Zip_ME87

Moved to "November Numbness" thread.

Except with Akron winning this time. I believe Duke's 1st ever team National Championship was Men's Soccer in 1986 before they became a basketball powerhouse.

Thanks for finding this article about IU Mens Soccer TennZip...http://www.idsnews.com/article/2017/11/sp-iums-2004-oral-history I was particularly drawn to this... Porter: “What’s crazy about it is I look back now and think about it and reflect and think about how amazing it is, when I was in that moment it was, like, expected. I remember actually being upset after the game because I didn’t think we played well. We just found a way to win. I don’t think it was one of the most talented IU teams in history. Obviously, Coach Yeagley will tell you some of the best teams and most talented teams never won championships. Ones that did were really hard and tough and found ways to win games, and it wasn’t always because they had the most talent. I think this team in 2004 was kind of the epitome of that.”

USMNT: DeAndre Yedlin takes on new role and has message for his young teammates

Wish I could be there. Any opportunity to spend more time with our team is welcome, but I have a meeting at 1 pm which is mine and which I cannot move.

all kidding aside...great job by WMU this season. Very happy they are in line for and deserve a top 16 seed. Cool to see more than 1 MAC team in position for the NCAA Tournament entering the MACC Match.

Fantastic article about our diverse team...

They look purple, as they should, on my laptop.

Yes, the stupid NCAA rule book declares all matches tied after the 2nd OT as draws except the National Championship match. So, although the 2009 Zips never lost a match in the run of play, they technically lost the National Championship match.

Thanks. From Brunswick, it's only about a 3.5 hour drive in good weather.

Ok. So, perhaps the record crowds were when they played UM & MSU. That makes sense given the proximity. MSU is just up the road, and they don't have lights either.

20-30 of us as I recall. I plan to be there, but in addition to miserable weather, it is a long drive, too. Not as far as SIU-E or NIU, but not as close BUGS or WVU. It makes for a long day.

When you get to the NCAA Tourney, there are very few unworthy teams. There may be a few among the automatic qualifiers, but for the most part, with only 48 teams out of ~200, any opponent is dangerous. The 2017 Zips need to stop slouching and feeling entitled. It's post season time, and our team needs to show they want it more than their opponent. That was not readily apparent yesterday.

WMU drew a record crowd (1500+) when the ZIps visited earlier this season. Having been there, the crowd looked sizable, but since they don''t sell tickets to regular season matches, and do not have turnstiles, I don't know how they count or how accurate their count could be, If the weather is as crappy as it is predicted to be, I do not foresee a large number of fans sitting out in that weather when they can watch at home on ESPN3.

This was right on and has been so worrisome this season... “We talked about this all year with this group,” Embick said. “One of the things I emphasized to them was despite how well we’ve played and the wins we’ve gotten, we haven’t found our way back into games when we’ve given up the first goal. “At some point, we’re going to be down and we have to come from behind and do what we do. Today was a perfect opportunity and perfect example of what we preach to them.”

If Gaucho Dan's formula is correct [matches the NCAA"s], then RPI is bogus in that I do not see how Stanford could be ranked ahead of Akron. Akron's strength of schedule and opponents strength of schedule are both better than Stanford's. SOS is significantly better. (1 additional loss seems to be the difference.) 11 Stanford Record 15-2-1 RPI 0.6154 SOS 71 OSS 21 12 Akron Record 15-3-1 RPI 0.6116 SOS 46 OSS 18 Reference: http://rpiupdatemenssoccer.blogspot.com/search/label/RPI Rank

I think it will be extremely difficult for the NCAA Tournament Committee to give all 4 top seeds to 1 conference. Depending upon how the final RPI plays out, I could see #3 or #4 being skipped for the next highest RPI ranked team not in the same conference [i.e., likely skipping an ACC team for a B1G team].

All I meant is that it would be deserved if WMU's RPI rank is 4 or higher. I agree that they might still not get a top 4 seed but could be difficult to skip over depending upon who the other potential top 4 seeds are. Looking at current RPI, it's not likely that WMU's will be 4 or better. So, this is probably a moot discussion anyway. As you stated, I don't see an "unknown" MAC Tourney Champion getting a top 4 seed [without a top 4 RPI]. In my original response, I should have qualified what I meant by "deserved"...only if RPI 4 or better. 1 Wake Forest 2 North Carolina 3 Duke 4 Indiana 5 Louisville 6 Clemson 7 Western Michigan 8 Notre Dame 9 Michigan State 10 Virginia 11 Stanford 12 Akron

I recall 1 year under Caleb Porter that the Zips should have been seeded higher than we were. If you're going back to Ken Lolla days, I'm not sure the RPI supported your claim. I would still contend that the Zips' recent soccer reputation as well as RPI would have gotten us into the NCAA Tourney even with a loss today and a team other than WMU winning the MAC Tourney. Thankfully, however, we don't need to be concerned about that scenario.

Not if WMU wins the MAC Tournament. [Top 4 seed would be deserved.] You sound like the ACC weenies when the Zips got the #1 seed in 2009. They were talking differently when it was over even though Akron was runner up. (0 goals given up in 2009 NCAA Tournament)

I'm not sure why the hostility with the all caps. None of us will know for sure how that would have played out. With rpi & rankings as they are, the committee may have had no choice. And by the way, Akron has a contemporary reputation in NCAA soccer that would have made it almost impossible for the committee not to have put the ZIps in the tournament in this situation. You cannot compare Zips' Mens Soccer ability to get into the tournament with Mens Basketball's. Zips Mens soccer actually defeats Top 25 teams.

No. That ship sailed some time ago and good riddance. I got my satisfaction when the Zips beat his team for the National Championship in 2010. I don't need to see him again.

Congrats to second-team honorees, --- Pau Belana, Niko De Vera, and Nate Shultz.

Also congrats to Stuart Holthusen, Sam Gainford, Nick Hinds, and Manuel Cordeiro for being named to All-MAC First Team!

http://getsomemaction.com/news/2017/11/9/2017-mac-mens-soccer-postseason-awards-announced.aspx congrats to Joao Moutinho on being named MAC Men’s Soccer Freshman of the Year