zippy-claws

My take on tonite is that the coaching staff did a marvelous job in game prep and game plan. Most I’ve seen the fullbacks push up all season. Kamden and Josh were a presence offensively. And Wan Kuzri and Matt Dreas haven’t been this aggressive all season. I believe Jared knew they’d be keying on Emil, so he changed the look and style. They seemed more direct and centered rather than wide and crossy (is that a word? 🤪).

I agree with @fknbuflobo regarding Langstaff. Tough competitor and young. She will grow in to a solid CB and could play CDM as well, I believe. Ad I agree with @TennZip on their stats, mainly pitch time. The other 3 women were not factors in any game I saw. They got some pitch time early during non-conference play. I hate to be brutal, but will not be surprised if they end up anywhere, let alone a D1 program. If they could have contributed, I think Coach Jen would have played them in a heartbeat.

This guys seems like a decent guy to me....

I and my friends were at the BW3 on Exchange with so many layers of winter attire on we almost passed out from heat exhaustion. We piled out and started walking to the “Lee Jackson” field and noticed lights not on! Found out the match was postponed, moved to Chicago (yes it was vs Northwestern). And in Chicago, the wind was blowing off Lake Michigan at 30mph and rain/sleet sideways. I believe that was the impetus for the new stadium and the special turf developed for Akron climate.

Crap…

Went to Georgetown website and their stats working

What is happening, anyone watching? Stats froze at 92:52

So stats show emil out last 16 minutes, ashton out since 56’, victor out last 20 minutes, are these guys resting or out?

Is ashton hurt? Hasn’t been in since 56’

I just said to Hubby the same thing!

I don’t think so. If we lost the QF maybe. A loss to G-town won’t keep us out. Maybe no top seeds maybe no home match, but no shut out of college cup

And also where the jobs are!

I agree that #2 is my consensus. It seemed like it took about the IU-Indy match to start to see cohesiveness, but up until then the staff played a LOT of players, giving them pitch time and also seeing what they had. Once Jared settled into a tight rotation (if there even was a rotation!) play improved as players were more familiar with each other, each other's styles and personalities, etc. Just my 2 cents worth...

"The Boys played hard!" was his standard response first thing out of the box at press conferences. I used to enjoy talking to him at Green Hills Golf Course in Brimfield where he "worked" as a starter after The U. What stories! He would always stop where I was at basketball or football games and say Hi and kibbitz for a time. Great Guy.

How many here remember when we had our last NCAA tourney run and the U had a couple of nice watch parties at the JAR, with cash bar and all? How nice would it be to do again for semi-final match Thursday night? Great for students, fans, casual fans.

Then my vote is Marcus Jennings, current CFO of the Athletic Department. He seems to have been the "adult in the room" these past few years.

Bu doesn't this kind of give the coaching staffs a "free pass" card for at least another season, as the new AD gets to know their strengths and weaknesses? Maybe women's soccer, volleyball, baseball coaches are breathing a sigh of relief for the foreseeable future, even Joe?

No longer AD!

I've brought up in the Soccer forum that I had heard the AK Rowdies had disbanded, but got no responses from anyone regarding it. Do they still exist, and if so, why don't they attend the men's soccer matches anymore like the y used to?

Now I respectfully disagree. You must not watch a lot of international "football", because the "draw" is an important factor in most European and South American leagues, where there are no playoffs, just a table where the single point for a draw makes a huge difference in a lot of standings. And yes, there are "inferior" opponents in most of these leagues, as 2-3 monied teams dominate a 20-team league. So a draw between say Brentford and Manchester City is considered a "win" by the Brentfordites, and by the pundits and supporters, and plays into the strategies involved.

I was disappointed with the results from Muncie in the Cross Country meet, although two of our men went 2nd and 3rd. A 6th and an 8th place finish men/women was not what I expected, and I'm sure it's not what the coaches expected either. Pretty strong field this year in the MAC, Toledo women win 4th straight, men won as well, and they do not field a track and field team! It got me interested, so I checked out the upcoming schedule for Indoor track & field. This would have been our year to host the annual Zips/Kent State dual meet, but it's not on the schedule. Anyone know why? Second, I know it was on the schedule last season as the opener, but does anyone ( if anyone would know it would be @Hilltopper )know who the Haynes Lancaster Open meet is named after, or is it a sponsor? Just curious.

I did watch both halves, and I was pleased to see Coach change up her tactics. They utilized the fullbacks in the offense more than in any match this year, and the defensive centers played a higher line as well. They tried to score, and as @adzip said, the defense continued to play tough. Yes, we'll have to see what the missing forwards can do when they return to action. And they were also right - a junior or senior transfer student with experience in playing at a MAC or higher level school would make a huge difference on this team. Yesterday was a nice statement that they weren't going to quit. And I liked that they didn't make a ton of substitutions like past games, which showed in the continuity on the field. IMHO.

I would say yes…show me the offense. Please!

So, for those of you out there that think that the current situation in women's soccer is "okay, just be patient", tonight should be a good test of your theory that they inherited a bad situation and it just takes time. May I remind you that they still have only scored 3 goals in MAC play, in 2 matches, with tonight's match the grand finale. Eastern Michigan is in, or was in a similar situation. They went 3-11-4 and 2-7-2 in MAC in 2022, 1-12-6 and 1-8-2 in MAC in 2023. Their coach left in December of 2023. New coach comes in. 6 recruits decide to de-commit, 2 seniors and a junior transfer out. In the new coach's first year, 2024, with not much time at all to try to recruit, they go 6-6-5 and are 2-3-5 in MAC play and have at least scored 6 goals this year. So tonight we get to take a look at how our similar situations pan out. 1 year with little prep work yields 2-3-5, and 3 years with two recruiting classes yields 0-8-2. Hopefully the staff and team will treat this as a stepping stone to 2025 and show they've got what it takes to move up the standings into a playoff spot next season, and to be granted another season at the helm. PS - I've watched closely this season, and I do think that Coach Simonetti is coaching well during matches, and with the injuries that all soccer coaches have to face. I'm convinced she can coach. It's the recruiting end that needs shored up. It's got to be tough to try to recruit to a program that hasn't won anything since 2009. But in watching MAC games, our team is sorely lacking the talent of other MAC schools. Don't give me the "only 2 classes" response. But it's not like a lot of other MAC schools have that much to tout over Akron with recruits. BG, Ohio, Miami maybe. Toledo? NIU? Ball State? EMU, with U of M next door? We need to recruit better players first.

You are absolutely right, and it has affected my desire to watch any NCAA sports right now, except for the Zips. I used to be an NCAA basketball junkie, women and men, and loved a Saturday afternoon big game on TV. Now, if I'm going to watch college kids play a sport and demand 12 million a year for an NIL deal, I'll stick with watching an NFL game with the real professionals. Same goes now for the WNBA and WSL vs. college women's b-ball and soccer.