Zip_ME87

After the Penn State match last night, I came to the conclusion I was wrong about the trip to UCSB this season. I still think the Gauchos owe us a visit to Akron, and I hope they will come next year or within the next few years. But, the timing of this one was not over burdensome on our players, as I feared it might be. I think it was a good change of scenery at a good time. Of course, I heard that the travel was flawless...flights on time, etc...which was a huge help to making the trip successful. Of course, we were all pleased with the result, but I was happy to hear last night that it was a good change of scenery of which they took advantage, including a team trip to the beach. When I mentioned to one of our current players that USCB will always be special because we won our National Championship there, he said something to the effect...Yeah, there was a sign in our locker room 'Home of the 2010 College Cup'. Seeing that, we all felt we had to find a way to win there knowing that was the Zips' National Championship.

Another example of the crap referees in MLS. I love Wil Trapp, but a pk should have been called when he pulled on Darlington Nagbe's jersey/shorts then rolled over his legs without getting any ball, all in the penalty area. I was there, and it was obvious when it happened. The ref was in position and had an easy view to make that call but didn't. Approximately 34 seconds into video. Oh well, the Timbers went on to win 2-1, but again, Darlington gets nothing for his effort on that one. EDIT: Darlington did get an assist on the Timbers' first goal.

I know we have a "Zips in Pro Leagues" thread, but I thought this deserved its own. Best wishes to Wil Trapp, Dillon Serna, and the US U23 MNT. If they qualify, we could have a number of Zips representing the USA in Brazil 2016. Although DeAndre Yedlin has been getting time with the full USMNT, he is age eligible for the Olympic Team (birthday Jan 1, 1993 or later, I believe) and would not count against the 3 older players allowed on the actual Olympic Team. http://www.ussoccer.com/us-under23-mens-national-team/matches Group Play is: Oct 1 v Canada 9 pm ET Oct 3 v Cuba 5 pm ET Oct 6 v Panama 9:30 pm ET TV coverage doesn't look good. Hopefully, there will be some way to watch online if nothing else. I think the finals and semi-finals take place in Salt Lake City Oct 10 & 13. CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying On a side note, the Zips' Shawn Barber will likely represent Canada in the Brazil 2016 Olympics.

Thanks @MarkS. Glad you were able to get there. I know how much our guys appreciate anyone who comes out to support them, especially so far away. I appreciate the Gauchos fans from 2010, but I was put off a little in 2011 when I mentioned it would be nice to see them return our visit then by the Gauchos coming to Akron in 2012. Their fans gave me the usual, oh we can't go to Akron, Ohio, yada yada, yada. Feels great to beat them! The trip also appears to have been good for our guys. I hope they can carry that into the Penn State match on Wednesday at home.

Does anyone know if Robby Dambrot even traveled. He took himself out of the WFU game with what appeared to be the flu. Whatever happened and why, I'm glad the coaches tried out some changes. I know our team is deep with talent and very happy to see it put to use. Maybe the change of scenery was a help too As far as Soares, I liked his play at Georgetown then he got the concussion. Glad to here he looked good last night. Good player. Great win. Hope our fans realize and show up for Penn St.

Really? How does that happen in Akron!

That would be great. Happy to host if they're up to the trip.

I don't recall blaming you in any of my posts for scheduling this match or personally throwing tortillas. I didn't ask you to comment on my original post which was blaming our coaches for scheduling a long trip that doesn't buy us anything and stating it was especially stupid given that UCSB hadn't returned our trip from 2011. Also, it doesn't matter what anyone is targeting or how bad their accuracy, it's hazardous to be throwing anything onto the field during play, especially from high up in the stands. BTW, funny, how the throwing inaccuracies favored landing near Akron players. Given the Zips' schedule this year, I don't believe our RPI will hurt UCSB, and I wouldn't complain anyway if you really expect to draw 8,000 tomorrow night.

Thanks Dave. I realize the tortillas are soft but many of them were coming from high up in the stands. Unfortunately, even engineers at NASA forgot that kinetic energy is 1/2 x mass x velocity squared. [shuttle Columbia was lost because it was thought that a very light piece of foam couldn't do significant damage.] Also, not sure how even a soft tortilla in one's eye might feel. As I said, I don't mind the UCSB tortilla celebration after a goal. In fact, I think it's pretty cool. But, don't throw anything AT players. I don't understand why the referees allowed it. I don't want Gaucho Mike to get the wrong impression. I like UCSB. I just think that if we're willing to make that trip, they should man up and be willing to counter. Come in September or early October. The Fall colors are beautiful in Ohio and the weather is comfortable for playing soccer. I don't expect anyone to come in November like UCLA is doing. But, I give UCLA every credit for not only taking the challenge of playing on our pitch but also that late in the season.

@DiG, @fknbuflobo I've used up my 2 likes for the day, but I agree.

I haven't forgotten anything about 2010. I appreciated your hospitality while we were there, and you have a beautiful campus and good fans. However, I was also there in 2011, and watched you guys throw your tortillas AT players during the run of play. I don't get that. No problem with your tortilla celebration but not throwing them at players during play. It was a rough midweek trip that isn't worth it during the regular season, especially when you don't have the courtesy to return the visit. You're being happy that Akron is visiting doesn't mean anything to me. Have some courtesy, and balls, like UCLA, and come to Akron. EDIT: BTW, UCSB benefits from Akron coming to UCSB much more than Akron benefits from the trip. If your 8,000 materialize, which they didn't in 2011, you will bring in some serious revenue besides playing a ranked team that is not nearly as rested as your team on your field. The only benefit Akron gets is RPI bump.

Ok 3 games in 9 days. If we played UCSB in a multi-game trip to Cali, ok, but it's stupid to travel to UCSB for 1 game especially when the panzies won't come to Akron. There are teams much closer to us that would be of more value on our schedule. I'll always have a special place in my heart for UCSB since we won our National Championship there, but that doesn't keep me wanting to go there for a 1 game trip during the regular season.

When former players like Wil Trapp attend a match like last night, I would hope the coaches ask for their thoughts on what they see. Perhaps they do. Wil Trapp's would definitely be well worth getting.

It's not just the defending of the midfield. It's the way that the midfield transitions the play from the back line forward to build up the attack. It's sloppy and the errant passes and poor choices of where to go are enabling too many easy counterattacks.

Actually, yes. I overheard one of them talking to his parents about a potential issue with a test he had scheduled today I think, and he had found out they were leaving earlier than originally planned due to some issue with the flight(s). I was happy to hear they were going to get to Cali earlier than planned to regenerate after the long flight, but forgot about the potential issue(s) with class work. Point is that it is an unnecessarily long trip to be taking sandwiched between 2 other games. Pick a midwest or east coast school, a bus ride or short plane trip away. EDIT: By the way, it's 3 games in 8 days. (edit2) + 4.5 hour plane flight + a 2-hour bus ride from LAX to Galeta, CA + a 2-hr bus ride back to LAX + 4 hour plane flight home, assuming non-stop flights (+ bus rides to and from CLE).

Disappointing to say the least. Wake Forest showed up to play, and the Zips were missing much of the first half. Our midfield looked horrible, making errant passes, allowing too much penetration into our backfield, not switching the field, giving the ball away, and then becoming overly aggressive as frustration set in. When the Zips get the ball wide, there's often no runs into the box...oftentimes there's no one there to send the ball into. I don't understand the lack of switching the field. Oftentimes, the Zips try to press through the ball through multiple defenders up the line when there are open guys on the opposite side of the field. One would think with the great teams we've had in the recent past, studying film from 2009 and 2010 would be a requirement. If it is, there seems to be few, if any, lessons learned from it. I thought this team had been showing greatness early. (I didn't see the ODU game.) We seem to be regressing, and it doesn't get any easier. Wake Forest absolutely deserved the win last night. They were the better team, and congrats to them for being ready to come into Akron and get the W. There's a lot for these Zips to work on starting with how in the H@ll to stop giving up so many goals. I think last season's goals against average was <0.70. These guys have more experience and some added help. What's going on? I think our midfield is as much to blame as anyone for giving up all of these goals, and they need to take a hard look at fixing their play. With all of that said, I still love this team and believe they have the talent to go far. But, they have to find the desire, the drive.

While it is hopeful on my part to play UCLA and Santa Clara in the same trip, I disagree with you about "playing at the same venue". I could see a trip to SoCal that could include a game at UCLA and another game at Cal State Northridge, Cal Poly, or Irvine ... all bus trips away from UCLA and no different than VCU in Richmond and ODU in Norfolk in one trip this season other than the plane flight to SoCal & back.

I don't have any absolute information for you, but I believe the Zips will likely be visiting Westwood next season. I'm actually hoping for a UCLA and Santa Clara payback in the same weekend. I'd love to visit SoCal and the Bay Area both with the Zips. When are the panzy @ss USCB Gauchos coming to Akron? They already owe us for our 2011 visit, and we're visiting again this year. (I wish we weren't. Screw them until they come to Akron.)

A few additional items I should have mentioned. 5. Victor Souto has matured IMMENSELY this season. At Georgetown, Maryland, and again last night, I saw Victor take some sh*t that would have lit him up last year (or even back in the Spring). The Buckeyes tried to set him off at least once, and he didn't take the bait. What a difference it is this season to have Victor in all of the games for all of the minutes. I'm so proud and impressed by what he's doing on and off the field this far from home. 6. This team has matured so much from last season. When we went down 0-2 vs St Louis, I had a confident feeling that the Zips would come back and find a way to win. When they cut it to 1-2 at halftime, I just knew they'd do it, and they did. I know they can win this year. I BELIEVE. I'm hoping they will, too, and do what each of them needs to do to make it happen. GO ZIPS!!

Thanks TennZip. Great stuff! ...Embick said UA has special players who can push it towards a championship. He put junior midfielder Adam Najem, sophomore midfielder Richie Laryea, redshirt sophomore forward Sam Gainford and junior midfielder Victor Souto in the same class as the stars of the past. Gainford, of Liverpool, England, came to the interview room Wednesday bloodied after being forced to leave the game to receive stitches in his nose, yet still assisted on all three goals.... “We need big wins. So we have to go and get the big wins,” Embick said. “I always feel like the years we’ve been high in the RPI we’ve still been seeded two or three spots lower than we were in the RPI. If we want to be a top four seed, we have to finish one or two because they’ll probably move us down a couple spots. We have less margin for error.”

Definitely disappointing. 1. I love this team. They are very talented and young men of great character. However, I see, for lack of a better term, "laziness". Last night, they seemed to believe the 1-4 Buckeyes were going to just give us the game. The Buckeyes' players were ready to take on the Zips. Unfortunately, I didn't see the Zips ready to defend their turf. Caleb Porter and team used to apologize for matches like we watched last night. This team, being much better than they played, should do the same. THIS IS AKRON! 2. I'll repeat...these Zips are VERY talented. I know this team could win the College Cup. But, where's the desire, the heart, the passion? You can't achieve a goal if you don't set that goal. In 2009 and 2010, I believe the team, among other Akron sports teams, had "goal coaches". Do we have them now? If not, I'd at least suggest that the coaches consider bringing in some folks (former Zips, former Zips coaches, others) to talk with these guys about setting & achieving goals. I'm sure the coaches are talking about goals, but sometimes it helps to hear it from multiple sources, and not necessarily all those sources need to be sports figures. Success in business, career, etc. all stem from the same beliefs, attitudes, actions, etc. 3. NCAA substitution rules...I HATE them. However, they are what they are, and we need to take better advantage of them. We had some very talented players sitting on the bench who could have provided fresh legs. For some reason, we only chose to sub a few players. Are the guys sitting the bench doing so because they're lazy in practice? For example, Stuart Holthusen has been missing from at least the last 2 games. He played in the U20 World Cup for New Zealand. I don't know what the issue is, but if he's "dogging it", then I challenge him to find a way to get motivated. From what I've seen of him, he could be an OUTSTANDING player and help the Zips win a National Championship all the while bettering his future prospects. Same goes for Bryce Cregan. We could use some help with defending. Stop moping that you're not starting (if that's the case) and start working your butt off in practice to get on the field during games. I ask all of our players to take a good look at themselves. If you can truly say you did your best, then ok. But, remember, you've been given a great opportunity to play for a team that could be great and win a National Championship. Seize the opportunity. It won't be there forever. 4. Forget this game other than to learn from it. It's in the past and can't be changed. Wake Forest, and only Wake Forest matters now. Work your butts off, fix the issues, and let's defend our home and beat Wake. I'll finish by saying again that I love this team and every one of our players. Thank you all for coming to and playing for Akron. Take my comments as I offer them...I know you're a GREAT group of guys whom I happily travel all over and show up early to support. Find it within yourselves to be a GREAT team and to achieve that which I know you can.

Looking at the last 5 Mens College Cups, 2010 (MOST EXCELLENT YEAR) to 2014, we need significant improvement on goals against average: Year Winner GP GA GAA 2014 Virginia 23 17 0.74 2013 Notre Dame 24 18 0.75 2012 Indiana 25 18 0.72 2011 UNC 26 18 0.69 2010 Akrron 25 16 0.64 EDIT: Looking at 2009 (a GOOD YEAR) Year Team GP GA GAA 2009 Virginia 24 8 0.33 2009 RU Akron 25 7 0.28 As I've told numerous people, numerous times, I'm not diminishing 2010 whatsoever, but the 2009 Zips were better than the 2010 Zips even though they didn't win the Championship. The 2009 team was special to be able to play their beautiful, attacking/possession style and yet defend better than any other team. It's still painful to think of not giving up a single goal in the NCAA Tournament and yet not bringing home the Championship trophy.

Thanks chris. I'll admit that now that I've seen it on video, it's very difficult to say from that angle. Another argument for goal line technology. I don't understand why they have it for hockey, but not soccer. Thank goodness we got the 3rd goal so that it didn't really matter. All that matters at this time is SLU. Go Zips.

http://www.starsandstripesfc.com/2015/9/10/9308919/darlington-nagbe-us-citizenship-usmnt-eligible I hope JK has already made the call. USMNT

I was at the game, too...in the red chairback seats. I happened to be looking through the telephoto lens on my camera when it occurred but didn't snap a picture. It didn't appear to go deep enough into the goal to have completely crossed the line. However, I cannot be absolutely certain. If it did not cross, I don't think we'll ever see the replay especially given that it was a BTN broadcast.