Zip_ME87

Updated again 2018 Zips in MLS Summary Darlington Nagbe ... Atlanta United (another MLS club that now has a former Zip on its roster) Dillon Serna ... Colorado Rapids Wil Trapp ... Columbus Crew Darren Mattocks ... DC United Perry Kitchen ... LA Galaxy Evan Bush ... Montreal Impact Teal Bunbury, Scott Caldwell ... New England Revolution Saad Abdul-Salaam, Jonathan Lewis ... NYCFC Richie Laryea ... Orlando City Adam Najem ... Philadelphia Union Zarek Valentin ... Portland Timbers Ben Zemanski ... Free Agent Kofi Sarkodie, Chris Korb ... Out of Contract

On that, I will say that Ben Speas is considered UNC, not Akron, since he transferred to UNC and went from there to the pros. I do not recall the details on Pena, but I think he also transferred for his final collegiate season(s). Nothing against Ben or Fernando. In fact, Ben Speas was always and still is one of my favorites, especially being a local boy. I wish he had not transferred.

I thought about this more and continue to struggle with it. Akron Men's Soccer currently does not recognize Victor as one of our players in the pros, and, thus, I feel I should do the same and not include him in my list. I like Victor, He's always been nice to me, and when he played with the Zips, he was an asset to our team. However, I respect our coaches who do an awesome job and the have earned and deserve that respect. To this day, I do not know what Victor did to be dismissed from the team; he has never told me, and I won't ask our coaches or his teammates because that is something that should stay within the team. I trust that our coaches did what they had to for the good of our program; I know they did a lot for Victor in recruiting him and playing him at Akron. It could not have been an easy decision for them to dismiss him from the team. Whatever happened, it was not so bad that Victor could not graduate. He did, and he is a fellow UA Alumnus. I hope he does well and that somehow can eventually make amends However, in addition to whatever he did to be dismissed, he hurt our program by not being there for the remainder of his senior season. Who knows how far that team would have gone, but I think we all know that team was better on the field with Victor than without him.

He's still listed in the Zips Media Guide 2013, 2014, 2015. So, yes.

Wil Trapp called into USMNT 2018 January Camp https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2018/01/08/14/55/20180108-news-mnt-sarachan-calls-30-player-roster-to-national-training-center-for-2018-january-camp

If past procedures hold true, there will not be an announcement until the new recruiting class is announced in February. My guess is that is by NCAA rule. I would think that new (to UA), qualified student-athletes may be enrolled in the Spring Semester but not officially part of the team until the signing period/letters of intent (which occurs in early February).

Erie’s Kahsay Ready to Impress at NPSL Player Showcase ...Now, Kahsay hopes to turn his passion for the sport into his life's work. He will get an opportunity at the fourth annual NPSL Player Showcase at Austin-Tindall Park in Kissimmee, Fla. Jan. 13-15 in front of professional scouts and coaches. A junior at the University of Akron, Kahsay was pleasantly surprised when he heard he had been invited to the showcase. His goal? "Just go in there, perform as best as I can," he said. "Maybe score a couple of goals. That's the plan." ... ...Now, he wants to make the most of that opportunity. After college and the NPSL, Kahsay wants play professionally. ...

CORRECTION: The GoZips.com article stated: Developing players for the next level has become commonplace for the Akron staff as 32 Zips have gone on to play professionally either in Major League Soccer, USL or overseas since 2006, including No. 1 overall pick Steve Zakuani in 2009, and No. 2 overall picks Darlington Nagbe in 2011 and Darren Mattocks in 2012 - just to name a few. UPDATE: I give up...USL, NASL, MLS, overseas, here are the Zips who have played professionally since 2005, of whom I know. (NCFC was NASL last season; so, I don't know whether GoZips.com is counting Ruhaak or Radjen nor do I really care.) 2007 1. Sinisa Ubiparovic (NYRB, Montreal Impact, Ottawa Fury, Indy Eleven) RETIRED 2009 2. Steve Zakuani (Seattle Sounders) GA RETIRED 3. Evan Bush (Montreal Impact [NASL & MLS]) 2010 4. Teal Bunbury (Kansas City Wizards/Sporting KC, NE Revolution) GA 5. Blair Gavin (Chivas USA, New England Revolution, Seattle Sounders, Atlanta Silverbacks, Portland Timbers 2) GA RETIRED 6. Ben Zemanski (Chivas USA, Portland Timbers) 2011 7. Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers, Atlanta United) GA 8. Perry Kitchen (DC United, Heart of Midlothian, Randers FC, LA Galaxy) GA 9. Kofi Sarkodie (Houston Dynamo, San Jose Earthquakes) GA 10. Zarek Valentin (Chivas USA, Portland Timbers) GA 11. Michael Nanchoff (Vancouver Whitecaps, Portland Timbers, Tampa Bay Rowdies) GA 12. Anthony Ampaipitakwong (San Jose Earthquakes, Buriram United, Bangkok United) 13. Chis Korb (DC United) 2012 14. Darren Mattocks (Vancouver Whitecaps, Portland Timers, DC United) GA 2013 15. Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids) HG 16. DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders, Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland AFC, Newcastle United) HG 17. Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew) HG 18. Chad Barson (Columbus Crew, FC Linköping City) HG 19. Scott Caldwell (New England Revolution) HG 20. David Meves (Portland Timbers, Des Moines Menace, Ft Lauderdale Strikers, Puerto Rico FC) RETIRED 2014 21. Bryan Gallego (Portland Timbers) HG RETIRED 22. Eric Stevenson (NYRB, FC Cincy) 23. Aodhan Quinn (Philadelphia Union, Louisville FC, FC Cincy, Orange County) 24. Reinaldo Brenes (Sporting KC, Deportivo Saprissa, Deportivo Belén Fútbol Club) 25. Zac Portillos (Des Moines Menace, Tampa Bay Rowdies) 26. Robbie Derschang (Austin Aztecs, Harrisburg City Islanders, Arizona United) RETIRED 2015 27. Saad Abdul-Salaam (Sporting KC, NYC FC) 2016 28. Richie Laryea (Orlando City) GA 29. Jake Fenlason (Orlando City-B) 2017 30. Adam Najem (Philadelphia Union) HG 31. Jonathan Lewis (NYC FC) GA 32. Brad Ruhaak (North Carolina FC) 33. Danilo Radjen (Houston Dynamo, NY Cosmos) If you go back to 2005, there is a 34th: 34. Cameron Knowles (Real Salt Lake, Portland Timbers [NASL], Montreal Impact) RETIRED GA - is/was a member of Generation Adidas HG - MLS Home Grown EDIT: BTW, All but 4 of these players were recruited under Caleb Porter and/or Jared Embick. Ken Lolla recruited Knowles, Ubiparipovic, Bush, and Zemanski. CP convinced Zemanski to remain committed.

http://isnsoccer.com/news/2018/01/06/akrons-joao-moutinho-named-to-2018-generation-adidas-class/ ...Developing players for the next level has become commonplace for the Akron staff as 32 Zips have gone on to play professionally either in Major League Soccer, USL or overseas since 2006, including No. 1 overall pick Steve Zakuani in 2009, and No. 2 overall picks Darlington Nagbe in 2011 and Darren Mattocks in 2012 – just to name a few. Nagbe was part of a draft class that set MLS draft day records for most players drafted from a single school in the first round (5) and overall (8).

I believe this is the correct list of the 12 Akron Generation Adidas players: 2009 (1) Steve Zakuani 2010 (2) Teal Bunbury, Blair Gavin 2011 (5) Perry Kitchen, Darlington Nagbe, Michael Nanchoff, Kofi Sarkodie, Zarek Valentin 2012 (1) Darren Mattocks 2016 (1) Richie Laryea 2017 (1) Jonathan Lewis 2018 (1) Joao Moutinho Underline indicates those players still on rosters in MLS or participating in 2018 MLS Draft. Hopefully Perry Kitchen returns to MLS and Kofi is able to sign on with another team.

From Joao’s Instagram account

College Soccer News 1st 2018 MLS Mock Draft... https://collegesoccernews.com/index.php/articles/1140-2018-mock-draft That would be great to see Joao Moutinho playing in front of Evan Bush.

Impressive: http://gozips.com/news/2018/1/5/mens-soccer-moutinho-part-of-2018-generation-adidas-class.aspx MOST GENERATION ADIDAS SIGNINGS (2006-PRESENT) 1 Akron 12 2 UCLA 9 3 Maryland 8 4 Indiana 6 5 North Carolina 4 California 4 UCSB 4 Wake Forest 4 Syracuse 4

It's official now. https://www.sportingkc.com/post/2018/01/05/six-standouts-make-2018-generation-adidas-class Major League Soccer today announced the 2018 Generation adidas class, which includes six standout collegiate underclassmen that will enter the professional ranks through the 2018 MLS SuperDraft presented by adidas on Jan. 19 in Philadelphia. ... Fellow freshman Joao Moutinho of Akron joins the Generation adidas class after finishing tied for second on the team with five assists. Moutinho, a product of the famed Sporting Lisbon Academy in Portugal, helped Akron to a semifinal appearance at the 2017 College Cup. https://www.mlssoccer.com/mlssoccer.com/generation-adidas/2018

Full 2018 MLS schedule was released today. 2018 Games featuring #ZipsinMLS at MAPFRE Stadium (Columbus Crew) Every match: Wil Trapp, CrewSC Captain Saturday, March 10th: Evan Bush, Montreal Impact Saturday, March 24th: Darren Mattocks, DC United Saturday, April 21st: Scott Caldwell, Teal Bunbury, NE Revolution Wednesday, May 9th: Adam Najem (hopefully), Philadelphia Union Wednesday, June 13th: Darlington Nagbe, Atlanta United Saturday, July 21st, Richie Laryea (hopefully), Orlando City Saturday, September 1st: Saad Abdul-Salaam, Jonathan Lewis, NYCFC Saturday, September 22nd: Dillon Serna, Colorado Rapids Saturday, September 29th: Adam Najem (hopefully), Philadelphia Union TBD: depending upon MLS draft and other transactions

Another great Zips #6 wearing same in the professional ranks. SWEET!

Doesn't Niko De Vera's sister play for GCU? EDIT: Yes... http://www.gculopes.com/documents/2017/7/18/GCU_WSOC_Quick_Facts.pdf

I don't think any of us are happy to lose Joao, but I'm sure those GA deals are too good to turn down. For those who wonder why it's so difficult to win the College Cup, look no further than MLS/Generation Adidas. Two rising stars, Jonathan Lewis and now apparently Joao Moutinho, gone after only 1 season, and one potential star, Wan Kuzain bin Wan Kamal, whom we never got to see with the Zips thanks to SKC/Swope Park. EDIT: I'll be damn proud to support Joao in the professional ranks along with all of our other professional Zips soccer players!

Might as well begin this topic now with the list of players who will not be returning, or apparently will not be returning, in 2018 and the remaining roster. Starters not returning (or rumored to not be returning): F Sam Gainford (senior) F Stuart Holthusen (senior) MF Pau Belana (senior) MF Manel Cordeiro (senior) D Niko De Vera (senior) D Nate Shultz (senior) D Joao Moutinho (Generation Adidas, apparently) Others not returning (or rumored to not be returning): MF Dener Dos Santos (senior) MF Barth-Luther Muafo (senior) MF Nathan Brown (senior) D Nick Hinds (homegrown, rumored) Remaining 2018 Roster GK Ben Lundt GK Tor Saunders GK Nick Costa GK Codie Lynd D Daniel Strachan D Marc Alexander D Morgan Hackworth D Reggie Laryea D Shane Wiedt D Joe Korb D Alex Mapp D Declan Watters MF Skye Harter MF Christian Lue Young MF Jackson Crawford MF Faisal Ghaffur F Marcel Zajac F David Egbo F Ezana Kahsay F Braden Petno

Apparently (according to Soccer by Ives), Joao is among those who have agreed to sign a Generation Adidas deal. In 2017, the first signings were confirmed on January 4th with Jonathan Lewis being added on January 6th. With the 2018 MLS Combine set to begin on January 11th, we should have final confirmation soon. http://sbisoccer.com/2018/01/report-atuahene-moutinho-among-six-set-to-sign-generation-adidas-mls-deals

Galaxy, LAFC make roster moves; there could be a Kitchen addition

Keep up the rah rah, but it's hard for me to get excited when I don't see the investment for improvement.

39th out of 39. https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/ranking-all-39-college-football-bowl-games-for-2017-18-from-worst-to-best/

Do you know if the Women's Soccer team will play a Spring schedule?