72 Roo

Spurred on by the posts from Zips 1991 and Sgt Zip I watched snippets of the Zip LAX team vs EMU. Elaine Jones has one exciting team. They started 5-0 against EMU. Sienna Hinchcliffe is the real deal. She can flat out score anytime she has the ball. If the ladies tighten up their D they have a real chance against a superior UMass club. I hope the fans travel to Pittsburgh to give them a boost. Go Zips!

This is a fantastic home schedule. We will see some of the best collegiate soccer in the country. I am so glad we got out of the MAC and into the Big East. We need big crowds for each of these games to cement our reputation as a near impossible place for visiting teams to win.

Cheers to the Buffalo and visiting Canadian fans for creating a memorable moment of friendship. Our government treats Canada like an enemy when they have been a friendly, supportive neighbor. They deserve moments like this.

10%

I talked to a coach about him. He said the player was brought in for depth and development. This staff does an impressive job in mining and growing under-developed players. Another interesting part of the discussion was that the staff rates itself on the performance of the players they bring in. Regarding JUCO's they have a hit rate of about 50%, but on high school players they are near 90%, especially in O linemen. The obvious problem is that we are developing high school players for other programs with money. It is what it is until Congress changes things.

This is a great campaign and I hope every Zip fan contributes what they can. It is interesting to note soccer has a goal of $60,000, which is nearly half of the goal for our 17 varsity sports. BTW, they will make it with a matching gift they have received. Soccer is truly elite at Akron. The commitment the university and Andrew Goodrich have made to it will allow us to compete at the highest level. Contributions to all sports will enable us to keep raising the profile of all programs. It's a good day to be a Zip!

FWIW, a friend within the program told me Joe and coach Rod have done a good job of mining the portal. Our OL will be no better than last season, but also no worse. The net/net here is that the team will be better because we have a QB who can quickly make reads, follow the progression and get rid of the ball. The OL is not the best, but it will not hurts us either. We may have a team that is exciting.

From folks inside the program I heard that they wanted Eric but feared they couldn't afford him, which was true. He ended up better on all counts. As regards Sharon they felt they had better talent coming in and coming up from redshirt. They wanted to keep him but were not going to pay much. Personally I hate losing him because I liked his grit. According to the people I talked with he was never assured he would start.

It was a 1-1 tie while losing in a shootout. The teams were evenly matched. Louisville is vastly improved over last Spring. We used the game to see who fit where. Many freshman got PT. We have a lot of talent not yet on campus and that is great because we have some holes to fill. I thought Rourke, Freddy K. and Dreas played very well. Jared used this to clearly evaluate what we have and where he needs to mine the portal. Expect a completely different team than this Spring to Open up next Fall against Dayton.

Good move for him. He will make a lot of money with the opportunity to get PT and play for a national contender.

Does this mean Sharon Young is gone?

This only tells me he can't play the way we want. WMU is not committed to basketball, new gym or not.

You are exactly right. We used the game to check out and develop players. OSU plays to win. Our best against OSU for 90 minutes is no contest.

The excitement continues to build!

I don't know about you, but I am sick and tired of the trite, sanctimonious messages athletes post when they go into the portal. They talk about God guiding them. They talk about the everlasting bonds of fellowship they have with their teammates. They thank their coaches for developing them into the men they are today. Then they leave. After great thought and consultation I'm offering this simple sample announcement: "I'm in the portal. I may come back. The most money determines what I'll do." This hits at the truth. Saves a lot of time. And eliminates hypocrisy. Please use for all future announcements as my gift to portal entrees. No charge.