Z.I.P.

June Jones called to say this was the worst game of the year. Only 75 yards passing by both teams on 11 pass completions. Woody lives, in the body of JD Brookhart! We ain't pretty. We just win. baby!

Congratulations to the Bobcats for getting that first down late in the game -- their only one in the second half. They would not have beaten Cannot State the way they played tonight. But that said, I will give Akron some credit. They had about 8 or 9 TFLs showing the Zip defense was way too fast for Ohio blockers tonight. If you take away the first three or four plays for Ohio, I think they had near negative total offense. Donnan had plenty good to say about Rohr and White and Co. It was nice to see the game -- a little over a half at least -- on live TV in the islands. And that was a lot more than was ever shown of the Miami-BUGS game. ESPN switched to basketball after less than a quarter, which might be the best thing the Redhawks could dream of. Did they actually give up THREE (3) safeties already??? It was 18-0, and now I see 20-0. That poor Miami punter, is he a freshman or what? I would have closed my eyes too -- and curled up into the fetal position! But in the end, it was not a good night for the MAC. Their marquee game weathered-out by Mother Nature. And when they showed the stands at the Rubber Bowl. I may have seen the entire membership of ZipsNation. Worse than that, the lighting was horrible, and the empty stands really DID look ready to collapse. Can't they even afford some paint? But, for Akron the news is: "don't turn out the lights, the fat lady ain't singin yet." We appear very much alive in the race for the MAC East title. Can you believe that? What a crazy season. That's almost as weird as Western Michigan being in contention in the West. So what was the highlight we can take out of this game? I'd choose the sideline report by Rachael Rush (was that her name) saying (she finally managed to get it out of her mouth after stuttering a few times) that Akron's next big move was to "move the Rubber Bowl on campus". It's a good thing Brett Biggs was the Florida HS weightlifting champion.

"Screwed" is what happened to Akron and the MAC, at the hands of the NCAA selection committee. Even Erik Wynalda on ESPN said that Akron should be playing now with "a chip on their shoulder". Coach Lolla tried to put a coach-friendly spin on the news, but the facts are the facts. We now will most likely have to go to hostile territory in Storrs, CT and College Park MD to make it to Cary NC, but we've seen both of those teams this year, and beaten the #1 seed, despite it being "just an exhibition". Wynalda also mentioned another keen fact. Last year's UC-Santa Barbara team was the Cinderella, getting an unjust 8 seed, but going out and doing the job on the pitch, to earn a national title tilt versus Indiana. They were led by their Kiwi assault, and we are led by ours. Let's be like the Gauchos, we both wear blue and gold, and we can give the Whosiers their comeuppance. Here's to the NCAA And here's to our opponents. Better be bulletproof.

Where do I apply to receive my royalties? I remember first using this phrase here just before last year's NCAA regional matchup versus the li'l tortuses of Maryland. Now they have the image on the fence at Lee Jackson -- which looked great on national TV on Fox CSP today. But UAM -- make that T-shirt tomorrow and I'll have one in time for the Cal trip. So Cool!

Well folks, we have a PK shootout at Lee Jackson for the 2005 MAC Championship. Arrrrrrgh! Anything can happen now. Buffalo seems to have achieved their goal, as they had no offensive push or alignment from the opening whistle. They were packing in 5 defenders and their offensive opportunities were mostly the one-on four-or five variety. Let's see who lines up to take the penalty shots. #1 for Akron is late sub Justin Sadler. He sets it up. Goes straight to the left and right in the net, as the UB keeper goes to the right. Buffalo: Lee Catchpoole, the big Brit for Buffalo. He shoots right, Bush guesses left. 1-1. Second frame: Yohann Mauger for UA in the right corner of the net, puts the Zips ahead -- a rifle shot. #8 for UB -- Bush gets a hand on it but can't stop it! 2-2. Frame 3: Ozzie Michaelson for Akron in the left corner. Yanamaji in the left corner (just in) 3-3! 4th frame: #14 freshman Tutich: a low left corner shot in the net; Braithewaite for Buffalo -- left again, and in. 4-ror-4 . Frame 5: Ross McKenzie: casually into the left side and he spurs the fans to root for Evan Bush. No -- Buffalo puts it in the left side once more. OVERTIME PKs. Corey Sipos in the center of the goal as the UB goalie dives right behind it. UB #22 -- Bush again gets his hand on it, but it goes into the top left corner -- Yikes. Geir Nyheim (sp.) lines it up and just ahead of a diving keeper. 7-6 middle of frame 7; Andrae Clark for UB, EVAN BUSH STOPS THE TRY AND AKRON IS 2005 MAC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We're #1

What a frustrating game this is. With 20 minutes remaining in regulation, Akron totally dominating. Buffalo has had no serious chances on Akron's net, and Akron 6-8 tries on goal, but stymied. The TV says just one shot on goal by Akron and none by UB. That's very disputable, as the announcers have stated. And now Buffalo has received a pair of yellow cards for talking after foul calls, and now Johan Maugher gets one for Akron. The Bulls look more frustrated than the Zips. Buffalo actually has a couple of chances on goal, but puts one just across the goal mouth and over the end line. Now Evan Bush has hurt his ankle on a shot over the net. Oh, boy, this could be bad -- he hit his heel on the post jumping for the ball. He's staying in. 15:00 left in regulation. C'mon boys, rifle one in!

WOW! This is a first! Akron versus Buffalo for the MAC championship on Oceanic Cablevision CH 246 right here on O'ahu. Thanks Fox College Sports Pacific (Pacific?) for this opportunity. Akron is peppering Buffalo's box, having hit the crossbar two or three times already, but no goals through the first ten minutes. UA holds a 4-1 advantage in shots. I'm told the game is on cable Ch 31 in Akron if you want to try. This must be broadcast over a regional Fox network, as they keep advertising HS football from Michigan, and the EMU-Cal men's bb game on Friday from Y'lanti. That game will give us (me) a look at what Cal might be like when we (I?) see them in three wks in Berkeley. Go Zips!

My own prediction is that if Akron plays IU again, it won't be this month. In fact, if the guys win the MAC, they are completely deserving of hosting through the regional, in which case, they couldn't possibly play Indiana again until December 9 or 11 in Cary, NC -- the NCAA College Cup. I'm not sure if both Indiana AND Akron (both from the Great Lakes region) would be eligible to host regionals, but they should. In another case, Maryland moved into the #1 position in Soccer America's top-25 poll, with Indiana #2 and UA 3rd. UMd was #2 in the SA poll last week, while the NSCAA poll had New Mexico #2. UNM tied Sac St. over the weekend. In MY poll, which is no more or less valid than the others, Akron is #2 to the Hoosiers. Does anyone care about polls? Go Zips! Just win!

Well, I'm German. But I gotta go with Zippy.

This quote referencing Koufos of GlenOak HS also appeared in one of the pre-season CBB magazines -- one of the younger, and less well-known ones. But it rated the 6-10 Koufos the #24 recruit in the nation. Is it correct that he is just a junior? Thought it said he was a senior. Just to have the name "Akron" associated with such a prospect is a plum in my mind -- one that would not have occurred without KD in control. Let's reel him in.

CAN SOMEONE ANSWER THIS: Following Akron's goal line stand of BeeGee, UA had the ball on their one yard line. Then on gametracker the ball moved to the Akron 20 without a play running off. What the heck happened there?? In any case, WE WIN and as always:

CAN SOMEONE ANSWER THIS: Following Akron's goal line stand of BeeGee, UA had the ball on their one yard line. Then on gametracker the ball moved to the Akron 20 without a play running off. What the heck happened there?? In any case, WE WIN and as always:

Let's talk a little about what might be upcoming this year and in the more distant future as a result of the success the team has already had and a potential long post-season run. A year ago New Mexico maintained the consensus #1 national ranking through a long-period of the season (3-weeks or longer I believe), and even though I think they lost a regular season game at the very end, UNM coach Jeremy Fischbein won national Coach of the Year honors from the NSCAA. While no one on the team is paying attention to this at this point, you have to feel that if UA beats Michigan and has no losses going into the regular season finale in Bloomington, that our chief Ken Lolla deserves the same. Even thought this year's squad is one of the youngest in the MAC, this season's performance has GOT to have a positive impact on recruiting. There are three Northeast Ohioans, and Cleveland Soccer Academy clubbers who earned All-Star honors at the Adidas ESP (Elite Soccer Players') camp, the nation's premier camp for HS seniors-to-be this past summer. I have no knowledge of recruiting in the Midwest, so I don't know if any have verballed, or what their academic status is, but if you want to google them they are fullbacks Mark Blades, from Lakewood and Barry Rice of Parma; and Wickliffe MF Ken Walker. After losing super players the last couple of years like Medina's Israel Jones to SMU and the Walsh kid to Tosu, we can hope this is our year to set the program on a top-10 course for several years to come. Finally, since it's already been mentioned by a roo on this board, I know more people will speculate about the future of our head coach. There will be schools making inquiries, and dreaming of stealing chief away, but he's expressed his deep feelings about being a member of the Akron-Canton community for about 20 years now, with an interlude away. Nope, Mike Thomas has 0 chance of taking him to the Queen City (Cinci has a respectable program, ranked in the top-20 earlier this year, which tied #4 St Johns at home this month, but they've never been a national power), however, if a top ACC program were to have an opening, no doubt talk will begin. Probably even more dangerous to the university will be the number of MLS expansion franchises due to start up over the next couple years. Lolla does have national team coaching experience, and the pros have Moolah no university can compete with. Go Zips! Sweep the Big-11!

Sorry, ol'timer, but I have to correct you on this one. Ken was playing for the Canton Invaders I believe in 1986. His final year at Duke was about 1982 or '83. He graduated from DU in 84. I'm trying to remember some of the players on that team which beat Akron at the Tacoma Dome. I do remember Duke beat the Columbia team with Desmond Armstrong in the semis. What a speed merchant Armstrong was on the US national team before his injuries. That 1-0 final win for Duke was one of the few in that era that didn't go to OT. BTW -- can you tell us sometime what "ball ammunition lock and load" means? I'm sure I'm not the only one wondering.

Well, it's not the score. You probably don't remember a few short years ago when UA outshot WMU in the MAC tourney about 22-2 and lost 1-0. And about the only team that's ever gone undefeated in an NCAA soccer season is the UNC women (multiple). I'm not sure if its ever occurred in the men's game, though I vaguely remember one of Yeagley's teams in the 80s may have done it at Indiana. And, as far as the record goes, believe me, being #2 in the nation is the most enviable position there is. #1 has a target on their back that everyone can take aim at. Our toughest game may be this week when the lads head to NYC to play St John's, which GoZips says is now #3! 2 vs 3. What a great matchup. Having seen St Johns on FSC, I think if we score twice, we win. Frankly, a draw wouldn't be bad at all. We finish the regular season @IU, where I'm not sure if we've ever won. I would rather see an L somewhere on the schedule, than go into the post-season with none. I don't get the feeling this team feels like they're "destined for greatness", or anything like that. It's hard not to be humble, when you're from Akron. Sorry I missed the audio. If anyone finds out about free audio before any UA game/match, please send the word out to The Nation. Mahalo from da Zip in Paradise

Consistency is more important than the occasional big crowd. I was almost shocked to read last year that the team was drawing worse than it did back in the 1970s even (averaging only a few hundred). I hope the team's play will carry over, not just for the rest of this year, but for the future as well. As more people are introduced to the NCAA level of soccer, they will inevitably be drawn to return over and over, as I was thirty years ago. Which is another reason why it's important to make the next football/futbal facility on campus versatile -- with enough space to fit an international-size pitch, and a great real grass field. None of that Spartan Stadium stuff (e.g., San Jose Earthquakes home), please! Keep up the hard work Zipitistas!

Live by the big play, die by the big play. It's that simple. The team grew overconfident in their ability to extend the playbook. You can't depend on the same thing to occur every week. Defenses catch up eventually. Also, they are not good enough to make mistakes and win at the same time. I'm sure Buffalo will look at the film of this game and think they can do what CMU did to us. This would be a good time to discover a consistent rushing game to compliment Getsy's passing. I'd find it hard to criticize a first half like Akron had offensively -- though they should have put up more points. But if they cut out the turnovers, everything will be fine with this team. I'll give JD the benefit of the doubt at this early point in the season, and Luke gets to feed off that. Hopefully, they learn from this game, and make the changes that will propel the Zips to a championship season. Keep the faith!

Can ANYONE out there explain what occurred this week? The MAC office makes the official announcement: The vaunted Mastodons of Indiana-Purdue-Ft Wayne, the longest name in the NCAA (outside of IUPU-Indy?) are declared the newest member of the league for men's soccer (and men's tennis only?) -- and oh yeah, your team plays them tonight in their first league match ever. Talk about cutting through red tape! And also: Is anyone watching the UConn-St Johns game?? Near the end of the half they showed the NSCAA top-25, and...where was Akron? I did NOT see them on that list, when they should have been just ahead of St John's at #7, I believe. AND...If St John's plays against us the way they're playing tonight, I predict we kick their butts. They have NO finishers. If anyone attends the game between the Lady Zips and the Emus of Ypsilanti, let me know if that freshman starts in goal for the Emus. She should be getting shell shock by now. In Hawaii, the two opponents she faced put about 75% of their shots-on-goal in the back of the net. Get the ball in the box and let it fly! Go Wahine and Kane Zips!

Coach Kelly Kennedy has added some height to her team for the 2006-07 season, receiving a verbal commitment from Sylvania Northview's 6-3 Center, Rianna Miller. Rianna is a teammate of 2005 incoming recruit Niki McCoy, and has a winning pedigree. Northview made the Divison II Final Four the past two seasons, before being knocked off by the eventual state champs. Miller averaged about 13 points and 10 rebounds as a junior and was I believe third-team all-state. Way to go coach! Just what we need -- too bad she can't play THIS year! Zip in Paradise

Well, the first thing to remember is -- these games don't count in the season record, since they're pre-season. The past couple seasons we've played Michigan and -- trying to think -- Michigan State? And those games didn't matter much once the season began. I think this is at least a little different for a couple reasons: 1. The UA really went all out to plan and promote these games, and 2. The opponents for the men, SMU and UMd both seemed to play their starters for most of the contest, rather than playing youngsters (ala an NFL or even MLS) exhibition alot. Getting two goals past Steven Sandbo, the Columbus-bred SMU keeper who has played for US National teams since 14 was a great accomplishment. And they made Medina's Israel Jones ask "Why did I leave for Texas anyway?" Not sure when the next ASCA poll comes out, but I won't be surprised if we crack the top-25. It looks like Akron will be known for tough hard-nosed fullbacks once again. If they can find someone with consistent scoring touch, then they could go far. As far as my feelings about the Westfield Cup, well, I got my T-shirt, and it will be one of the nation's top events beginning next year when it becomes part of the regular season. For this year though, show me a W @St Johns and it'll be time to really take note! I also want to congratulate Katie Byrne's crew. Even though they finished second, they look to be much improved this season. Time will tell. Go get em. LassieZips!

Well zipboy, the fact that Keith and Co. apparently took a flyer on the best player in the city since LBJ says a lot about the confidence they have in the hand they've been dealt. A year ago, Marcus looked like a surefire Zip recruit. The additions of Conyers and Dials who are both natural shooting guards (though Dials will be forced to the point this year) made Johnson redundant. I think he will probably be a fine player at UofD. Best of luck to him. Now where can we find a pure PG?

Here's to Katie and Ken. I thought this year's games would be typical preseason practices, but from a look at the box score, it appears that both KL and SMU coach Schellas Hyndman played the guys who should be on the field when the real season begins (didn't notice if SMU's US 18- GK from Columbus was in net, but my homie, Duke Hashimoto of national champs Honolulu Bulls led the Ponies w/3 SOG). so it looks like a legitimate outcome over a team that is probably better than their #10 ranking, IMHO. Good luck to both teams in the finals. What a shame the Akron Wahine don't get to play final-4 Florida! Kudos to ODU. We'll see how we do tomorrow, but it looks like coach Byrne has a "Fix" to the sporatic offense. Is she a MAC FOY? Gonna be a good season at Lee Jack.

THIS JUST IN: From the Zips' Western Office in the Central Pacific. We can now inform da fanbase that dakine Akron Zippers an'da Golden Bears of UC - Berzerkeley will meet on Saturday night, December 3rd on the fabled Left Coast of America. To allow this opportunity to not slip thru the fingers, Guru Keith simply traded one Oakland game for another. Get your aero-plane tickets now friends. The Great Eastern and Great Western branches of the family Zip will be puttin' on a gathering of the tribes where the Sacramento River meets San Francisco Bay. So who's comin'?

I don't know about this story. If its true, I'll do everything in my power to get across the lake to Cali, but can someone please tell me where on Akron's schedule there's room for a trip to the West Coast? Also, for Rats, UC plays @EMU in November of this season. MAYBE, if we get a game @UC this season, the two teams could flip in '06, with EMU @Cal and UC@ Akron. As you no doubt know, both EMU's new coach Ramsey and Keith are ex-assistants to Ben Braun at EMU.

THIS HINT: I don't have any inside info (for that you need to ask Ratfink), but someone may wish to post a shot of 6-5 recruit Jimmy Conyers to compare with Foust's mug. I hear Conyers is (also?) in town.