Zip_ME87

+1 If he left us for another NCAA program (which he has shown he won't do), I'd be upset. If he was moving up the ranks, I'd wish him the best of luck. I've go the upmost respect for Porter. Hopefully he wins a few more championships before he moves up. Go Zips!I totally agree. I'm extremely excited and happy to see Caleb get this well-deserved opportunity while remaining with us and hope one day to see him reach his ultimate goal, the same as I want for our players.

...Teal Bunbury, Zarek Valentin, ...

Remaining schedule is not a help: (RPI)149 Michigan145 Buffalo102 Bowling Green58 Wake Forest87 Michigan State123 Florida Atlantic

No problem. You through me for a loop because I thought it was only 6th...I looked it up to be certain.

This is Caleb's sixth season. He started in 2006. Why are you discussing seven seasons?

Thanks for verifying that. I thought it was but wasn't sure. When I mentioned to UCSB fans at UCSB that they needed to return the favor, they looked at me like "Are you nuts?".

Hey Mike. Thanks for stopping by. Enjoyed myself again at UCSB on Oct 5th, except for the result. You guys are great fans. Only one fan made a classless comment after the game. Not sure why folks resent fans of the other team cheering for their team, but I'll set him aside. Not sure of future schedules, but I would love to see the Gauchos return the favor and come to Akron in the early season, perhaps for our tournament. I don't know about others, but I don't have an issue with Ben. As others have said, he likely wasn't going to start at Akron; so, he moved on to do what he thought best for himself. (Although, I wonder if he might have been a good option for us this season as box-to-box mid-fielder.) Personally, I'd like to see him do well since he's from the area. It was always cool talking with him. His parents still attend Akron games from time to time and are supportive of our team/players...great people. Keep the wins coming at UCSB. We need to help each other as best we can with RPI.

College sports teams are big business, and some coaches are cashing in No problem with Men's Basketball and Men's Soccer salaries, but football...is that really what Akron currently pays per year?

I agree that it is frustrating at times. I sit in the front row of the grandstands; so, when the Zips are attacking the east goal, I have a great view of DeAndre's play. The Zips should be getting the ball to him more often, and as much as I think Darren is a good player, I also think he's oftentimes looking out for Darren rather than the team. I know Caleb gives him a lot of praise, but I hope he also reinforces that team is #1 during the season. Just hang in there, though. I'm confident that DeAndre will get more chances.

The end of a streak suggests Caleb Porter might be mortal, but everyone should still fear Akron. Nice bi line / article I especially like the following... Teams like Akron are not built overnight. It takes a certain coach with foresight and determination to believe in his vision to accomplish what Porter has in so very few years. The streak of second half domination may be over, but his potential as a coach is just now starting to get tapped.

I think you miss the point. The travel for this game is not the same as the College Cup. More days are allotted for travel for the Cup. Also, at Akron, classes and exams are complete before the Cup. If you mean travel for the NCAA Tournament prior to the Cup, it's still not the same. Only 1 game is played each week during the tournament. Yes, the pressure is greater because of the one and done situation, but the travel is not as difficult. I totally disagree with taking a long trip like this midweek with weekend games on either end...not good mid-season strategy. I didn't play, and I'm exhausted from the trip. There are plenty of great teams in the East and Midwest much closer who can provide the challenge/atmosphere. I have no problem playing a tournament like at Northridge (maybe Irvine in the future), but not a midweek, 1-game trip.

I have to agree with you. It's tough enough to play 3 games in eight days but factor in the travel,time changes,and stress and you have a set up for potential poor performance. Hopefully they get refocused and ready for Saturday and the friendly confines of First Energy-Cub Cadet. I'm in absolute agreement. It's one thing to not shy away from anyone, but to travel to Western Michigan, return home, travel 2000 miles a few days later, play a game with no adjustment to the time difference, and then return home another 2000 miles to play a few days later is tough...especially for college student athletes who also have class work to do. I hope Caleb won't schedule like this again. Who cares about West Coast teams and their not being able to schedule well outside their region...Akron is my team and the only team about which I give a darn.

On this note, let's not schedule like this again. A trip to the west for a tournament is fine, but not for a midweek game. BTW, is UCSB scheduling a trip to Akron next season? Their fans seemed to be ok with us coming to them, but afraid for them to come to Akron.

Raining here in sunny, Southern Cali all day. Supposed to stop by 6 pm. Please let the forecaster be right for a change. Go Zips! EDIT: At 2:10 pm PDT, the weather here in Goleta, CA is gorgeous... Sunny and 60's. Hopefully it stays this way! GO ZIPS!

Yeah, I seem to have bad luck at the HDC. None of our guys started. At least Blair started the 2nd half and played that full 45 minutes. I didn't even get to say "hi" to any of our guys. They never hung around afterward at all. The crowd was very sparse as you noticed on tv. Edit: I did wander over to Hermosa Beach on Monday morning and walk around the area where I believe Zarek and Heath Pearce share an apt. Zarek probably doesn't realize he gave away his address with that photo of their view that he posted on twitter. Google street view is an amazing thing (especially when the street doesn't cover a long distance). Nice area, nice beach (HOT girls playing volleyball, if I'm allowed to mention that on ZN.o ), good restaurants with sidewalk seating. Not sure what Chivas' weekend (and training) schedule is -- If he has time, it wouldn't surprise me to see 'Z' show up in Isla Vista. You might be interested in visiting with Big Mike and the Locos at Giovanni's pizza before the match. I hope at least a handful of W Coast Zips can make it. I hear there's a terrible cold spell blowing in with rain. Colder than the Cup weekend. Yikes! Yes, definitely colder than cup weekend...that was hot! Unfortunately, it is raining here...the only day this week it's supposed to rain. However, it is supposed to stop around 6 pm. I can take the 50's and 60's much better if the rain would stop...PLEASE! Sunny, Southern California, please!

UCSB is a pretty wildly inconsistent team. When they are "on", they're capable of beating anyone in the nation -- particularly in the Locos' Den. I'm looking forward to it -- hope the team doesn't arrive like Wednesday morning or p.m. That would be a bad sign. Somebody check the various twitter accounts. Where are our boys right now? They leave Akron tomorrow. Do you know the hour? 2PM My understanding is that they were on the Continental non-stop scheduled to arrive at 6:48 pm at LAX. Flight arrived early at 6:25 pm according to Continental's website.

Yeah, I seem to have bad luck at the HDC. None of our guys started. At least Blair started the 2nd half and played that full 45 minutes. I didn't even get to say "hi" to any of our guys. They never hung around afterward at all. The crowd was very sparse as you noticed on tv. Edit: I did wander over to Hermosa Beach on Monday morning and walk around the area where I believe Zarek and Heath Pearce share an apt. Zarek probably doesn't realize he gave away his address with that photo of their view that he posted on twitter. Google street view is an amazing thing (especially when the street doesn't cover a long distance). Nice area, nice beach (HOT girls playing volleyball, if I'm allowed to mention that on ZN.o ), good restaurants with sidewalk seating.

I probably overreacted, but I feel like there's too much discussion of this subject. I wish that I would never have added to it in the other thread. We have a very successful team with a great coach at the helm...be happy. EDIT: I love our team for all they do and the pride that they bring to Akron. I'm lucky that in a few hours I'll be sitting in the front row at the Home Depot Center...hopefully seeing Ben Zemanski, Zarek Valentin, and Blair Gavin in action (if all are healthy and get into the game). In a few days, I'll be back at Harder Stadium to see the defending National Champions back at the site where they won it all. It's all positive. GO ZIPS!

here's the highlight video http://www.mlssoccer.com/videos/?catid=114&id=19655 Here's the story from MLS

Thanks for that insight and bringing this thread back up for the low depths to which it sunk. I've admitted on here (in another thread) that Meves scares me at times. But, having the record that the Zips have over Meves' time in goal, as well as a National Championship in hand, how can we seriously want to make a huge change like swapping out our GK. Yes, he makes mistakes at times like everyone does, but I wouldn't take him out, NO WAY, NO HOW! We've lost 1 game in the regular run of play since he's been our GK. Against Virginia, when I thought we were done in PKs, he made a few stellar saves to give our guys the chance to win. Against Cal, I believe David also made a stellar save or 2 to get us to the College Cup and eventually the National Championship. Yes, Chad had to step in in the Championship Game, but as I said before, that's what GREAT teams do...they have each others' backs. I can't believe the seriousness of some of these posts, wanting to replace Meves, given the outstanding team that we have. Take a break...tinker elsewhere...move back to the football forum...there's something that needs us to let Tom Wistrcill and Dr. Proenza know needs serious changing. Leave Mens Soccer in the hands of the professionals...Caleb Porter and staff. GO ZIPS! Let's see no tortillas flying this Wednesday!

Thanks for posting that. I just realized in watching this video that the game time changed from 8 pm PDT to 7 pm PDT...I'd have been very angry to show up late to Harder Stadium. Go Zips!

Kudos to Meves. Sorry for doubting him in the other thread. Keep it going.

They can act however they want about their jerseys...they're 3-0...if only we had such a situation.

I wholeheartedly second that! There is no perfect right or wrong answer. It's judgement, and there's no one's judgement I trust in soccer more than Caleb's. That doesn't mean that we can't have a discussion.

Nagbe to Cooper...score! (9th minute vs San Jose). Nice setup by D!