Zip_ME87

Awesome read. Thanks.

Alfred Koroma I agree....#10 Alfred Koroma I agree that #10 should be one of the new guys. I wouldn't want Scotty to change from his familiar #15. He scored the National Championship-winning goal as #15, and that's the number he should always wear as a Zip.

Charlie Weiss, Ron Powlus, others?. Gotta love how that Kansas AD is trying to catch up to Kansas State. Seems more like he's trying to catch up to K.e.n.t State. :rofl:

Ok, I'll give you that. Find a way to play it indoor in Seattle or Tacoma then. Temporarily bring in some sod. I think I've seen that done for some other event before. The Pacific NW has the best MLS supporters. If you really want to try to increase the attendance and get the best atmosphere, that's the place to go in my opinion.

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So they did such a crummy job, they've been given a do-over. Now I'm starting to understand the NCAA. And that's scary! For those of us local to Akron, at least Hoover is drivable, even though it's further than Cary, NC was. Personally, I'd love to see the College Cup in Portland at Jeld-Wen Field. I'd be willing to bet many of the Pacific NW fans would be interested in attending and given that we have former players in Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver as well as a Sounders Academy player, we could pick up some local support.

Does anyone know if the jerseys are Adidas? Long sleeve? Blue? White, short sleeve, no choice but #10. Don't know the brand.

Le Bron Speas (edit) I remember LeBron crapping on Cleveland rather than (edit) making statements like Ben's for the PD article: He, along with Akron coach Caleb Porter, decided a transfer was best, so Speas jumped at the chance to play for North Carolina. "No hard feelings," he said, and the transition was smooth and easy. He still keeps in touch with his old mates, including roommates Chad Barson, David Meves and Scott Caldwell. "I was following them a lot," Speas said of the Zips season that ended with a 1-0 upset loss to Charlotte in the third round of the playoffs. "I'm still very close friends with several of the players, great friends actually. We've been texting. They wished me best of luck in all my games, and I did the same. It was tough for them when they lost, for sure." However, I must say I'm not quite sure there were really "no hard feelings" having watched that post-game interview on UNC's website and Ben's body language, sipping from the water bottle and other, before he answered It was time to move on after being asked why he left Akron. Just my interpretation, but I get the feeling there was some disagreement with Coach Porter. At any rate, kudos to both Ben and Caleb for keeping any issues that may have existed internal where they should remain.

It's almost always better to go into the MLS as an underclassman than a graduated senior. Graduated seniors don't usually have enough options to give them negotiating leverage. To do well, they have to be selected high in the draft, and there's no guarantee next season will be as good to Ben. This year, he can claim, at a minimum...ACC Tournament MVP, "winning" pk in the 2011 College Cup semi-final (with a very confident approach), beautiful championship-winning goal in the 2011 College Cup Final, being instrumental in UNC getting over the hump and winning the title after 3 previous tries, and if you go back to the final game of 2010, he can claim being the ONLY Akron sub in the 2010 Championship game.

I agree with your observations in ranking Darren 4th in this group. Darren has the speed but lacks the creativity, IMHO, which is why he struggled against teams in the post-season tournaments, not because of the weather. (It was rather warm in December 2010 in Santa Barbara as I recall.) EDIT: In thinking about this more, physical strength may be the better observation. It's difficult to be creative when you're being double-teamed and manhandled.

I agree with you that no one is infallible, but this could be a case where Ben's style didn't fit Caleb's. Coach and player may have agreed to disagree which led to Ben going elsewhere. Caleb absolutely has my full support and without knowing all the facts, I don't think I'd call this an "egregious personnel blunder".

That ref was horrible and missed calls both ways. Would have been a different game had he been on top of things. I have a lot of respect for your program and fans. You guys definitely deserved better than you got. Fantastic run knocking off the previous year's champion and the #3 and #2 seeds. As I told several of your fans when I was in Charlotte on Nov 27th, best wishes to you!

I believe Ben's teams' records in the NCAA Tournament are as follows, 11-1-3: 3-1-1 with Zips in 2009 (pk's with Virginia, unfortunately went into the books as a loss, per NCAA rules) 4-0-1 with Zips in 2010 4-0-1 with UNC in 2011 EDIT: I wholeheartedly agree. I wanted to see Ben reach the pros. He now has the body of work to do so.

I can't count that as a win for the Zips, but I'm extremely happy for Ben and his family. Transfers like that don't always work out, but Ben is a great player and really stepped up in the post-season (ACC and NCAA Tournaments). Sorry, for those who were supporting Charlotte. They're a great team and deserve better than they got for all that they accomplished in getting to the final. For me, though, without the Zips there, I couldn't have scripted that any better. Ben won another title and was the key in getting it done. As Crew8 said in another thread, come on Columbus Crew and sign our guy from Stow, OH to a homegrown contract.

+1

Unfortunately, they may be right. I would agree. It's not too hard to imagine that having a fifth guy with the experience of playing in the 2 previous College Cups could have been the difference for the Zips. Watching the way Ben played in the UNC-UCLA semi-final, it was obvious he'd been there before. When UNC was down 1-0 and again 2-1, he played with determination to get the job done; not with worry that his team was down. When it went to PKs, there was no "Oh no" on his face; just confidence in doing what needed to be done to move on to the Final. If you look back through the threads on this board, you'll see numerous fans who felt Ben's loss was likely going to hurt the Zips. I'm not cheering for either team. I'm hoping for a great game. If UNC wins, I'm happy for the guy from Stow who was always great to me as a Zips fan, and whom from everything I've read (and from talking with his parents who showed up to at least one Zips' game this season at First Energy Stadium), appeared to leave the Zips with no or little animosity...just wanting to fulfill his dream of playing in the pros. If Charlotte wins, I'll be very happy for the UNSEEDED, underdog team who defeated our team, then the #3, #2, and #1 seeds, and whose fans deserve their first NCAA D1 Soccer title.

That's a good point. The team that defeats the previous champion deserves to be the new champion.

If UNCC wins the title, then they will always point out that the 49ers defeated Akron, UConn, Creighton, UNC to win the title. We may have to hear numerous times how they defeated the previous champion. I just don't want to hear that repeated over and over. They already mentioned several times last night that UNCC defeated Akron. Hopefully, folks would concentrate more on the upsets of the #3, #2, and #1 (if it happens) seeds than they would on last season's champion. If UNC wins, they don't have that claim. Also, I know one of the Tarheels; I don't know any of the 49ers. Then, we have what you stated: UNCC is the mid-major, and do I really want another ACC team to claim the National Championship trophy? This is why I'm not sure for whom I'll cheer other than the player I know...the guy with the "winning" PK.

Fantastic assist and great "winning" PK for Ben Speas. I don't recall Ben ever taking a PK for the Zips, but he sure looked confident taking that one. Not sure which team I'll be cheering for Sunday, but I want Ben in Columbus with the Crew next season.

Darren not among the finalists. Schuler (UNC), Wenger (Duke), and Finlay (Creighton)

Don't think I can make it to London, but is anyone thinking of heading to Nashville for the CONCACAF Qualifying Group Stage(March 22, 24, & 26) USA Match Times and Ticket Prices - Tickets go on sale Dec. 20th. I would imagine AO Supporter Section Tickets will be up for sale shortly too. I'd love to, but I don't know if I'll be able to schedule around my current project.

http://www.london2012.com/football

I remember that, and I'm with you that I consider Ben a former Zip (although, when he goes pro, he will likely be listed as a Tarheel).

#10 is the only number as I understand. $59.95 EDIT: Sorry, I don't know if the jerseys are adidas or what. A friend told me the bookstore had them; so, I called and confirmed the price and number, but they won't take phone orders and the jerseys aren't on the website yet.

Anyone find an answer to this important question? I'd like to buy a couple for Christmas. Are they available? Or is there a talented screen-printer who could make a couple on the fly? just wondering, thanks. The UA Bookstore now has the 2011 Mens Soccer jerseys. However, they are not yet available online. You have to go to the UA Bookstore to get one.