UAZipster0305

This was a dominating start-to-finish performance by the Zips. Seattle had very little possession and few chances. I watched a handful of the NCAAT games yesterday and none of the top teams were dominant like we were.

I watched this game at a trendy taco bar in downtown Los Angeles (what a terrible sports town, by the way). Nelson was great. Unbelievable to imagine that we could have another 3 years with him at the helm. There were a couple times where he moved in the pocket to either make a throw or scramble for positive yardage where I believe Woodson would have been sacked. Those little things were enough to be a difference in the game. The defense got some big turnovers and generally played well. It amazes me that we had the same teams on the field at Miami and versus Ohio. The inconsistency is frustrating, but overall we are having an tremendous season. I honestly didn't think it would turn out this way, so I am happy to eat a huge plate of crow. I think this season will propel the staff to another solid recruiting class and the progrum will be on its way to where we all expected to be a few years sooner. MACC! and of course, it's 1:30PM EST and ...

Correct. A total oversight on my part. I like WMU's chances. MSU is good, but not great. It's really hard to beat the same team twice in one season. That's another reason I'm glad to see Wisconsin rather than ND.

I like this match-up. A big name, B1G opponent to garner local interest and a team for which we do not lead the all-time series (1-2-0). In all my years following Zips soccer, I don't recall us playing Wisconsin. That said, they will be tough. They have a knack for grinding out victories, especially of late and on the road. Playing our game at home, we should win. I'm saying 2-0 Zips. The only way we don't win is if Wisconsin is super physical and chops the game up and maybe gets a gritty goal off of a mistake. I really don't see them dominating possession or breaking us down through the run of play. Great to see WMU doing well to advance. I think they will win their next game against Albany too. Good for them, and good for the MAC. Go Colgate!

UVA makes the beautiful game ugly!

Based on the weekend results, I think we get the #4 seed. There is no doubt that we are one of the top four teams in the country right now, and I think the committee will recognize and reward that.

As a carry-over from one of the other threads, I do and I don't want to play UVA. Their style to put 11 behind the ball to tie and advance on PK's is everything pure soccer fans hate about college soccer. It is the anti-Porter approach to the beautiful game. I'd love to play UVA to knock them out; however, I also know (from 2009 and recent games) how effective that tactic can be.

I take a lot of interest in the program's history and implications for public notoriety based on brand recognition of our opponents. Here's who we could realistically face in the NCAAT and who I'd like to see us host, in no particular order: Wisconsin Coastal Carolina Georgetown Maryland Kentucky Louisville UNC-CH Duke UNC-Wilmington Air Force VCU Cal UCLA Any to add?

Wake beat Clemson 2-1 at home, Notre Dame lost 2-1 to UVA on the road. Other games from last night that impact our RPI are UMass-Lowell beating NH 2-1 at home and Marshall beating Kentucky 1-0 on the road. Cleveland State is still alive in their conference tournament too; they play at Illinois-Chicago tonight. Denver hosts Eastern Illinois tomorrow in the Summit League Tournament. Three of four games favored our RPI. And I don't see UVA stealing a seed from us unless they win the ACCC and we don't win out. ND losing is not ideal, but also not a big deal.

At this point, I see it more as a couple games of survival to maintain respectability. The race to Detroit was mathematically possible on paper. I thought we could win at Miami, but that was before the Woodson suspension and the Sands injury. I expected the "Race" to be spoiled in front of a respectable home crowd by OU, but alas...

My how the perspective on this has now changed. At the time, I agreed with you, CK. However, I think Miami's talent is clearly better than ours. We are also no longer healthy. OU doesn't beat themselves, and I don't see us playing out-of-our-minds well against them either. I expect that we will get beaten soundly and have our rivalry game to determine whether we are bowl eligible. If we lose both, Bowden's job is on the line. I think getting to a bowl game will be (and should be) enough for him to keep it. In any case, I think that a condition of him staying should be to find a new offensive coordinator.

Yes, the two early season losses hurt. However, it is best that they were early in the season. Without a doubt, we are a top 4 team since then. Among common opponents, Standford lost 2-0 at St. Louis (where we tied 0-0) and tied 1-1 at home to Washington (who we beat 2-0 at our place). Stanford also lost 2-0 at home to Tulsa. If WF and IU both make their conference finals and UA and Stanford win theirs, I think those are your top 4. I think the performances of UNC and Clemson in the ACCC will be a huge factor though.

In comparing the coachs' poll to the RPI, I think we have a good shot at the #4 seed provided we win the MACC. FIU seem to be a strong team. They have beaten lower competition soundly and have a small handful of wins against notable programs. They are likely worthy of a top 8 seed. I don't give them much of a chance if they have to play in Ohio in mid-November though.

And Louisville's #4 was completely out of nowhere...NCSAA#9 and RPI#6. Such things could happen again, but I doubt it. With MSU out of the B1GC, worst case for us would be Michigan beating Indiana in the final. Also, UNC-Clemson in the ACCC would be bad for us. This is the one way I could see us excluded from the #4 if we win the MACC.

That's definitely not good for us!

Agreed! Reinforcing several of the points I made above.

If we win the MACC, I actually think we could get the #4 seed. No way will the committee put 3-4 ACC teams in the top four seeds. I think rooting for any of these teams is very much a wash. They are all ACC and B1G, so they all play each other. One winning, helps the others' RPI indirectly. The one situation where I could see it benefiting the Zips is if both MSU and ND win their conference tournaments. Those two things along with the MACC would give us the four seed. While the RPI considers the entire season's resume, the committee uses wild cards, such as best current teams as consideration for seeding. If it was all done by RPI, there'd be no need for a committee.

When I was a student and lived in the area, there was nothing I'd rather do on a nice fall evening than go to a Zips soccer game. It was an event to look forward to. Even as a youth, being a ball boy or going to an occasional game with my parents or teammates were memorable events. I have watched the Zips play VCU in Richmond and against UNC in Chapel Hill...both thrilling wins! I have every intention of traveling to the College Cup in Philly from Baltimore, if we make it.

I stand corrected. Kudos for being open-minded enough to attend in spite of not being soccer fans.

A legit point as the WC certainly gets the attention of the casual sports fans. However, I think the only truly casual fans at Zips soccer games are the students who attend because it is the cool thing to do.

It's great to see WMU doing well. It gives us two more solid RPI games per season and adds credibility to MAC soccer. The most fans ever was under 6k, not between 6 and 7k. I think fans not showing up for UA games like they have in the past is due to a handful of things: 1) The program has already succeeded to the pinnacle...a National Championship. Unless another one of those is imminently obvious to the casual fan, it's just another season. 2) Embick does not have the bulldog-instigator personality that Porter does. Charisma matters. How awesome was it to see Porter essentially pick fights with the B1G teams (especially OSU, Michigan, and PSU) and then take them to the woodshed on the field? Coming from Akron, we all have a chip on our shoulder and whether intentional or not, Porter played right into this. "We will play anyone, anytime, anywhere." 3) The local media and social media have not created a buzz throughout the local community. 4) The viewing opportunities are now so good via ESPN3. I've watched every game from my living room in MD. I miss the atmosphere of FE Stadium - CC Field, but living in another state, ESPN3 is an unprecedented option. 5) The early losses to apparently no-named programs on the road to start the season were a buzz kill. Utah Valley and Denver have had much success in recent seasons, and Embick is fully justified in scheduling them for RPI purposes, but the casual fan does not have this advanced knowledge and the corresponding appreciation. The US not participating in the World Cup does not have anything to do with college soccer. If anything, the strengthening of MLS enhances the college game because of serving as feeder programs much like college basketball and football. MLS has also given better opportunities to players from throughout CONCACAF, and the success of other CONCACAF countries is a reflection of MLS. This is overlooked by those who think the USMNT sucks and under-performed. They definitely under-performed, but the quality of their competition was as good as it has ever been.

At this point, it would be ideal for WMU to not have to play the MACC. They definitely did not have a top four year, and probably not even a top eight. Hence, beating us will likely not push them much higher with seeding. However, losing probably bounces them down 4-6 spots.

I don't know why you are arguing. I fully qualified everything that I said, and I'm elated that we are 5-4(and more importantly, 4-1).

I wouldn't be as concerned as previous seasons. We have a reputation now as a big boy program. We have a handful of marque wins and have been on a tear since the third game of the season. The team that should be concerned is WMU, particularly if we beat them in the MACC. They have no reputation or history, few big wins (vs. us at home and vs. Michigan at home, and maybe at Butler), a bad loss (4-1 at Portland), and a bad tie (at Eastern Illinois). If we win out, we will get a Top 8 seed and have an outside chance at a Top 4 depending on how the rest of the field closes out. On the other hand, if WMU loses to us in the MACC, I think they will be luck to be seeded in the Top 16. Conversely, if we lose the MACC, I think both WMU and UA get Top 12 seeds. Beating us twice in one season would carry A LOT of weight and give them the benefit of the doubt.

Everyone is looking past Miami based on our record versus theirs. The point is, based on records, we should have a clear advantage. However, we are a few opponent mistakes difference from being 3-6(2-3) than 5-4(4-1). This is not going to be an easy game! If we were 3-6(2-3), the world would be ending and everyone would be calling for Bowden's head while the talent on the field and on the staff would be no different. The plays that made the difference in these games were out of our control. Again, in the MAC you can expect teams to beat themselves. Nonetheless, this should not promote an over-inflated opinion of ourselves. We are still a middle-of-the-road MAC team that is on a good run and has had some wonderful fortune. I hope it continues. The schedule sets up for our best season ever in terms of win total and perhaps only our second-ever bowl win. This good fortune could be the boost the progrum needs to finally excel to the upper 2-3 in the MAC.