yazan07

"Dambrot said he's got a good idea of the starting lineup. Cvetinovic and McClanahan will line up with junior 7-footer Zeke Marshall, sophomore point guard Alex Abreu and junior forward Quincy Diggs."

Thanks for the link. Shoot, looks like I'm not getting any work done today

There is an intra-squad scrimmage happening later on today (Thursday) at 7:30. It was mentioned in the middle this article on Gozips and then never mentioned again (they really shouldn't be surprised when no one shows up). I noticed that it hadn't been discussed here and I thought I would bring it to everyone's attention. I would go myself but I have class. Someone else should probably go and then come back and tell me how the team looks. It should be a good game to watch because it is the one opportunity to see everyone play (except maybe all 36 goalkeepers don't make it into the match) and to get a feel for where each of the players are at this point. We'll also probably get a projected starting line up for the rest of the season. Oh, and did anyone get any info from media day? We never heard back from that either.

Gilliam will be the best replacement for B. McKnight because he will be wearing #23

And Gavin didn't win a national championship And we're not Akron University

Any idea where it is located? Hopefully it didn't take the place of the Sizzling Zone or Market. Those where two of my favorite places. Best scenario is if they moved into the vacant Planet Underground space near the commuter lounge. Yeah Sizzlin' Zone is gone.

True... size matters... sometimes... as we saw with the WNT against Brazil and Japan... but Barson and Gallego are 5' 10"... Yedlin is 5' 8"... and Balogun is 5' 9"... and Mayer... ???... what happened to Mayer? The new roster shows numbers assigned to everyone now... and Mayer is MIA. Anyone have any info on Mayer??? Nope still not everyone. Bonilla, Portillos, Walls, the seventeen incoming goalkeepers, all still not on the roster. You can relax, I'm sure he's still on the team, they are probably just updating the roster a little at a time. Oh and I have to disagree with Dagillis or Balogun on the the backline. I still think it'll be Mayer-Barson-Gallego-Yedlin. We saw Balogun play as an outside back last year and he wasn't that great. If Yedlin is supposed to be better than Kofi then Balogun isn't starting above Yedlin or Mayer. Furthermore, Balo has never been a centerback and I don't expect him to play there either. I also don't know why Dagillis would start now if he hasn't started in the last two years. He wasn't better than Zarek and I don't expect him to be better than a kid who just finished playing three full games for the U-18 national team under which Porter wan an assistant coach. I think it's back to the bench for Matt and if Balogun is going to play it will be as a defensive midfielder. Even then, I'm not convinced he will be in the starting XI. Also though, even if mine or anyone else's predictions aren't correct on August 27th, that doesn't mean it will be the case for the whole season. I think it could be a few games before we have a concrete starting line-up. I think last year Porter tried starting a few guys at would would eventually be Darren's spot and Scotty's spot. It could take a few games to figure out which guys work together the best. Where does Arboleda fit in? Has maturity advantage but heard he is not fast. Anyone see him play? Well my first thought was that perhaps he plays centerback with Barson and Gallego is used as a DMF in the same way Porter had Kitchen play there last year. That is just my guess, but who knows.

True... size matters... sometimes... as we saw with the WNT against Brazil and Japan... but Barson and Gallego are 5' 10"... Yedlin is 5' 8"... and Balogun is 5' 9"... and Mayer... ???... what happened to Mayer? The new roster shows numbers assigned to everyone now... and Mayer is MIA. Anyone have any info on Mayer??? Nope still not everyone. Bonilla, Portillos, Walls, the seventeen incoming goalkeepers, all still not on the roster. You can relax, I'm sure he's still on the team, they are probably just updating the roster a little at a time. Oh and I have to disagree with Dagillis or Balogun on the the backline. I still think it'll be Mayer-Barson-Gallego-Yedlin. We saw Balogun play as an outside back last year and he wasn't that great. If Yedlin is supposed to be better than Kofi then Balogun isn't starting above Yedlin or Mayer. Furthermore, Balo has never been a centerback and I don't expect him to play there either. I also don't know why Dagillis would start now if he hasn't started in the last two years. He wasn't better than Zarek and I don't expect him to be better than a kid who just finished playing three full games for the U-18 national team under which Porter wan an assistant coach. I think it's back to the bench for Matt and if Balogun is going to play it will be as a defensive midfielder. Even then, I'm not convinced he will be in the starting XI. Also though, even if mine or anyone else's predictions aren't correct on August 27th, that doesn't mean it will be the case for the whole season. I think it could be a few games before we have a concrete starting line-up. I think last year Porter tried starting a few guys at would would eventually be Darren's spot and Scotty's spot. It could take a few games to figure out which guys work together the best. Let's hope that the roster still needs more work. I see that more are missing now... so that's likely the case. I agree with your lineup of defenders... and I agree that there will be changes after the season starts. I said almost the same things on the bottom of page 1. Guessing at the starting lineups isn't all that constructive at this point... it's just amusing... and it's good to see that we have a load of talent... and a coach who's pretty good at putting championship-caliber teams together. I'm sure that some of our players are toying around with lineups too... maybe just in their minds. Our guys can be assured that Coach Porter will have a team of talented guys who just perform well together... all season long... whoever they might be. I would think that Porter released some of the guys who he felt adversely affected the chemistry a few months ago... ... and everyone who is left at this point has a real shot at starting and contributing. Even the guys who are not U-14, U15, U16, U17, U18 standouts... can rise above their expectations now. All that they need to do is listen to the coahing staff... work harder than most... and apply what they learn. Now you can finally relax Anyone else notice that the numbers are kinda weird? There is no number 2 and no number 7. Balogun was 7 last year and is now 27...why would you make a senior change numbers, and why is a common number (2) not assigned to anyone yet? I can't believe they are retiring Zarek's number already... Has anyone else been able to make it out to any more practices? Well we have a #2, a freshman from Colombia. Also looks like Brenes is now #7. I know they're just numbers, but in soccer they usually have a lot of significance (this was especially pointed out by the US game last night). Does this mean Brenes might be a starter? Or at least preferred over Balogun? Or maybe they just both wanted #7 and Brenes won the coin toss. Seems odd for a senior to give up his number for a sophomore.

I think Tony Walls is a CAM and with Wil Trapp coming in and playing the same positon, maybe there wasn't space for him to get good minutes. Whatever though, anyone with that attitude doesn't deserve to play for us. How can you try to transfer here, realize you're not good enough, and then try to blame it on the character of our players? LOL pretty boys? Has he been to any of those west coast schools? Oh well if our team really is "pretty boys," I'd rather be a national champion pretty boy than a bottom of the barrel not pretty boy. What a tool, go back to where you came from and good luck making it anywhere. BTW this is the same kid who tweeted at Teal about how he was excited to play for Akron. ANYWAY as far as the new kid goes, I would like to know more about him. Is he a centerback or a wingback? If he is a centerback, maybe he plays in the back with Barson and and Gallego is converted to a DMF a la Perry Kitchen. He is afterall listed as a D/M on GoZips. Porter has seen him play more than me though and I'm sure he has a game plan. So excited, only a few more weeks! Oh and as far as the recruiting classes go, I love how two of the other top five schools received tranfers from Akron to help build their recruiting class. We actually had an impact on three of the top five! haha

True... size matters... sometimes... as we saw with the WNT against Brazil and Japan... but Barson and Gallego are 5' 10"... Yedlin is 5' 8"... and Balogun is 5' 9"... and Mayer... ???... what happened to Mayer? The new roster shows numbers assigned to everyone now... and Mayer is MIA. Anyone have any info on Mayer??? Nope still not everyone. Bonilla, Portillos, Walls, the seventeen incoming goalkeepers, all still not on the roster. You can relax, I'm sure he's still on the team, they are probably just updating the roster a little at a time. Oh and I have to disagree with Dagillis or Balogun on the the backline. I still think it'll be Mayer-Barson-Gallego-Yedlin. We saw Balogun play as an outside back last year and he wasn't that great. If Yedlin is supposed to be better than Kofi then Balogun isn't starting above Yedlin or Mayer. Furthermore, Balo has never been a centerback and I don't expect him to play there either. I also don't know why Dagillis would start now if he hasn't started in the last two years. He wasn't better than Zarek and I don't expect him to be better than a kid who just finished playing three full games for the U-18 national team under which Porter wan an assistant coach. I think it's back to the bench for Matt and if Balogun is going to play it will be as a defensive midfielder. Even then, I'm not convinced he will be in the starting XI. Also though, even if mine or anyone else's predictions aren't correct on August 27th, that doesn't mean it will be the case for the whole season. I think it could be a few games before we have a concrete starting line-up. I think last year Porter tried starting a few guys at would would eventually be Darren's spot and Scotty's spot. It could take a few games to figure out which guys work together the best. Let's hope that the roster still needs more work. I see that more are missing now... so that's likely the case. I agree with your lineup of defenders... and I agree that there will be changes after the season starts. I said almost the same things on the bottom of page 1. Guessing at the starting lineups isn't all that constructive at this point... it's just amusing... and it's good to see that we have a load of talent... and a coach who's pretty good at putting championship-caliber teams together. I'm sure that some of our players are toying around with lineups too... maybe just in their minds. Our guys can be assured that Coach Porter will have a team of talented guys who just perform well together... all season long... whoever they might be. I would think that Porter released some of the guys who he felt adversely affected the chemistry a few months ago... ... and everyone who is left at this point has a real shot at starting and contributing. Even the guys who are not U-14, U15, U16, U17, U18 standouts... can rise above their expectations now. All that they need to do is listen to the coahing staff... work harder than most... and apply what they learn. Now you can finally relax

True... size matters... sometimes... as we saw with the WNT against Brazil and Japan... but Barson and Gallego are 5' 10"... Yedlin is 5' 8"... and Balogun is 5' 9"... and Mayer... ???... what happened to Mayer? The new roster shows numbers assigned to everyone now... and Mayer is MIA. Anyone have any info on Mayer??? Nope still not everyone. Bonilla, Portillos, Walls, the seventeen incoming goalkeepers, all still not on the roster. You can relax, I'm sure he's still on the team, they are probably just updating the roster a little at a time. Oh and I have to disagree with Dagillis or Balogun on the the backline. I still think it'll be Mayer-Barson-Gallego-Yedlin. We saw Balogun play as an outside back last year and he wasn't that great. If Yedlin is supposed to be better than Kofi then Balogun isn't starting above Yedlin or Mayer. Furthermore, Balo has never been a centerback and I don't expect him to play there either. I also don't know why Dagillis would start now if he hasn't started in the last two years. He wasn't better than Zarek and I don't expect him to be better than a kid who just finished playing three full games for the U-18 national team under which Porter wan an assistant coach. I think it's back to the bench for Matt and if Balogun is going to play it will be as a defensive midfielder. Even then, I'm not convinced he will be in the starting XI. Also though, even if mine or anyone else's predictions aren't correct on August 27th, that doesn't mean it will be the case for the whole season. I think it could be a few games before we have a concrete starting line-up. I think last year Porter tried starting a few guys at would would eventually be Darren's spot and Scotty's spot. It could take a few games to figure out which guys work together the best.

The Cal game was incredible. I get goose bumps just thinking about it. Without a doubt the most incredible sporting event I've ever attended. The swings in momentum were incredible. Standing on that hill with 1500 other UA students is something I'll never forget. It was one huge roller coaster of emotions. I went from feeling like I would throw up to screaming in excitement. Simply amazing. Especially in PKs, standing shoulder to shoulder, arms linked with strangers. Heart pounding out of my chest. And then the Kofi PK. You could hear a pin drop when he stepped up. Followed by an absolute explosion! Is it August 25 yet! Dude, you nailed it. I couldn't have said it any better. That atmosphere was just so perfect for such a suspenseful game. We were all freezing and none of us knew what was going to happen. and the PKs were so emotional, just like you said. Basically, Disney could have filmed that game for a movie and it would have been perfect. Is anyone going to be able to make it out to any practices. I know we all have "jobs" and "real life responsibilities" but my guess is gozips.com coverage is going to be slanted towards the other football. The boys are doing captains practices this week and start real practices on the 9th. Funny you should ask. I watched nearly 30 minutes of 2-touch possession scrimmage tonight ~ 7:15. Brenes, Trapp, and Mayer were slowly running laps, Trapp wearing a neoprene sleeve on left knee. Keep an eye on that. Gallego is stockier than I expected. He has the demeanor of a rough tackler, an enforcer. I continue to be impressed with the overall ability of Holmes, deftly avoiding pressure with his allotted 2 touches. There is no doubt that Barson is the leader of this squad. Awesome man, thanks for the update. I have seen Trapp play previously and I do believe he was wearing one then as well. Could be just a precautionary measure. How did the other transfers look (Quinn and Walls)? The one I think was Quinn (tall and skinny) lost possession and seemed a bit off form. I am not sure Walls was there at all. Keep in mind there is no program to consult when watching a players-only practice. I identified who I could while simultaneously keeping my ornery daughters out of trouble. All the drills were at ¾ speed, if that. On the other hand, everyone knows who Yedlin is. If you read above, like everyone else, I have high expectations for Sarkodie's replacement. Barson was barking at him a bit about opening to the field and making the first touch count for more. I interpret this as a sign that Yedlin is already considered a starter and that Barson is not concerned about hurting his confidence whatsoever. I wish I could have stayed longer, but my girls were getting restless. In some ways, I enjoy watching practices more than I like matches. Do they have a regular schedule for these practices? I'll be back in Akron next week and would like to check it out if possible.

The Cal game was incredible. I get goose bumps just thinking about it. Without a doubt the most incredible sporting event I've ever attended. The swings in momentum were incredible. Standing on that hill with 1500 other UA students is something I'll never forget. It was one huge roller coaster of emotions. I went from feeling like I would throw up to screaming in excitement. Simply amazing. Especially in PKs, standing shoulder to shoulder, arms linked with strangers. Heart pounding out of my chest. And then the Kofi PK. You could hear a pin drop when he stepped up. Followed by an absolute explosion! Is it August 25 yet! Dude, you nailed it. I couldn't have said it any better. That atmosphere was just so perfect for such a suspenseful game. We were all freezing and none of us knew what was going to happen. and the PKs were so emotional, just like you said. Basically, Disney could have filmed that game for a movie and it would have been perfect.

I know the point isn't to leave the answers here, but I just feel like it: 1. Which new UA player(s) are you most looking forward to seeing play this year? Wil Trapp, DeAndre Yedlin 2. Which new UA player(s) will have the greatest impact on this year’s team? Trapp, Yedlin, Bryan Gallego, Luke Holmes 3. What are your expectations for this year’s team? I'm going to be vague and say a "deep run" into the NCAA tournament. Hoping for a trip to Alabama though! 4. Which former UA player(s) from last year will be missed the most this year? I'm going to miss all of them. But I think the losses that hurt the team the most are Darlington and Perry. There is a reason they were at the top of the draft and there is a reason D won the Hermann Trophy. All of the other players we lost were amazing players, but I think these two had aspects of their game that you can't really teach. I don't want to diminish the losses of Ampai, Zarek, Kofi, Nano, and Korb, but I think Darlington and Perry specifically are "special" players. 5. Of the four returning Zips starters, who do you think will make the biggest improvement this year? Darren, because he was the most raw of the starters last year and he had the most room for improvement. 6. Will UA repeat as the national champion this year? I think there are a few teams that were almost as good as us last year and that didn't lose as many players as we did, which may very well give them the edge. I am expecting the team to make a deep run but not quite get it, and then after this year I don't see us having nearly the same turnover rate we had this past season, which will pave the way for another national championship in 2012. 7. Can coach Caleb Porter continue to have the Zips play the “dominant soccer” brand that has made them so successful? Yes, he can and he will 8. Who is the most exciting player the Zips have produced in Porter’s tenure? Steve Zakuani. 9. Which opponent are you most pumped up to see the Zips play this year? Wake Forest, Ohio State 10. What are your most memorable moments from last year’s team? The most memorable moment has to be the Cal game. Of course the national championship game was amazing, but the Cal game was just the most stressful, nerve-racking game ever. The PKs were scary and wonderful at the same time.

It's the end of July... College Soccer News... what are they waiting for: http://www.collegesoccernews.com/index_files/Page424.htm Akron has to be among the top few Just looked at the roster. Where are Walls, Quinn, Bonilla, Mayer, etc.? Are these guys coming or no? No one except for the returners and the original incoming class are on the roster. I'm sure the second half of the incoming class will be added soon. haha we have like two incoming classes this year edit: though after looking at the roster, I did notice that Kyle Culbertson has been removed. Looks like a la Diego Navarette, we lost another Zip before he even really started his career. Pretty interesting

New Mexico and UCSB

I love how there is even a need to have this article. That just demonstrates how big of a deal Porter is.

I don't think he'll go at this time. I feel like whoever gets it this time, is only keeping the seat warm... Don't worry about Porter leaving any time soon. He will need to become a successful professional coach before he's in the running for any full time USMNT gig. It would make sense that that would undoubtedly be the case, but if you look back at Bruce Arena's career, he was at Virginia for a long time, and then coached DC United for only three seasons before making the jump to the US squad. He did get to coach the Olympic team in '96 though, which probably helped set him up to get the job with the senior team. Porter could stay at Akron for a while while rising through the ranks of the US youth system and could end up coaching the full USMNT with out putting in too much time with the MLS. I would love to see him coaching at that level someday.

Anyone seen Porter lately? lol Should be interesting to see who the next coach is. I remember last WC, there was talk that the USA may go international if Bradley didn't make it through the group stages. Jurgen Klinsmann, pleeeeeeeeease lol@ this list of potential replacements from Yahoo Sports: Jurgen Klinsmann -- The former German national team coach, who has been meeting with U.S. officials off and on for years now and scaring them with his ideas of a total systematic overhaul. Will this be his chance to put his grandiose ideas into practice or will he stick to consulting Toronto FC into the ground? Any MLS coach -- Jason Kreis, Sigi Schmid, Steve Nicol, Dominic Kinnear, Bruce Arena for the comeback? They are all successful MLS coaches. Just like Bob was. Michael Bradley -- Just to make it extra awkward at the Bradleys' holiday dinner table this year, why not Michael as player/coach? Freddy Adu -- Staying with the player/coach theme, now that The Adu is back, just put him in charge of everything. He has a good 45 years of experience in the game at this point. Abby Wambach -- Maybe it's time someone from the more successful women's side shows the U.S. men how it's done. She's already been named player/coach for her WPS team. Natural progression. Chicharito -- Just to make some heads explodes. Also because he can score more from the touchline than most USMNT players can from inside the box. Rafa Benitez -- He's been unemployed for a while now, so someone has to take pity on him. Plus, not having to go against Alex Ferguson will make him 87 percent more sane. FACT. Timber Joey -- Hey, he has a chainsaw. Maradona -- You know you want it.

...just got fired

huh?

Not many saw it, including the usual small CD Chivas USA crowd at HDC, but Blair Gavin got an assist on Justin Braun's second goal in his Saturday hat trick performance against the Houston Dynamo. Other than Braun, the POG would have been 'Z' Valentin, who is really coming into his own. The commentator (might have been John Harkes) mentioned that he is getting attention from the USMNT, and could be called up for by Bob Bradley for his first cap this year (Hey- he's still 19!). Kofie Sarkodie started and was lacklustre for Houston, but the Dynamo performance was as week as any I've seen in MLS this season. I didn't see Ben Zemanski anywhere, and he is not listed even among unused subs in the box! Injury?? Yeah Benny was injured for this game, nothing serious I don't think. Trust me, when I saw that not only did he not play, but he was not on the roster, I frantically searched the internet looking for an injury. As far as Zarek goes, if he keeps playing well maybe we have a good shot of seeing him on the Olympic squad next year! Remember, it's U-23 with three overage players allowed, so he definitely has a shot at it.

Darlington makes team of the week

Sorry for ruining the integrity of our college athletics message board with college potty humor. I should have known there was no place for jokes and humor and fun on a message board of this caliber. I also should have thought about the fact that those athletes, my peers, would probably be appalled to hear me making jokes like that. They are after all, college kids, and we have no place for humor in college. Zipsnation, I hope you will forgive me, I hath sinned. Oh and while we're on the topic of wildly obscene remarks such as my own, if we're trying to not offend the women's soccer team, we should probably not start by asking them "so since you all are girls, you would lose to a boys high school team, right? You know, since women are athletically inferior to men." Regardless of whether or not this is a factual statement, I think that would not be well received by a women's soccer team. Okay since I have wasted so much of our precious time with my crude and uncalled for humor, I will now provide actual insightful questions. Mike, why don't you ask something to the effect of "with the success of the men's team, is there pressure to compete with them? Does their success drive you guys to work harder to match their accomplishments?" or "as female soccer players, what, if any, effect has the US Women's National Team had on you?" If you ask "What are your thoughts on the upcoming season?" you're going to get something like "I think we're going to win games" though it will be more well worded and lengthier. Hope this is helpful.

This one is for Katie Wise: Would you say Soctty scores more often on the field or in the bedroom?...WHAMMY!