check at sporting events or concerts. It’s just what the venue wants to accept. There is no law that states anywhere has to accept cash, they just have to accept some form of US currency, and that would be credit/debit. Who was paying in cash at games in the first place?

It's an urban university. Part of the role of an urban university is to help people of all ages discover whether college is right for them. This automatically reduces retention. It would be interesting to see the trendline over the past 10-12 years, however.

He decided it was time to retire and spend time with his family in Texas. Not everything has to be some kind of conspiracy theory.