yazan07

Pretty much the line-up that was speculated about a few weeks ago: ---Stevenson---Schmitt---Brenes--- ------------Quinn--------Caldwell---- -------------------Trapp--------------- --Portillos--Barson--Gallego--Yedlin-- ------------------Meves--------------- Eventually Cristian Arboleda came in for Brenes I think, and Akiel Barret came in for I don't remember. I'm looking forward to seeing where the new kids fit in during the regular season, because I know once they arrive things shuffle around a bit.

Zarek and Sinisa started for Montrel today against Toronto, and apparently Sinisa has scored to put them on top already.

This is to prepare you for what to expect:

Did some homework on the visiting team, here you go.

Highlights of the game: Great Akron possession and dominance, Eric Stevenson almost bagging a hat-trick, the return Porter who in my imagination is now wiser and more hardened after coming back from war (I expected him to have a beard and be kind of war veteran-esque), and DeAndre Yedlin's new hair, outdoing the likes of Brek Shea and Juan Swagudelo for craziest mo-hawk. Fun game, but I'm going to need to bundle up more for tomorrow night.

Klinsmann has stated that he still thinks there is a place for Porter in US soccer. It is clear that he has a high degree of faith in Porter and wants to groom him for a higher level. Could many coaches fail to qualify for a tournament that was supposed to be a given, and then have their superiors say they want to keep them around and bring them into the game plan even more? Klinsmann is still banking on Porter, even after how qualifying went. Now, that being said, Klinsmann also made it clear that he thinks Porter needs to make the jump to the pro ranks if he wants to make it big time. Now, I would never question Porter's loyalty to our school, city, etc. but I think we all know where Caleb's long term priorities are. If Jurgen Klinsmann says "you need to start coaching at the pro level if you want to have a future in US Soccer," well, I would be mad at Porter for not taking the leap to the next level. I will definitely be extremely sad to see him go, but my no means will it be a question of not having loyalty or dedication to Akron, it's just about accomplishing his own dreams. That being said though, If Porter is on his way out within the next year or so, I expect another National Championship before then.

If you use twitter, #SupportCaleb

Hopefully we have Trapp and Gallego this weekend, they have U-20 camp just a few days after that US U20-MNT to Convene for Training Camp from April 9-16

Sucks that they lost. For him, it must be hard to get excited about scoring those amazing goals when you go on to lose. Same thing happened with the one last year. Good enough for goal of the year, but not good enough to win the game.

I noticed that Blair Gavin hadn't even been in the 18 for Chivas, and I thought that maybe he had just moved down on the depth chart, but it looks like he was injured again. Hopefully we'll see him get some minutes again soon.

Couldn't immediately find a good thread to put this in, and I didn't feel like looking for the right one or starting a new one. I guess I chose this one cause we're talking about our midfield and wing depth for the coming year: Dillon Serna Stars in U18 National Team Game Going along with that article is this tweet from JR Eskilson: For Akron fans: Serna does not like LB at all. I doubt he is the solution for the Zips there. He should immediately contribute in mid tho.

Some guy wouldn't back off Porter and said he was playing favorites and was just overall trashing him. I ended up saying something absurd like the guy wanted to see the US fail just to prove Porter was unfit for the job. Yeah it got nasty. Good thing I am yazNASTY hahaha

The roster isn't abnormally large. In fact, seven players (three outgoing seniors, three outgoing transfers, and Darren) have been removed, and six players (incoming freshmen) have been added, so actually it's smaller than it was a few weeks ago, and it's not really that big for a soccer roster, pretty typical. The weird thing is that out SIX goalkeepers outnumber our forwards and match our defenders. I don't expect to see six GKs come this fall. I've heard Poni is graduating and doesn't plan on continuing with the team, and I have to imagine at least one of the younger guys leaves. There just isn't room for them.

A few people have asked whether or not Porter should keep coaching the U-23s or if he should be fired. The U-23 national team exists only for the purpose of qualifying for and going to the Olympics. There are no other tournaments,and so really I don't know what more there would be for the job. He should have been done by August either way, with the only possibility being he returns in another 3.5 years, or gets hired in some other capacity. As for the comment about taking too many Akron players, I don't think that's true, not because I'm biased, but because the player pool was really very thin on defense. Even without Porter, Zarek and Perry were locks, and Kofi was a good possibility. You could argue that Porter should have left Teal in KC, because he has really hit a poor run of form, but Klinsmann had been calling him up so he must still have hopes for him. But still I think he is the only one you can make a case for not deserving to be in the team. Sad how this all went down, I know I for one was distraught Monday night. If you read comments on MLS or BigSoccer, it's sad how much people are ganging up on Porter, but I guess I understand.

My buddy goes to law school at NKU. I went to visit him last semester and we went to a soccer game there. They had a really nice soccer field, I remember we were both impressed by it, especially for a DII school. I think they were also DII national champs in 2010. Also, we were wearing Akron gear and some guy asked us if we were there scouting DII talent haha.

BigSoccer qualifying podcast featuring TDS's Travis Clark Olympic qualifying podcast with Zarek and Perry Both good listens. One focuses more on Porter's tactics and what we can expect from this team in qualifying, the other focuses on how bad Kofi Sarkodie is at basketball. I won't spoil the surprise and I'll just let you guys figure it out.

I just wanna see this kid play! He didn't get to participate in a few other camps because of an injury, and now this? I was really looking forward to the possibility of him playing right back and Joe Gyau at right wing. Oh well, Kofi probably still gets the start which is good for him.

Yeah just saw that. Good for him, bad for me in the prediction department. I have to wonder though if Woolard is just injured or something. Olsen has praised him as the starting LB and he isn't even on the bench for this game. Glad to see Chris get the start though, maybe he can lock down the starting job for good.

DC added a few important pieces to their backline during the off season. Korb is currently the first outside-back off the bench, but you know, barring any injuries, substitutions are usually preserved for attacking players. Korb will see first team minutes at some point this year though, I feel sure of it.

Probably just touring for fun. I'm sure Aodhan Quinn took a tour of Akron at some point last year too... Also, I saw your thread on BigSoccer about this, and you say Dillon Serna has been playing LB for Rapids? That's awesome news. When I heard he was a left footed player, I wasn't sure what Porter had planned for him, seeing as we already have a left footed winger in Quinn. I didn't know if he planned on having a talent like him coming off the bench, and I thought maybe he would use one inverted winger and one on the left, and I thought about the possibility of Serna playing LB. Really hope to see that happen. Also, don't know much about Derschang, but is he a starter for us or a depth guy? Does anyone think maybe Tommy will start? I like the energy he brings off the bench but also think he has earned a starting spot. Would be sweet to see a lineup of: --Schmidt/someone----Koroma---------------Quinn------- ----------------Trapp---------------Caldwell---------------- ---------------------------Gallego--------------------------- -------Serna-------Barson-----Souders-------Yedlin---- ----------------------------Meves------------------------- So much talent in that starting XI. Then we still have Brenes, Stevenson, Portillos, and whoever else coming off the bench.

I think the new basketball arena should be on the the third floor of the new south quad residence hall. Boom, there you go. You're mind=blown.

Wow. How embarrassing. There goes my credibility. The dates I have listed are for the PARAlympic games

Don't know anything about the schedule, but I do know that the Olympics run from August 29-September 9, so if we qualify, its seems like we will may be without our coach at the very beginning of the season.

Porter interview Good in depth outlook on qualifying. Porter is such a good professional, though he does need to work on not starting every sentence with "obviously" haha.

I got a PM from Jake!