Zip_ME87

A few observations... 1. No one has stepped up to do what Victor Souto could do at holding mid. 2. Can't finish; speed to the corners but not often down the middle; when they do get down the middle, often have to hold up for someone else to get there, by which time the defenders are there as well. 3. LB has been played by committee. No one has been able to claim the position. 4. Some upperclassmen are not playing as well as they have in the past.

He'd be wearing a Buckeye (boo) jersey these days. Maybe he can coach our back line from the stands next Wednesday.

Question: Are your referring to NH3 (who is a freshman) or ND4? I think you meant the former, but since they were both playing on the back line, I would like to be clear on your observations. Edit - I completely agree about BL1. He has saved this team on several occasions. Thanks.

No matter the lineup, it seems that we see the same over and over in the final 3rd...the Zips look dangerous getting there and then they slow their play down until the opposing players get there and cut off the lanes to the goal. Rarely does there seem to be urgency with this team. I must say though that I'm not as worried with the attack on the road as I am the defense. Shut outs at home...but only 1 on the road. WTF is wrong with the midfield and back line on the road?

How can you pronounce Holthusen as "Holt housen"? BTN announcers. Also, he's German, so it is Lundt with a long u sound. Not a short u as in lug nut announcer.

Where is CustomU...brick and mortar or online? I love how everyone makes light of this because "there is some place in Akron you can go to get something custom". Not all of us live/work in Akron. Point is that UA sports merchandising leaves a lot to be desired (along with marketing). A D1 school should have jerseys and customized apparel readily available. One of the best marketing tools is the apparel that students, alumni, and fans wear and giving them the apparel they want should be very high priority.

Horrible. Why can't we simply buy polos with our choice of the ARoo or Z and "Akron Soccer", "Akron Basketball"...etc. or a current jersey for our Zips sport of choice?

Happy I made the trip and happy to see Coach Dambrot was able to be there for Robby's goal. Loved seeing them enjoying a moment after the match and LeBron's tweet.

Congrats to ... Ben Lundt for some good saves. Nick Costa for getting ~10 minutes in goal and maintains the clean sheet. All the Zips who scored. Jesus Perez who has an awesome family (mom, sister, cousins) and friends who showed up in large numbers and made this a Zips home game. All the the the Zips for getting the shut out.

From Perry Kitchen's Instagram account: perrykitchen23. Great to be back with the #USMNT. Special to play at RFK again ?: US Soccer ??

Portland Timbers assistant coach Cameron Knowles inducted to University of Akron Hall of Fame

Not sure what's going on with these Zips. They looked good for the last 20 minutes. The rest of the game, the guys weren't moving to the ball...seemed to be just standing around waiting for the ball to come to them...as well as letting Michigan St push them off the ball. Not the team we are used to seeing at all. I didn't look at the final stats, but I think the Zips had more shots and probably had more possession, but much of that possession was in the first 2 thirds of the field. Never really threatened much until the last 20 minutes. Someone once mentioned to me that SOG isn't a very telling statistic because many times a SOG isn't really very threatening...often an easy save for the GK. That was true of the Zips' shots on goal in the first 70 minutes of this match.

Although the match ended in a tie, very happy to see Perry Kitchen start at RFK in the USMNT's friendly with New Zealand. http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2016-10-11-us-mens-national-team-vs-new-zealand/recap Edit - meant to put this in the USMNT thread, but it works here too.

Congrats to Brad Ruhaak and everyone selected as 2016 homecoming royalty... http://uakron.edu/studentlife/involvement/campusprograms/homecoming/homecoming-royalty/

I thought so...

I had a feeling this team was going to put it together for this game. I liked a lot of what I saw tonight. Rough start to each half, but the Zips found a way to get through it each time and take over the match for the most part, I like Pau Belana taking the corner kicks. Overall, a very nice performance by the Zips. I think they will continue to build on this and challenge each other. I'm confident the midfield play will continue to improve as the new and existing personnel continue to get accustomed to each other. GO ZIPS!!!

http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2016/09/21/21/23/160921-mnt-five-things-to-know-about-perry-kitchen ... Following the tournament, Kitchen joined Akron University in 2010. Playing under current Portland Timbers head coach Caleb Porter, the powerful defensive midfielder was at the core of the Zips 2010 National Championship side along with a number of future MLS players, including current MNT teammate Darlington Nagbe. ...

I hope you're able to make it to the 2nd half and that it's a great night for you in the CLE and at UA. Go Tribe. Go Zips.

Big game, Conference game, At Akron... I think somebody or a number of somebodies on our team is/are going to step up big. I think we will see the big time team effort and cohesion to which we have become so accustomed, especially on our pitch.. I sure hope the AK Rowdies/students show up in numbers. I think the U@B supporters will show up in decent numbers on a Friday night.

Thanks jzip84. Awesome read. I'm really happy for Evan.

It's too bad FC Cincinnati lost today and is out of the playoffs. They drew 30,000+ and set a USL playoff attendance record. Eric Stevenson scored their lone goal in the 2-1 loss. http://www.fccincinnati.com/news_article/show/704514?referrer_id=2577005