Leaderboard

I really don't understand what you all are hoping for (those wanting JoeMo gone). Everyone in the country knows this is a s%#t job. Pay is not good, you won't be able to staff, no NIL, horrible attendance, school with debt and bad reputation, bad weather, empty stadium, no training table. But somehow you think we are going to do better than JoeMo.

I didn't notice this before, but Akron is the highest rated team in the state of Ohio. Below is where the traditional contenders for that title are currently ranked. Ohio State - 63 Dayton -88 Xavier - 102 Cincinnati - 154

The bad news is the men's game isn't on ESPN+. The good news is that the women's game at #6 Michigan isn't either.

That's because you're hearing what you want to hear. You keep just saying move on from JoeMo and it will make us magically better. Others are saying we need additional resources regardless of coach. Just because someone points out that the program is underfunded doesn't mean they're saying the program can never succeed in the MAC. They're saying that if we want to have success in the future we need to find ways of increasing resources. Whether that falls on getting more donations, playing more buy games, or whatever else. Replacing a coach is just a bandaid. I'm not even opposed moving on from JoeMo. I just want there to be a plan in place for how we're going to be financially competitive with the other MAC schools. Without it you will be here in 2-3 years demanding we fire another coach.

Excellent observations.... A few random observations.... The first game was on September 23. That means that Saturday's game...will be almost 2.5 months since the first game. As Zips fans, we have seen great improvement from Thomas O' Rourke and Matthew Paiva during the season. I am sure that St. Louisd has also had many players improve during the season. Since that first game, St. Louis has not lost a single game. Since the first game, the Zips have a record of 7-2-2. The Billikens have a record of 8-0-5. St. Louis has only lost 2 games all year...A regular season game at Indiana and the game at Akron. As we all know, St. Louis avenged their regular season loss to IU with a huge round of 32 road win at IU. as @Zip_ME87 pointed out, SLU is finding ways to not lose. They have not lost in their last 13 games. Against IU in the NCAA round of 32, St. Louis was dominated on the statistical front but they found a way to win. In the tournament game against St. Louis, IU led 16-3 in shots, 3-1 in shots on goal and 8-0 in corner kicks. St. Louis did not have a single corner kick and they were outshot by more than 5 to 1. Yet, St. Louis found a way to win. Again, that first game(St. Louis at Akron) was a lifetime ago....2.5 months. How did the Zips and Billikens do against teams in the NCAA tounament? St. Louis has 4-2-2 record against teams that made the tournament. 1-0 win over eventual 5 seed SMU. 1-0 win over Seton Hall. 1-0 regular season loss to eventual 6 seed Indiana. 0-0 tie against eventual 8 seed Portland. Portland is still alive in the tournament. 3-0 loss at Akron. 2-1 tournament win over Kentucky (Kentucky was regular season Sun Belt champ (league includes Marshall and West Virginia) ; 1-0 win over 6 seed Indiana. 2-2 PK win over 11 seed Bryant (#6 in final RPI). In that PK win, the St. Louis players were absolutely clutch. 4 spectacular, professional penalty kicks. the zips were 4-4-3 against tournament teams. 0-0 tie with WVA ; 4-0 win over W. Michigan ; 1-0 loss at Vermont ; 3-1 home loss to U Conn ; 3-0 win over St. L ; 2-1 home loss to St. John's ; 0-0 tie at Cornell ; 1-1 tie against Seton Hall. 2-1 neutral field loss to UConn; 1-0 win over Notre Dame ; 2-0 win over the Dukies. The Zips were brutally efficient in the first St. Louis game. The zips had 4 shots on goal and scored 3 goals (75% conversion rate). The zips have scored 31 goals and they have had 97 shots on goal. (closer to a 32% conversion rate). Another observation about the first St. Louis game. The Zips earned 147 corner kicks during the year (about 6.7 per game). In the game against St. Louis, the Zips had 1 corner kick. That was the season low for the Zips. During the season, teams committed 212 fouls against the zips (about 9.6 per game). St. Louis only committed 6 fouls against the Zips. Again, that was a season low for a zip opponent. Based on the first game, the Zips are not going to get many dead ball/free kick opportunities. The weather on Saturday is going to be much different than the September 23 game. The September 23 game had a very experienced referee (Chico Grajeda). Who knows...whehter Saturday's referee will be as solid as Chico Grajeda. Saturday is going to be a battle. The Zips should be favored due to being at home and the fact that they are in good form. However, I do not expect an easy 3-0 win. The Zips need to come out ready.......and win this game in Regulation. I am sure that Indiana was very, very confident against St. Louis since they had won during the regular season. The Zips are hungry and they can beat the Billikens two times this year....but it is going to be a knock down battle. Go, ZIPS !!! https://gozips.com/sports/mens-soccer/stats/2025/saint-louis/boxscore/10933

Yay, for him. Maybe he has great success. It's been one year. Little Zips history lesson... J.D. Brookhart 2004-09 (29-43) fired Rob Ianello 2010-2011 (2-11) fired Terry Bowden 2012-2018 (35-52) fired Tom Arthur 2019-2021 (3-24) fired Oscar Rodriguez interim 2021 0-3 It's obvious that Akron WANTS to win at football because they are not afraid to change coaches, I don't doubt that, but they either keep striking out with coaches OR they give up on them when it starts getting rough. Bowden went 8-5 and won the first bowl game in school history and was let go three years later when he went 4-8... It isn't always greener on the other side. Joe Moe has shown improvement each year despite having the odds stacked against him. Things like one less practice a week are a big issue. Not having NIL money is a big thing yet somehow, he still brings in decent talent and is able to compete in the MAC with really nothing to offer except playing time. I just don't understand the urgency to get rid of him when the team has shown improvement. I agree that there were games that could have/ probably should have been won, but nearly every program could say the same thing and there aren't too many undefeated teams still out there. Everyone on here that wants rid of Joe Moe assumes the next guy is automatically going to be better or is going to be the next Ryan Day and what if it isn't? What if it is the next Kenni Burns and it sets the program back ten years??? Joe Moe has steadily improved the program with no money, less staff, less recruiting opportunities, and less practices I would rather see him stay and see what he can do with those things added.

There is a silver lining: Akron has the best facilities in the MAC, a great FBS opportunity for players to showcase their talent, and a competent president/ athletic director. Under Nemer and Goodrich, those advantages will pay dividends sooner rather than later and the only direction to go is up!!

Thought Barre had an excellent game for the minutes he was in.

I feel the talks of this being Groce's best Akron team was premature. We've been able to run up the score on the bad teams we've faced, but haven't been able to beat the good teams on our schedule. Our best win is against #161 Iona. Hopefully Groce can use this as a teaching moment as this is the worst Akron half-court defense we've seen in maybe 5 years. I think we have the bodies and athletes to improve, but we need to play smarter defense and be more disciplined.

Embick deserves everything for his loyalty and commitment to Akron for all these years. Incredibly thankful for him.

Just jumping in to say that this season was a pleasant surprise and the post season run was incredible. You could see the on- field chemistry. So gutted for the guys. If the ending was hard to see as a fan, quadruple that feeling for the players. And I don't blame Stefan one bit for continuing what was working for him - how many PKs did he successfully convert prior to this one? No player has a 100% conversion rate even at the pro level. Eventually, an attempt will be saved or will go wide or high. As for the SLU game ...sheesh...as long as I've been watching soccer (a long time) and playing (maybe too long) I can't recall that many unfortunate occurrences in a single match over such a short time period and to such detrimental effect. Lady luck must have been on a cruise. These are the types of games that can propel a group forward. I'm happy to hear that the incoming class is talented. That taken with the now experienced returners should produce another good year. Congrats to the players and coaching staff for getting Akron soccer back on the map. Onward and upward!

Every Zip coach and every Zip player should be very proud. Phenomenal effort....especially with the injury of Stefan Dobrijevic ...early in the game Thinking good thoughts for Stefan Duke did not have a single shot on goal. Zips were the much more skilled soccer team and the much classier, professional soccer team. I don't slight any zip by mentioning names......as all of the starters were outstanding..... and every single sub....starting with Ignacio Alem and Jack Sullivan....ending with Jamai Royer, Nathan Ferguson and Braxton Hayes.....played outstanding fundament soccer. Thorough beat down of an ACC Powerhouse...... For the zips fans living far from Akron, I also want to compliment Chad Welker and womens asst soccer Josh Kay. Josh and Chad were outstanding on commentary.

Chatgpt is going to leave @clarkwgriswold jobless with his game preview write-ups.

Omitted is Groce's "putrid defense" explanation - opponents aren't "feeling" the Zips defense. We are undersized, soft, and disorganized. It's easy to shoot three's when you have zero fear of getting one swatted back in your face...when your opponent is sagging off and not respecting your range, when defenders are unnecessarily double-teaming and leaving great shooters wide open for corner three's. The Zips can phone-it-in on defense and out-shoot a lot of mediocre-to-bad teams. If that's our defensive MO I still think we're 16-2, or better, in the MAC. But we can't beat a high mid-major or decent P4 program with the pedestrian defensive efforts we've seen so far. That's a recipe for an NCAA Tournament 13-seed, and a 21 point round 1 loss. It was a gift to get Yale and Murray State on a neutral court, free from biased referees and raucous opposing crowds. And we didn't take advantage of it.

Washington is a very deserving national Champion. They are the best team that I have watched this year. 6 wins.......none of them at home win at Oregon State in round of 64 win at #5 SMU win at #12 Stanford win at #4 Maryland win over #16 Furman in college cup semis win over #15 NC State in finals has any team defeated 5 seeds and won all of their matches on the road on the way to the title?

This loss is the bitterest pill of all to swallow. Everything had aligned to set up a once in a lifetime run for the Zips to our second star. We have talent. We play a beautiful brand of soccer that attracts that talent. We had an opponent whom we respected, yet we knew we could beat. The coaches had, over the season, developed a scheme that worked considering we lost 23 goals in Emil last season and 8 starters. What an incredible job they did! The crowds were responding to this team. Then comes the game and we beat ourselves. SLU played hard for 90 minutes, but what they did was insignificant compared to what we did to ourselves. I feel so bad for the players. They like each other and play for each other. They are proud to be Zips. They are excellent students. They are what we want in D1 athletes representing our school no matter what the sport. Next year can't come soon enough!

So the Big East had two chances to get to the College Cup and got neither. The College Cup will be a 15 seed, a 16 seed, and two unseeded teams. St Louis last won in 1973, and none of the other three have ever won a national championship.

What a heartbreaking loss that was! It was all right there for the Zips to take. Much appreciation for the really good senior class! Thanks for the memories, boys! The very harsh, straight red card on Matt Dreas killed the match.

I hope UGA gets it. NIL can't only be a one way deal in favor of the athlete.

Home and away. They come here next year.

Anyone thinking Zips’ victory will come easily on Saturday is very foolish. Long-time Zips faithful have been to this stage of the tournament many times. These contests are frequently decided in either OT or PKs. Remember vs. California in 2010? Remember vs. Creighton in 2012? Remember vs. Creighton in 2015? Defeating a quality tournament opponent requires squad cohesion, maximum effort, and near flawless execution. And a little luck also helps.

I just wish something would happen one way or the other. Wish he’d take a job or announce he’s here for another year.

I had to scroll to the top of the thread to make sure I had hadn't inadvertently fallen into the football forum. LOL.

I don't condone fighting or destruction of property, and I don't particularly like seeing an away team heckle the home fans and players. However, if I condone home fans getting in the heads of players for 90+ minutes, then I don't feel that I can be a snowflake when it's over and the away team does a little jawing when they prevail. Curious, where was this discussion at the end of our game at Creighton?

I'm still cold two hours later but it was worth it!

GOOOOOAAAAAALLLL! 1-0 Zips.

TJ McConnell rocking an Akron Soccer sweatshirt

If the NCAA really cared, they would force bigger schools to pay restitution or kickbacks for poaching players. Something like 15-25% of the NIL deal paid back to the former school. Not a lot, but it's better than nothing and would provide resources to replace outgoing athletes.

That's fine, all the good analytical people who could offer insight and breakdown match-ups have long been chased off. It's mainly just now loud mouth clowns who think whoever screams louder has the better argument.

The most criminal part is - they can steal your best players with zero restitution. In any professional sport you need to pay, or make a trade to land a coveted player from another team. In college football you just take them for free. We are a free minor league for the P5 programs...must be nice.

Well, the Akron coaches aren’t providing all the same services to JoeMo that she was providing to Sherrone!

Back with Minnesota

Match is scheduled for Saturday at 1 pm.

I'm missing your point. Every one of those calls involved video review. The only call I question was the straight red against Matt Dreas. Was it reckless for him to go high with his foot?...yes. However, it could have been a yellow card caution and not red. It was borderline in my opinion, and I thought refs tended to not want to tip the balance with "big" calls. Unfortunately, in the exuberance of the game, Matt made a decision to go high with his foot and put himself in a position for the ref to make a judgement call. NCAA Tournament games go the way of the team that weathers the storm. SLU had a bad first half and benefitted from a series of unfortunate events by our Zips. I'm devastated by the loss, more so for our players, especially the seniors who have no next season for the Zips. In solace, it was a great season thanks to a group of outstanding student-athletes and coaches. I can't thank them enough for this season. There's so much of which to be proud. I try to focus on positives and will remember this season for qualifying for an exclusive 4-team BE Tournament by winning a tough final regular season road game and getting to the NCAAT Elite 8, playing all of our NCAAT games at home. The win at Xavier in the regular season was a personal highlight as a special friend attended that game with me and then he left for his drive/move to Salt Lake City that evening. These Zips made that "goodbye" special for both of us. We have a great memory and picture with the team and other Zips fans as we celebrated the program's 800th win. Toujours de premiere classe! (Always First Class) Thanks 2025 Zips Men's Soccer!!!

I haven't chimed in but wanted to share the following post from the boogeyman himself Connor Stalions when talking about the MSU hire - It's insightful. "People need to understand coaching is just one piece of the pie. More times than not, it’s a huge factor because talent & resources are usually close. But at Northwestern, it’s not even in the same ballpark as the rest of the conference. The academic standards make recruiting damn near impossible. The administration doesn’t care about winning. It’s basically an Ivy League school in the Big Ten. Pointing to a couple bad seasons (from a record standpoint) is lazy. Speaking from personal experience (yes, at a much different scale): I coached at Mumford HS in Detroit as the DC for a few months. We had 3 coaches & 18 total players in the program with a team-wide average GPA of a 0.9 when we arrived in the summer, and had to play JV & Varsity games with those 18 players (do the math on that). We somehow won a game. But of course we lost to Cass Tech 70-0. Went to Belleville right after the regular season as the OC and won 70-0 first game in the playoffs. Do you think I didn’t know how to coach then all the sudden learned in one week for a 140-point turnaround? No… We won at Belleville because we had Bryce Underwood, Elijah Dotson, etc. We lost at Mumford because we didn’t (and played against CJ Sadler, Don Tabron, etc.). While talent gaps are much greater in high school, I’m explaining the point that coaching only matters when the talent gap is manageable." Akron like Northwestern's issues are largely structural (and financial here), and Moorhead is not to blame there. Without addressing those underlying issues, a coaching change seems cosmetic. Unless they could line up someone like Jason Taylor. They are working to address the underlying issues though.

Absurd start to the season for Tavari.

Cornerback signing

I was really concerned for @NWAkron when they rolled out the new t-shirt cannon. He was safe because they clearly didn't practice with their new toy. But after a few more games....

Apparently not 100000000000% committed after all

The Sweet Spot.

How we fare with our Big East brethren #8 UConn #21 Butler #22 St. John's #40 Akron #49 Seton Hall #53 Villanova #114 Xavier #118 Creighton #121 Georgetown #124 Providence #168 Marquette #178 DePaul

So Bowling Green had to wait until Nate Johnson moved to K-State to beat him? 😉

And the Billikens will come to Akron!

Tremendous article from the Cleveland Plain Dealer (this is currently not a subscriber only article...hopefully, all can access?) I have not yet seen the press conferences....but this has quotes from several zips players, Coach Embick and the Duke coach https://www.cleveland.com/sports/college/2025/12/akron-zips-mens-soccer-gives-duke-the-cold-shoulder-moves-into-ncaa-elite-eight-with-2-0-victory.html “The crowd drove us through that game,” Daragh Reilly said. “You could see in the last 10-15 minutes, we were getting tired. We were trying to push each other, but every time we got a play, we made a tackle, the momentum kept swinging back to us. “Big shoutout to the fans tonight. I don’t think we could have been anywhere near without that tonight.” “Awesome performance not only from our team, but from the fans and community that packed this place in this weather and were behind us the whole game,” Coach Embick said. “We fed off that energy, and I think that really helped us through some moments where maybe we weren’t playing as well as we wanted.”

Great crowd for a pretty cold night tonight. Late in the game a large plastic bag blew down the field and ended up in the Zips goal. We remarked it was the best shot on goal Duke had in the match.

This is a hilarious Wentz Financial Group promo. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRNi583ku8Y/?igsh=MWRzaWt5YW41OHZ5dA==

Should have had four winners ... Steve Zakuani in 2008 as well as Emil last year. Still angry about both! In 2008, Zakuani scored 20 goals and 7 assists over 23 games to become a finalist for the Hermann Trophy Marcus Tracy: He won the 2008 Hermann Trophy for the nation's most outstanding college player while at Wake Forest University where he scored 13 goals and 10 assists in 24 games. 2024 Emil Jaaskelainen: Started all 21 games for Akron in 2024 en route to recording an NCAA-best 23 goals and 54 points, while also leading the nation in game-winning goals (6), goals per game (1.10) and points per tilt (2.57)... Michael Adedokun: Led Ohio State with 11 goals, 11 assists and 33 points

Yale shot 14 of 19 (73.7%) from the line against Green Bay and 11 of 18 (61.1%) against Charleston. They’re good, but we caught them on the wrong night. And there is a little bush league in that ivy. The fact that the refs let them get away with that hook and hold crap was driving me crazy. We do need better defense. There is still a lot of season left for everyone to improve, including hopefully Barre.