Zip_ME87

I was talking with a former Zips player, and he mentioned some details of Darlington's story (more specific details of escaping Liberia with his Mom and siblings and coming to Ohio) that I didn't recall reading or hearing. I found the additional details that were mentioned to be very interesting and thought I'd share anything that I find with the rest of ZipsNation in this thread. Please feel free to let me know if some of what I post in this thread has already been posted previously. Weah and Nagbe's Liberian roots unite with the USMNT March 26, 2018 ...The reason? Weah and Nagbe’s deep family connection. The roots of which began on another continent with another national soccer team, over thirty years ago. To find the beginning of the Weah-Nagbe soccer connection, one must travel to the west African nation of Liberia, where Weah and Nagbe’s fathers starred together for the Liberian national team for the better part of two decades. George Weah, now the president of Liberia, was a world-class striker who won the 1995 Ballon d’Or while playing for Italian power AC Milan. Joe Nagbe was a commanding defender who had a lengthy career in Europe and earned 97 caps for Liberia. ... Versatile Standout Finds a Position, and a Home with Portland Timbers Nov 28, 2015 ...The pathway to American citizenship was not easy for Nagbe. Born in Liberia during its long civil war, he stayed behind with his mother while his father, Joe, a mainstay with Liberia’s national team alongside the former world player of the year George Weah, played professionally in Europe. “It was a really difficult time, especially for my mom,” Nagbe said. “I hear a lot of stories about the time my dad left to go to France to play. My mom hadn’t followed him yet, and then the war broke out. At nights, she was hearing gunshots, and there was no electricity. My older brother was 3, and she was pregnant with me. She had to find someone to deliver me and was getting help from rebels. They managed a way to stay together, stay alive, and flee the country.” Once they left Liberia, the Nagbes bounced around from France to Greece to Switzerland to — in the one move not involving Joe’s playing career — Cleveland. Early in his Akron coaching tenure, Porter got a phone call from the former United States national team player George Nanchoff, Nagbe’s youth coach at the time, imploring Porter to scout Nagbe. When he did, Porter recalled, he described Nagbe’s performance as “jaw-dropping.” ...

I hope Zips faithful will contribute to this as best they can. This is an important fundraiser that I thought would go out to a wider distribution. Coach Embick is staying and keeping Zips Men's Soccer at the highest levels. We only lost 2 starters from last season among those who left as seniors or underclassmen. We have 4 players who joined for Spring with at least 4 more (reported by Top Drawer Soccer) coming, and I'm confident to say the 2019 Zips look to pick up where they left off in 2018. In 2009, the Zips were National Runners Up in Cary, NC; in 2010, the Zips were National Champions in Santa Barbara. Next year, the College Cup is in Cary, NC...so, let's switch that around. 2018/Runners Up in Santa Barbara, 2019/National Champions in Cary. Go Zips!!!

Congratulations to Wil Trapp and Jonathan Lewis!!! BERHALTER SELECTS FINAL 23-PLAYER TRAVEL ROSTER FOR U.S. MNT MATCHES AGAINST PANAMA AND COSTA RICA DETAILED ROSTER BY POSITION (Club; Caps/Goals): GOALKEEPERS (2): Sean Johnson (New York City FC; 5/0), Zack Steffen (Columbus Crew SC; 6/0) DEFENDERS (8): Reggie Cannon (FC Dallas; 2/0), Nick Lima (San Jose Earthquakes; 0/0), Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls; 2/0), Daniel Lovitz (Montreal Impact/CAN; 0/0), Mark McKenzie (Philadelphia Union; 0/0), Keegan Rosenberry (Colorado Rapids; 0/0), Auston Trusty (Philadelphia Union; 0/0), Walker Zimmerman (LAFC; 4/1) MIDFIELDERS (10): Paul Arriola (D.C. United; 17/2), Corey Baird (Real Salt Lake; 0/0), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC/CAN; 142/17), Russell Canouse (D.C. United; 0/0), Marky Delgado (Toronto FC/CAN; 6/0), Jonathan Lewis (New York City FC; 0/0), Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy; 5/1), Djordje Mihailovic (Chicago Fire; 0/0), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders FC; 5/0), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC; 11/0) FORWARDS (3): Jeremy Ebobisse (Portland Timbers, 0/0), Christian Ramirez (LAFC; 0/0), Gyasi Zardes (Columbus Crew SC; 40/6)

Mic'd Up | Go behind the scenes of the Crew's 2019 MLS SuperDraft Cool. In addition to Caleb and Bez, former Zip and new Crew Assistant, Pablo Moreira, is at the Crew's draft table to Caleb's far right.

Best wishes to Zips alum Richie Laryea as he pursues a potential spot with TorontoFC. Thanks to @TennZip for pointing me to this. Report: Canadian Midfielder Richie Laryea in camp with Toronto FC

https://www.columbuscrewsc.com/post/2019/01/18/edwards-porter-lasting-impact-late-sigi-schmid ... With memorial services scheduled for Friday, Jan. 18 at 8 p.m. ET in Manhattan Beach, Calif., those unable to attend can view the live stream here. ...

Updated list of 2019 commitments from Top Drawer Soccer https://www.topdrawersoccer.com/college-soccer/college-soccer-details/men/akron/clgid-438/tab-commitments Grant Abbott, GK, Decatur, Illinois, St. Louis FC Henrique Cruz, MF, New Jersey, Cedar Stars Academy John Fitzgerald, MF, Tallahassee, Florida, Barca Academy Will Jackson, MF, Hudson, Ohio, Internationals SC (OH) Natnael McDonald, MF, Georgia, Atlanta United Josef Paulus, MF, Ohio, Internationals SC (OH) Cameron Victor, GK, Olmsted Falls, Ohio, Internationals SC (OH) Jaden Wright, F, Lorain, Ohio, Internationals SC (OH)

Me, too! And, I'm looking forward to our Zips picking up from where they left off last season! This should be a fun one!!! Go Zips!!!

I don't have anything other than a gut feel for this, but Precourt did much to undermine his team over his time of ownership...the exclusive deal with TWC/Spectrum to show home matches is a great example...only those who had TWC/Spectrum could get the games. That's no way to grow a fan base. People can't get interested if they can't watch.

Ben Lundt: Excited To Stay 'Home" In Ohio ...Lundt arrives at FC Cincinnati after three seasons at Akron, where he was the starting goalkeeper for a side that won three-consecutive Mid-American Conference championships. The 6-foot-6 German keeper played 64 matches in college, amassing 27 clean sheets and 180 saves. Last year, he made 20 appearances and collected 12 clean sheets. ...

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Spring roster link: https://gozips.com/news/2019/1/15/akron-mens-soccer-announces-four-member-early-2019-signing-class.aspx?path=msoc direct link: https://gozips.com/documents/2019/1/15/akron_msoc_2019spring.pdf (25 players: 21 position players, 4 GKs) Freshmen (8) 28 Dion Akhigbe MF/F 5-8 Fr. (R) 29 Nick McCausland D 5-8 Fr. (R) 30 Nick Sibila GK 6-4 Fr. (R) 31 Ricky Ceballos GK 5-10 Fr. (R) Grant Abbott GK - Fr. Henrique Cruz MF - Fr. Johnny Fitzgerald MF - Fr. Will Jackson F - Fr. Sophomores (9) 2 Pol Hernandez D 5-6 So. 3 Carlo Ritaccio D 5-11 So. 4 Marco Milanese D 5-11 So. 12 Colin Biros MF/F 5-6 So. 15 Braden Petno F 6-4 So. (R) 16 Sam Tojaga MF 5-11 So. 18 Ivan Nikolic D 5-11 So. 23 Daniel Oliveira D 5-7 So. (R) 27 Declan Watters D 6-5 So. (R) Juniors (5) 9 David Egbo F 6-1 Jr. 14 Diogo Pacheco MF/F 5-10 Jr. (R) 24 Tor Saunders GK 6-5 Jr. (R) 25 Daniel Strachan D 6-1 Jr. 32 Peter Zecca F 5-10 Jr. Seniors (3) 5 Leonard Sohn D 5-10 Sr. 6 Skye Harter MF 6-1 Sr. (R) 21 Christian Lue Young MF 6-0 Sr. (R) Coaches Head Coach: Jared Embick (13th season/seventh as head coach) Assistant Coach: TJ Kolba (fifth season) Goalkeepers Coach: Ger Coppinger (fifth season)

The Crew is in great hands. I think they are going to have a huge upswing in attendance now that ownership actually wants the team to succeed and has hired great people to make it happen.

Direct link to article: https://www.readingunitedac.com/news_article/show/985380 ... The former United man played his senior season of college soccer with the University of Akron. The Englishman helped the Zips reach the 2018 College Cup Final, registering one goal and five assists while appearing in 24 games. ...

DOMESTIC MLS, https://www.mlssoccer.com/ Atlanta - Darlington Nagbe Colorado Rapids - Dillon Serna Columbus Crew - Wil Trapp FC Cincinnati - Darren Mattocks (Expansion Draft), Ben Lundt (2019 MLS Superdraft) LA Galaxy - Perry Kitchen Montreal Impact - Evan Bush New England Revolution - Teal Bunbury, Scott Caldwell NYCFC - Jonathan Lewis, Abdi Mohamed (2019 MLS Superdraft) Orlando City - Joao Moutinho (trade from LAFC) Portland Timbers - Zarek Valentin USL Championship, https://www.uslsoccer.com/ LA Galaxy II - Nate Shultz Orange County SC - Aodhan Quinn St. Louis FC - Jake Fenlason Seattle Sounders 2 - Nick Hinds USL League One, https://www.uslleagueone.com/ South Georgia Tormenta FC - Marco Micaletto INTERNATIONAL Canadian Premier League (CanPL), https://canpl.ca/ Hamilton Forge - Marcel Zajac English Premier League, https://www.premierleague.com/ Newcastle United FC - DeAndre Yedlin Thai Premier League, https://www.thaileague.co.th/official/ Bangkok United - Anthony Ampaipitakwong

Looking forward to seeing these four new guys with us in the spring. https://gozips.com/news/2019/1/15/akron-mens-soccer-announces-four-member-early-2019-signing-class.aspx Henrique Cruz Will Jackson Grant Abbott Johnny Fitzgerald

Congratulations to Marco Micaletto.

Might as well start this, and we can add to it when we have more information. We/I have not seen the Spring schedule yet, but I for one cannot wait to see our team back in action. I'm especially interested to see who steps up to potentially replace Ben Lundt and Abdi Mohamed as starters. Of course, we're still awaiting the official announcement of our 2019 recruiting class. Although, for 2019, the Soccer signing period began November 14, 2018, our coaches and team were a little busy at the time. Very much looking forward to reading about the talented players who will be joining our championship caliber program.

Diogo Pacheco is back in Akron.