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Mitch Budler had a little hiccup at the start of the game but he was All American level for the last 87 minutes. Very happy that he is the Zips GK.... Wishing a speedy health recovery for Daragh Reilly.... That being said, Matthew Paiva had an outstanding first game ever for the zips. Ashton Kamdem and Matt Dreas are leaders for this team in the run of play. Good veteran presence on the Field Great Hustle play by Farrell....that resulted in the Morck goal. Farrell Ngongang was my man of the match. Always good to start the season 1-0.

The Beacon Journal has done an outstanding job of honoring the incomparable Stu Parry. https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/sports/college/zips/2025/08/22/akron-zips-soccer-caleb-porter-stu-parry-mls-new-england-revolution-portland-timbers-columbus-crew/85745054007/ "Stu Parry is the godfather of the Akron men's soccer program," Caleb Porter told the Akron Beacon Journal on Aug. 19 regarding Parry, who died Aug. 15 at the age of 92. "He is the founder. I had a great relationship with him. I had a close relationship with him. He was one of the first people that called me when I got the job [at the age of 31] and we were having lunch maybe two days later. "He was a mentor to me," Porter said. "I really made a point every season to have him talk to the team because I wanted the current players to understand the founder and who he was. It is very important when you have a tradition of excellence that the current players understand they are a part of something a lot bigger than themselves. I felt it was important that they understood the man that started the program because Akron soccer didn't just fall out of the sky and become a national contender. He is the one that started it and paved the way.

https://dxbhsrqyrr690.cloudfront.net/sidearm.nextgen.sites/akron.sidearmsports.com/stats/msoc/2025/pdf/20250824084656-akr-nku-msoc-8-24-25.pdf PDF box score....shows tonight's attendance at 1,487 Shots in the 2nd half were 8-0 for Akron. Caleb Borneo and Jack Sullivan and Remi Agunbiade , to me, were the bright spots in tonight's game. Borneo always seemed to be around the ball in the 2nd half.

Sloppy start to the first game / road game of the season but nice turn around since Stefan scored the PK. looking forward to NKU at home Sunday. GO ZIPS!!!

"What did he do to encourage attendance?" is another valid question.

5-3 final was perhaps an "ugly win" versus a lesser opponent? Zips were outshot 17-10. 6-2 in Corners. But we scored the last two and held on for the victory.

Dr. Goodrich is certainly enthusiastic and it’s apparent that he has the personality to build excitement and engagement. I’m hopeful for this new era of Zips athletics.

no trip to Mass and DeKalb is a MAC gift to the 2 time defending champion.

What a great day at First Energy Stadium! First trip back North in a while, and we timed it so we could see the women/men double-header. Not sure why the two matches couldn't have been scheduled closer so more people might have come early to watch the women, but at least gave us time to hit our Fave Swenson's - and WOW! Who knew? There's a Swensons now by the funeral home on Exchange!! Anyway, a pretty sizeable crowd for the women's game, and we got to meet some of the players at the autograph session afterwards. A nice bunch of women, and so many are YOUNG! lots of freshmen and sophs. As for the match itself, pretty good action! Adison Hall, a freshman scored first on a very solid goal. The second goal was a PK, and it was warranted, by another freshman Fineen Creegan, and she didn't mess around. Emma King's goal was a slow roller past a charging GK out of position, but it was still a heads up play by King. The defense was a little porous, but the women didn't quit or hang their heads when the opponent scored. Nice tempo, nice pace, some spacing needs to be addressed, and a little worried about the GK position, but a win is a win and Coach Kuhns was into it the entire match. I'm sure she knows she's being judged, but I found her approach and management refreshing. I'll leave the men's game analysis to the others to discuss.

Agree that Sullivan and Borneo looked lively and skillful. Hopefully Ferguson finds his form soon... they'll need another scorer in the box. I've also thought Roman has been one of the more consistent players in both games - really like his hustle and ability to make things happen. Overall, the team looks like a group that's putting the pieces together so hopefully that means a big upside. Excited to see how they perform after a week of practice against a strong side in WVU!

What exactly did Guthrie do to discourage attendance at soccer games?

Hell yeah it’s game week! Looking forward to seeing this new look Zips team. Just one game, but I’d feel really good about this season if we start out with a win on Thursday.

Feeling old today. Officially not even a young alumni anymore

Over the years Wyoming has had several games with MAC teams. As I recall the Cowboys have played Ohio, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Toledo, Bowling Green, I think Western Michigan, Kent State, Northern Illinois, and I think, Ball State. Generally the games have been competitive. I've always thought that Wyoming would be a good fit with the MAC.

As a Wyoming fan I have no clue what the Cowboy may do against Akron. Last year's team did very poorly on offense which is the main problem. Last year's starting QB is now a tight end and the back up will be the starter this year. They lost a couple of key players to the Portal including their featured running back. There's been a ton of players come in through the Portal, some of which are projected starters. This team is a big mystery. We won't know until they play.

New Commit and another from Pennsylvannia

suffered an ankle injury in the very physical game against Detroit. not sure of severity. I know that the coaches really value Daragh as a positive influence and team leader. Again, wishing the best for Daragh.

Who knows how far Akron goes last year if Indiana doesn't take him out.

Great shutout to start the Budler… I mean Akron campaign. I really think Budler has a shot at goalkeeper of the year. Been a stud his whole time here. Go zips!

Can we cut out the stutter steps on PKs? So painful to watch

Akron had 14 Q1/2/3 games last year, excluding Arizona. All but 2 non-conference games that fell in those categories were road games. Not including any questionable MAC programs (directional Michigans, Balls, NIU, BUGS, etc.), Akron should have at least 12 Q1/2/3 games this year with 2 of those being home games (JMU and Princeton). The difference is, I didn't count Milwaukee and Bucknell in those 12, and both could end up being Q2/Q3 (similar to how Omaha was a huge surprise last year; Milwaukee would be less of a surprise). With the addition of UMass, the MAC should have an elevated NET this season, meaning 2-3 more programs could sneak into the Q2/Q3 discussion. All of this to say, around half the schedule (at least) could end up being Q1/Q2/Q3 vs. last year which saw 18 Q4 games.

Out of conf schedule is much harder this year. Found it interesting he kind of called last years out of conference pretty weak but they really struggled/were inconsistent in those games until conf play started. Excited for the season, got a lot of new names to learn.

I find it interesting that oddsmakers who never see teams like this play can influence fans and bettors so much. Since neither team has taken a snap against an actual opponent what do you base your speculation on. I would thank that the overall level of play in the MWC is better than that in the MAC with a couple of execeptions at the top of the MAC. It would sure be nice if the Zips could win an opener against an actual DI opponent. But Wyoming may be bad in the MWC but thats not the MAC. Better keep this one close early. Score first or could be a long evening.

We would settle for cliff notes 😀

Top Drawer soccer made their selection for pre season All American teams. Mitch Budler was selected as one of the top 33 players in the country. https://www.topdrawersoccer.com/college-soccer-articles/2025-mens-division-i-preseason-awards_aid54968

short update on Emil https://www.stlcitysc.com/news/match-report-st-louis-city2-defeats-north-texas-sc-3-1-to-earn-fifteenth-win-of-the-season Emil Jääskeläinen tallied his team-leading seventh assist of the season and has now recorded assists in back-to-back matches Five players have scored six or more goals for CITY2 this season: Miguel Perez, Emil Jääskeläinen, Matteo Kidd, Brendan McSorley, and Mykhi Joyner Interim head coach John Hackworth now holds an 11-match unbeaten streak since taking over CITY2 on June 4

The start of the 2025 regular season is here! Very interested to see tonight's starting XI

My guess is it’ll still look pretty similar to what’s already listed, with a few changes. Laventure should grab one of the DT spots, and Lyons seems to be in the mix for an interior OL role as he was named a team captain. One of the transfer receivers—either Marcel Williams or Cameron Monteiro—has popped in the camp highlights with some nice catches. And with Greenwood no longer on the roster, the Nickel spot will be open for competition as well.

They’ll probably be on ESPN+.

Akron has 2 recruits listed in the top 5 ....in this article https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/sports/high-school/2025/08/20/ohio-high-school-soccer-best-boys-players-2025-season-ohsaa/85743866007/ No. 2 ‒ Londen Sears, New Albany Last year's Division II state Player of the Year and an All-American, Sears amassed 16 goals and 18 assists in leading the Eagles to their first state championship. The senior midfielder, who also can play forward and defense, has committed to Akron. New Albany was Division I state runner-up in both 2020 and 2022.

https://akronzippedup.substack.com/

MAC schedule: no trip to Toledo, Massachusetts, or DeKalb. Get the Michigan directionals twice. (that should help the at large conversation)

Tonight's match at 7 on ESPN+ https://gozips.com/news/2025/8/20/mens-soccer-akron-visits-vcu-in-season-opener

Он не верује у тимизам

Poorly written, I think they mean the top 4 seeds will host first round games. They also spelled unanimous incorrectly, so I think it’s just lousy writing by a Big East intern.

Georgetown and Akron are favored to win their Big East divisiosn https://www.bigeast.com/news/2025/8/19/akron-and-georgetown-favored-in-big-east-mens-soccer-coaches-polls.aspx

8 ACC teams, really? That seems a bit much

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1962_NCAA_soccer_tournament from the 2018 Akron Men's Soccer Media Guide ...

Am I correct that the spread on this game has slipped from an opening 10 pts down to 7.5? I live in a Mountain West city ‐‐ Honolulu, and have some sense about the league. The Cowboys are in the bottom half - to bottom third of a league that is clearly top-heavy. I had Akron winning 6 games this season. To get to that summit they MUST win this one first, and if they aren't able to stay close to Wyo then even 5 wins are in doubt. I like the Zips by a TD.

When has Akron finished non-conference play with only 1 loss? Even the year we were momentarily ranked we lost 4 games in OOC play. I don't see how we would only lose 1 OOC game, especially considering that we have 4 new starters and a very revamped bench unit. It's going to likely take most of OOC play before we start firing on all cylinders.

A heads up..... I am not on twitter....so I am not likely to see this news first .... last year, the regular soccer season started on Thursday August 22nd last year, the Big East mens soccer coaches poll was released on Monday August 19th. With this years schedule starting on Thursday August 21, I would expect that the Big East mens soccer coaches poll will be released on Monday August 18th. I expect that Georgetown will be the pre season favorite to win the Big East.

I'm unconcerned if someone was a back up player last year and a starter this year. We can't play against last year's team. Players can improve over the off season. If a starter goes down, there's a big problem to deal with at the G5 level and most of P5. Depth in college football is horrible and compound that with the lack of continuity because of the transfer portal, injuries kill. The question then becomes how does Akron exploit this bad hand WY has been dealt? Attack the backup players in the run game?... That's what they do in the NFL. Prepare for more WY run and pass blitz packages?....I would because backups can't get as much pressure as starters and blitzing helps support them. If a backup is a weak link, how do the Zips block him with one lineman while double teaming Wyoming's better players?....makes sense to me.

The other thing about TDS is their main metric is their own internal player rankings which are at best only somewhat informed, especially when you get outside the top 20 or so that are already pros.

I am told the Zips play @ Vermont this weekend.