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I suspect part of that is trying to keep up Taj's confidence for when they need him.

All I can tell you is my interest level is waining. I want championships….I have been to the College Cup to see Akron lose and that is not fun but last night was one of the worst performances I have ever seen from an Akron team in the 10 years I have had season tickets. Michigan 3 years ago and a 0-0 tie was an awful game, losing to Hartwick was awful but last night was terrible. It was a shame, such a beautiful night outside and such an awful performance. There is still time to turn it around but .500 is not acceptable.

I think we will cover the -50.5 line. We lost 59-7 last time with a lot less talent. OSU has a ton of new pieces so we could have another slow first quarter like they did last time we faced them. Would be really nice if Finley can get us in the endzone twice to give us something moving forward. As long as we handle Colgate the season doesn't start until Week 5 in my eyes with how we schedule

So excited by the recent outcomes for the women's soccer team! We went to both the Oakland and the Wright State matches, (and unfortunately came back and watched the men vs. Ohio State after dinner). There are marked signs of improvement, both of the players themselves and the strategies/tactics employed by the staff. And the new recruits seem to be fitting in and having a level of talent above past teams. Two thigs that has stood out to me: Their resilience - they have bounced back from deficits, where in the past going down a goal was the death knell for the Zips. And their team work. Both goals I witnessed were a cut above past because they were actual plays... both goals were assisted, the flow of the attack was spot on, and they converted. Sure, there's a lot of things needing improvement, but the early results are very positive.

I think he’d look worse if he was sporting that Arby’s A.

Yep, or worse... Sorry to any closeted OSU fans on here, but Ryan Day seems like just the kind of asshole to run up the score on a MAC opponent. If he hadn't fallen into coaching, he'd be ripping off your dad at the Buick dealership.

*Ahem* I believe that's a Ralph Lauren hoodie he's sporting.

Regardless of the number of coaches then v now, there were experience, connections, differing knowledge of the sport, people skills, and other intangibles that Leo and TJ brought to our team. I have seen what I feel has been signs of unwarranted arrogance and unwarranted disrespect for our opponents seemingly because we are Akron and our way is best…don’t question it. I’ve lost confidence, and I need to see results to restore it. I’m cautiously hopeful given the Louisville game in the Spring and the Notre Dame game this Fall.

I'm skipping attending the game. Paying a couple hundred bucks to bake in 87 degree heat and watch osu fans dance to Hang on Sloopy 50 times as the Zips get smoked ain't my idea of a fun Saturday afternoon. I still think the Zips 2024 win total resides between 4-6. I think we'll have a decent season. But when the opponent's starting CB makes as much money as your schools entire football budget, it ain't a fair fight. OSU 58 - Akron 10

Goal keeper from Hinckley, OH attends St. Ignatius

Are you making up facts now about Grassie? You claim that he signed a 10 year extension You claim that he is making $500K a year I have seen multiple articles that say it was a 7 year contract extension. Most importantly , it has him at $400K a year https://www.coalvalleynews.com/sports/marshall-sports-beals-contract-extended-grassie-signs-new-seven-year-deal/article_6e13a1b3-0ff8-583b-8b85-8189c3e9c21b.html

I'm still not sure what I'm supposed to be angry about. Maybe he's not dressed like a high school math teacher, but angry? He may not be Brad Pitt, but neither am I. Maybe slightly disappointed, but angry? I wish my life was so easy that something so meaningless made me angry.

OSU main campus is already very selective in both general admissions and for specific colleges. My son had a 3.7 GPA and good ACT and OSU-main admitted him, but he could not get into the College of Engineering. He also didn't care for the whole OSU environment/culture (he is not interested in athletics or the Greek system, etc.). He chose The Univerity of Akron for many great reasons. I just wish more kids would look to UA as a destination.

Monday Aug 26 VCU continues strong start to season with a 3-1 win over Old Dominion Number 3 West Virginia 4 St. Francis 0 Providence and Boston College played to 1-1 tie

I don't know who you are YipaZip. Obviously, you're entitled to your opinion as well. If you want to bury your head and accept the trajectory our Mens soccer program is on, so be it. But, I think if you look at the history of this program, you will find that others were able to do well despite the adversity which you prop up as excuses. I don't post on BigSoccer and don't often read it, but Jared should feel the heat that folks have posted about there. In the past, he would not have accepted this trajectory. I don't know what has seemingly changed, but it is his to fix even if that means shaking up his staff. Nothing should be off the table.

This should anger every Akron alum and fan. Yes, OSU's football budget dwarfs Akron's. But it doesn't cost anything to project honor and professionalism in everything you do. That approach influences your players, fans, prospective students, everyone. But this coach shows up for his first "press conference" looking like he hasn't showered or shaved in days. He's a mess. And he doesn't even take the few minutes needed to change into some Akron gear before going on camera. Akron's football coach looks like a schmo. The AD should have a few choice words with him.

Let me know when the fundraising stops and the games start.

Well there you have it, our 1:47 worth of media coverage for the summer. 😀

A different and bigger staff you should add. The strangle on not just soccer but other sports on campus from the powers above is taking its toll.

Embick went to 3 final fours from 2015 to 2018......with Leo Chappel as the lead assistant for 95% of those games. TJ Kolba was also on that staff. Ger was the GK coach during that great run of success. This current staff with Embick, head assistant Ger and Michael Nanchoff.....has not won an NCAA tournament game in the last 5 years. The Akron soccer community (fans, players, coaches and former players) expect that Akron should be in the mix every year to be one of the teams in the NCAA sweet 16. The head coach and each of the assistants should be very much on the hot seat if they have not won any NCAA games in the past 5 years. Last night was horrible soccer. The coaches and all of the players have to share responsibility for the absolute stinkfest that occurred on the field. I have been an unabashedly huge Ashton Kamdem fan and felt strongly that Ashton should have started at left back in both 22 and 2023. I praised Malik for his play after the ND game. That being said, both outside backs - Malik and Ashton ...both played very poorly in the first half. Their completed up the field pass % had to be terrible. Credit to the coaching staff for bringing Joshua Hardin in the final part of the first half. After not playing much last year, Joshua has been a pleasant surprise. The coaches can not compete in the middle of the field for 50/50 balls. Ohio State won almost all of the individual battles last night. Western Michigan has always been a strong, physical team. They will play the exact same style against the Zips that the Buckeyes used. The Ohio State game will hopefully serve as a gut check for this team and adjustments will be made so the team can make it to the NCAA tournament. I will give you 2 examples of Zips teams...that looked like absolute dog crap....early in the season....and then went on ...to win at least one NCAA tournament game. In 2015, the zips opened the regular season with 2 road games...Friday night at VCU and Sunday afternoon at Old Dominion. Neither of those teams finished the year in the top 25. That was the first time that I ever travelled to see the zips on the road. On Friday night, the zips scored a golden goal in OT to beat a fairly average VCU team. On Sunday afternoon, Old Dominion led the zips at one point ...4-0 before the zips scored a meaningless mop up goal to make it a 4-1 final Old Dominion used long vertical passes to take advantage of the fairly slow 2015 zips center backs. Old Dominion had a super quick 5'4 or 5'5 forward and he consistently beat the zips center backs to the vertical passes. That little forward had 2 or 3 goals in that game. I walked out of that game....thoroughly depressed...and thought that the zips were in for a long, long year. After the game , the veteran players (Najem, Souto, Ruhaak, Fenlason, Radjen, etal)...called a players only meeting and said "we are better than this...and this is unacceptable", The coaching staff obviously made changes to deal with long, vertical balls and they made changes during the season to utilize the speed of Richmond Laryea. The following weekend, the zips went on the road again and got wins at two top 10 teams...Georgetown and Maryland. That 2015 team went to the college cup and lost on PK's to the eventual champ...Stanford. In 2016, the zips opened the season with 2 games at home. The following weekend, the zips went out to the west coast to play San Diego State on a Friday night and then play a top 5 or top 10 team in UCLA. I travelled out to the left coast to see those 2 games. San Diego State was not ranked. The zips were very highly ranked. The zips did not play well against San Diego State and lost in regulation. Victor Souto got a red card late in that game and never played in another game for Akron. On Monday at UCLA, future MLS draftee Abu Danladi made all of the zips look very slow and UCLA put a 6-1 beatdown on the zips. I think it was 5-0 before Adam Najem scored for the zips. I walked away from that game ...thinking that UCLA was a maserati and that Akron was a pinto. I did not think that "pinto" team could make the NCAA (and I was assuming that Souto would only miss the 1 game). That 2016 Akron team ended up winning a round of 64 game in Akron before losing to a seeded Indiana team in the round of 32. It is early in the season.....The zips did not have any offense in the first 2 exhibitions. The team did not play well or compete well against Ohio State. I am rooting for this 2024 team......to build a "recovery" story similar to what was done in 2015 and 2016.

In a pre-season poll, Big10 MSOC coaches voted OSU to finish #6 in an eleven-team league/conference. That a mediocre side, and primary intrastate rival, can undeniably manhandle us, on our own grounds, is absolutely shameful. Zips lost 90% of all physical confrontations. Akron was consistently second to every contested ball. Fundamental passes were executed only erratically. Very rarely was there a meaningful three pass combination. There is no strategic planning, no tactical maneuvering, no formational scheming that can overcome the physical capitulation that 3,500 witnessed against OSU. If every 1v1 matchup is lost, success is impossible, regardless of the system employed. The attendance estimate of 3,500 is the largest crowd seen in quite some time. Most of those fans are not returning this season, and I cannot blame them. The course of this campaign must be corrected dramatically - and soon. If not, this season will end shortly, pathetic and bitter, prior to mid-November.

Ever since 2018, when we got off to a bad start then caught fire and made it the NCAA finals, where we lost to a Maryland team which did not give up a goal in the entire tournament , the Zips have been on a slow but steady decline

No way to whitewash that disaster. If not for Mitch Budler, it would have been worse. I think that's the most unprepared I've ever seen our Men's Soccer team. No way blOSU is that good. Zips were atrocious.

An embarrassment. Jared should be ashamed to show his face on campus. OSUcks controlled every second of that pathetic match. I feel sick.

Whomever stated in another thread that we struggled with physicality in the exhibitions was dead on. Wow are we soft and seemingly lack the skill to work around the physicality.

great start to the season.... Coach Simonetti was handed a pile of smelly stuff in her first year. She is a hard worker.......and I am happy that the players and coaches are seeing some good results. go, Lady Zips

Went to the Dispatch for game info and saw that OSU's freshman class is now over 9K. That's absurd. With the enrollment issues around the system, the state should think seriously about capping their class sizes to free up students for other schools. They would become even more selective, and the other schools would have a pool of very well qualified kids to attract.

Maybe. It certainly wasn't anyone at the ABJ.

Like so many, I was quite dismayed when Scarborough was brought in, and I was thankful that his stay was brief (who can forget the presidential home and the $556.40 olive jar). But in retrospect, maybe UA would have been better off in the long run had those deeper cuts been made at the time - get the bleeding over with so the healing can begin? Just a thought. It may take some more time, but I believe the U can be "right-sized" eventually.

So this is the benchmark for a great AD nowadays? I’ll be impressed when he rescinds his Arby’s “A” logo, and puts 20k butts in InfoCision for a game.