Zip_ME87

The MAC is never easy even though we've won the regular season so many years in a row. Michigan is not much of a measuring stick, in my opinion, nor is Maryland at this time. Like the Zips, unfortunately, neither are on this list.

I apologize in advance for doing this, but since buflobo brought it up: the most painful PK result for me was Blair Gavin's going over the goal at Wake Med Soccer Park, Cary, NC after David Meves had made a couple of awesome saves to keep the Zips in contention for the 2009 National Championship. Wil Trapp's and Scotty's vs Creighton were equally #2. Horrible way to close out Caleb's tenure at Akron along with the tenures of Scotty, Chad, David Meves, Thomas Schmitt, DeAndre, Wil, Dillon Serna.

I didn't intend to sound like I was writing Victor off. I was questioning whether it might be better to have more than one guy take PKs. I was told that Blair Gavin was almost automatic on PKs because he could see which way the GK started to move during his approach and then shoot the other way. Restrepo didn't move in the Virginia game, and Blair sorta froze as he approached the ball and ended up kicking it over the goal. GKs don't always guess either. They watch the PK taker's approach and sometimes pick up which way the player is going. That still doesn't always work if the PK taker can put the ball out of the GK's reach or can make it look like he's going one way then go the other. As with most things, there's no perfect answer. I just thought it might help to have multiple players take the PKs so it's a little less easy to scout tendancies.

Interesting data and video. thanks.

That's my experience, too, that teams have their one penalty taker. I've seen it also with Higuain in Columbus, and I believe he's had several blocked. That's why I think it might be wiser to go with multiple PK takers. As far as the video, I agree we shouldn't post and make it easy for our opponent but they would likely get the footage somehow anyway. If you had 3 or so PK takers, they wouldn't know as easily whom to expect. Laryea, Holthusen, Sepe, Najem, Abdul-Salaam can all score in the run of play. You'd think any one of them along with Victor could make PKs.

I agree about the concern over giving up 2 goals in 5 minutes. Breakdowns like that should not happen. As far as PKs, I think most, if not all coaches, select one player to take the PKs throughout the season. They'll often make a change when a player misses one unless he's had a good record taking a number of them. However, I disagree with the philosophy of having one "go to" PK taker. Every player has tendancies in how they take shots at the goal. PK tendancies can easily be scouted. I think that it might be wiser to have 2 or 3 "go to" PK takers. Every player should be comfortable taking PKs. It's part of the game and is often necessary to advance in tournament situations. Players at the D-1 college level should be so competitive that they want to be that guy who makes the PK needed for the team to advance. No player should say they don't want to take a PK.

I didn't know that, and I agree with you. I think most companies/organizations use "behavioral" interview questions to try to help understand how the person would fit the position. I would have thought if you had someone that knows anything about being a head football coach on your interview panel, you could at least come up with some questions that would stump a football coaching genius like RI.

I suspect Porter and others really thought Fernando Pina was going to be our GK hands down. Perhaps Ferrell didn't want to chance that competition? Pina came in highly rated. I think Jake has been doing a good job. Just needed 1 more save tonight. He had the PK save and a number of others at blOSU, and I felt he was MotM in that one.

I think it was the good ole buddy system. Sometimes you have to put your job/reputation ahead of a friendship. If one of my friends interviewed with me for a job, and he wasn't qualified, I think I could explain my choice based upon the selectee's qualifications. If my friend didn't understand, then he's not much of a friend. Business is business, and we're not talking about a slight difference in qualifications here. I need to give this up. It stlll irks me that our current AD is still at UA. He's a "nice guy", but I just don't see what he's doing for us.

The only reason Ianello's hire is listed as only the 8th worst is because there is no respect for Akron Football. The same is true for Kansas Football. The worst hire shouldn't be Weis by Notre Dame, but Weis by Kansas. Everyone but Kansas knew it was a HUGE mistake when they did it. How can any AD be that thick? The 2nd worst hire should be Ianello by Akron. He had no credentials worthy of a Head Coach. And, just to talk to him or hear him talk one time, you have to be more clueless than him to not recognize how clueless he is about football and probably many other things. How do these AD's keep their job. How many people can F up so badly and still have their job? How can anyone take them seriously?

After going down 0-2 in the first half, the Zips got themselves back into the game in the 2nd half with a good chance to tie it. PK's, unfortunately, are not "give me" goals. I'd have love to have won or at least tied, but I'm happy to see the response of this young team to adversity on the road. Let's Go Zips!

If you guys haven't figured out by now that this is a young team that is, unfortunately going to be inconsistent, you're going to pop a blood vessel before this season is over. Chill out and get ready for Saturday. Go Zips!

I agree. I just didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea. I think Wil deserves "the business", too, mostly for re-tweeting that picture.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/24under24/news/article/2014/09/25/discovering-deandre-how-seattle-sounders-found-developed-deandre-yedlin A few excerpts... By then he’d also caught the eye of Akron head coach Caleb Porter, who had served as an assistant with the US Under-18 team when Yedlin was called in as a junior in high school. The Zips won a national title in 2010 using an aggressive and effective right back in Kofi Sarkodie, but there was a hole in the lineup after Sarkodie departed for MLS, drafted by the Houston Dynamo in 2011. The Sounders played it safe, and Yedlin went to Akron. Sounders assistant Kurt Schmid watched him play a number of times his freshman year and Yedlin returned to Seattle the summer after his freshman year a more confident player. The faults that hurt him during his younger years – a sometimes clumsy first touch and errant crossing – had improved, and he was beginning to truly grasp when to best use his speed in attack so that his team wouldn’t get caught on the counterattack. Yedlin returned to Akron his sophomore year and excelled again for the Zips, leaving no doubt about his professional future. The Sounders made him the franchise’s first-ever Homegrown player in January 2013 and unveiled him at the MLS SuperDraft in Indianapolis four days later.

Yes. Sorry. The AK Rowdies were holding up a Timbers Army scarf and chanting "P-T F-C" at the people in the crowd wearing Crew gear.

I feel a little bad for getting on Wil. He's a Columbus homegrown and a great player. So, the Crew looks to him to be a face of the team around the city, including, unfortunately for us and him, tOSU. I'm sure that involves some things he'd rather avoid, but his connection to the Crew's fans helps them put butts in their seats. I can guarantee everyone here Wil was sitting next to me and applauding for the Zips. He was upset/worried like the rest of the Zips fans when the Buckeyes scored the goal to tie the game at 1-1. He was as happy as any Zips fan when we took the lead, got the third goal, and watched Jake save that pk.

Awesome! I saw CP give another fan wearing a Buckeye cap all kinds of crap at a meet the team event on the 5th floor of Infocision Stadium. Even though he graduated and played for a B1G school, he truly loved our (his/our) program at Akron. He celebrated its history and truly believed he could take it to new heights like he did. He really believed Akron could be more than a mid-major, too. But, of course, that assumes that all alumni and students support the Zips like those on ZN.o. I remember talking to him after the Zips defeated IU 1-0 in the Notre Dame Tournament. He remarked how awesome it was to defeat his alma mater, AGAIN!

Apologies to the AK Rowdies. I should never have told you to take it easy on the "PT FC" when Wil arrived. You'd never see CP posing with Brutus. He would've made Brutus feel so bad he'd have taken his nuts home like the asst ref who took his flag and stormed out of the elite 8 game vs Cal in 2010.

I totally agree with you a-zip. Jared and the players are learning and getting it done. Wil Trapp told me last night, what we've all seen, that the Zips look night and day better than they did in the Maryland exhibition game [he attended at FES-CCF]. Jared, his staff, and this team are doing fine. We need to continue to support them and bring the sizable crowds at home. I wish I could be at Wake Forest to support them in person.

DeAndre Yedlin tops the current MLS 24 Under 24 list with Wil Trapp at #9 and Perry Kitchen at 18.

The only comment that I will make is that I was told that Dr. Scarborough, while attending the Tulsa game at FES-CCF, commented how much fun it was, and that he'd have to come to more games. GO ZIPS! EDIT: I forgot, one of the Zips fans who lives in Columbus said that the plan for a new Crew Stadium with a number of practice fields is a pipe dream that's been discussed for the last 15 or so years. Let's take any further discussion of this over to the other thread. I agree with Balsy we shouldn't upset anyone in this thread.

I guess there is a difference in that Jared inherited a successful team with most everything in place. But, he still deserves time to "settle" into his new position. Being the Head Coach is significantly different from being an assistant. With the homegrown "explosion" in MLS, I think it's also becoming more and more difficult to pick up the national team academy players. Finally, if you look back at out College Cup teams, Blair Gavin, Anthony Ampaipitakwong, Scott Caldwell, Zarek Valentin, and others that I may be forgetting knew each other from the IMG Academy. That was an awesome stroke of luck/recruiting prowess to be able to get so many players who already knew each other and likely had at least some playing time together before coming to Akron.

By the way, in my list, I forgot to mention former Zip Aodhan Quinn was there, too. On the off chance that Aodhan reads this...very, very, very SORRY that I left you out of my original list. It was great being reunited with you, the Barsons, the Trapps, Paula Stevenson, et al. When the AK Rowdies did "I Believe that We Have Won" with the team, Mrs. Trapp said something along the lines of 'Ah, I miss that. It's so good to hear that again.' It was a GREAT night to be a Zips fan. Beat OSU 3-1. Jake Fenlason blocked a pk (in your face Buckeye Nation ) that could have made it 3-2 with enough time remaining for a potential tying goal. And, a nice reunion with numerous awesome people. Pleasant 1.5 hour drive home after that.

Wil never told me he did that. Wait 'til I see him again Saturday!!