robh91

A few people I know at the game have said they saw him in the stands in street clothes, which doesn't seem normal for a player who is still with the team...... Does anyone know what is going on with him?

He's been getting a lot of attention the last few weeks. I have a feeling we won't be seeing him in Akron next season...

Same here. That was a very long drive back home. 2010 at least eased the pain of that one a little.

Took Holthusen under 3 minutes to grab an assist. Really would like to see him start, always makes stuff happen.

Whenever Holthusen is subbed in, he looks the most likely to create something. Would like to see him start, I also haven't been impressed with Sepe.

Heh. Seems to be working, thought he was very good today.

Absolutely! No debate. Keep the football players out of our soccer specific stadium. Besides, you can barely call the Browns a professional team… In 2009, Akron had the #1 ranked soccer team in the nation, and a $61M stadium was built for the #113 ranked football team. The following season, the soccer program brought Akron their first ever national championship in a team sport, and the football team went 1-11 for the first of three straight seasons. I can understand that soccer is not as popular here as football, but the least the University can do is leave the soccer pitch to our soccer team. I think the field will get ruined much worse than you think. There is an enormous difference between soccer players running around the field, and (significantly larger) football players at the line of scrimmage. The groundskeepers do work extremely hard on the field, yet it still has looked pretty torn up by the end of the year the last few seasons. Because of Akron's style of play, games become much more difficult when we visit lower quality fields, and I think it would be crazy to risk the quality of our playing surface when our style is so dependent on it.

How about that pass from Saad? Nice goal from Najem, Zips up 1-0...

http://www.golobos.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=26000&ATCLID=209373286 There are links to other sports if you scroll down... This link should be directly to the Akron game though.

Stream is finally up.

If you're getting volleyball there's a link to soccer under "Upcoming" if you scroll down. I'm getting a message that the "broadcaster is not currently streaming" though, so I'm not sure what's going on. http://www.golobos.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=26000&ATCLID=209373286&DB_OEM_ID=26000

Zips appear to be lined up in a 4-2-3-1 to start the match. Najem wearing the armband.

Najem scored twice in his Akron debut against Marshall? I guess it was preseason though... I thought it was a solid performance overall, CSU only got one back near the end when our defense apparently thought the game was already over and got sloppy. I am disappointed that we don't seem capable of completely blowing smaller teams away like we used to, but it was a solid win. I don't have very high expectations for this season, Embick has some big shoes to fill...

I haven't been impressed by Souders this year. While he is extremely good on the tackle, I get nervous every time he has possession under any sort of pressure... I haven't seen a replay, but it looked to me like Souders was most at fault for the goal - although the ball really should have been cleared long before. Overall I thought Cross looked pretty solid, and I'd like to see Embick pair Gallego and Cross in the back. Saad walked to the tunnel at the half slowly with a trainer. Can only assume he did not play the second half because he picked up a knock, he look very threatening in the first half. Hope it is nothing more than a knock, if he continues playing the way he has he will be a key player.

Does anyone know if highlights are being posted anywhere? I haven't been able to find highlights for any of the games this season...

I did temporarily. Appears to be working fine now.

Kind of on that note... This may be something like what you are referring to. I really think a 3-4-1-2 could be amazing with this team. ------------Koroma----------Schmitt-------- ------------------Quinn/Serna--------------- -Serna/Quinn------------------------Yedlin- --------------Caldwell-------Trapp---------- ---------Gallego----Barson---Souders----- In this formation I feel like we'd have an absolute killer defense, possibly even more defensive than 4 in the back (3 very strong CBs committed to defense, as opposed to 2 CBs, a makeshift LB, and a RB who often seems more like a winger). This also gives Yedlin the freedom to push further up the pitch playing a role similar to Nani. Serna is also a winger, but I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) he has been playing some LB for the U-17s? Serna and Yedlin as outside mids would give Akron some cover in the back as both have experience playing fullback positions, without sacrificing width on the attack. Trapp could slide into the back line when needed like he did in the spring, with Caldwell playing a bit higher up to distribute the ball to the wingers and forwards. The CF/CAM role would be filled by a player who can create opportunities as well as go for goal himself, such as Quinn. He and Serna could be swapped to commit the left side more to attacking, possibly having Yedlin play a bit more defensive, Koroma more central, and Schmitt play a little more like a winger. I have not seen Koroma play, but from what I have heard, he could most likely adapt to any formation. As for Schmitt, I feel he is most effective when he can combine with a second striker. So far it seems like he may catch fire this season, so it may be wise to play a formation that suits him. Overall, I think this formation would give us a more solid defense, and allow us to attack from the center with more players without sacrificing width... I'd love to see it. Any opinions?

Yes -- the disagreement was that the player wanted a guarantee that he would start this season. No coach in his right mind sets that precedent. Period. I salute Caleb for sticking to his guns. I don't think it was even that he wasn't guaranteed a starting spot. I get the impression Porter told him he would get beat out by a lot of new players. Something had to have happened between him and Porter. I always felt he earned way more time than he got, but it seemed like Porter was reluctant to give him much time. Seeing how he played in spring too, I half expected him to be a captain here. Like Zip_ME87 said though, I have respect for both of them for keeping it private.

http://www.cleveland.com/sports/college/in..._speas_ear.html A nice article about Ben. At the end he talks about the Zips a little bit.

Hooner, do you know something I don't? I didn't think next year's Cup Final site had been announced yet. Two weeks ago, NCAA anounced U of San Diego as site/host for 2012 Women's College Cup. Unless something got past me (I've been watching for the site announcement for months), I am anticipating the 2012 men's CC to be back on the West Coast. There seems to be a general consensus that the East and SE sites have been too cold and underattended, compared with for example UCSB. I would support anywhere West of the Mississippi, where a big crowd is assured and is unlikely to have a home-team host. http://www.ncaa.com/news/soccer-men/articl...e-cup-announced

Definitely agree with you there. Unfortunately, I don't see him doing too well anywhere he goes. At least, not right away. He simply wouldn't fit in the MLS and probably would get muscled around. At Akron he doesn't seem to be able to finish very well. He is incredible at putting himself in position to score, but it seems like it usually takes him several clear 1v1s with the keeper to put one in. In Europe, he will need to learn to finish his chances when he gets them, because they won't come around as often. I feel like another year of college would be better for him, but I'm pretty much 100% sure he wouldn't even consider that. Don't get me wrong, he has potential to be an amazing striker, but he definitely needs more time to get there.

Horrible ref, you were unlucky not to get some calls. I have gained great respect for your attitude, supporters, and program in general. I would not be surprised to see Porter get a game scheduled for next season. If it's at Akron, I expect you to bring a bus of students! Great season from your team.

That's the part I've been trying to figure out. Hard to believe Coach Porter miscalculated Speas' potential to contribute to this year's team, but it's possible. It could also have been that he didn't fit Porter's style of play, could have been that he left with a chip on his shoulder and used that as motivation to get better, could have been that whoever Porter pictured playing ahead of Speas this year just didn't live up to expectations, could have been any number of things that aren't obvious to anyone who wasn't part of the decision. But the new recruiting class and thoughts of next year's team helps to erase memories of the guy from last year's team who may have made a difference this season but who "got away." What a great position to be in to "only" be a sweet 16 team after losing someone who might have made a difference. I don't think it's that difficult to understand how Ben could end up at a school that did better than us. He had the credentials - highly rated coming out of high school, played in every game while with the Zips, and experience in 2 previous College Cups. Any coach who was looking for just that 1 piece with Ben's abilities to complete his team would have been interested...UNC, in this case. That Caleb thought Ben didn't quite fit his style of play easily could have been why Ben left. Caleb said several times that former players who didn't fit his system were doing well elsewhere. At any rate, I don't share the animosity toward Ben that some seem to have due his leaving. Sometimes a person has to be a little selfish and put himself first if he wants to achieve his dream. It's one of those "I heard from someone who heard from someone..." type things, so I don't know how reliable it is, but what I've heard is that Porter felt Ben took too long to decide what to do next, and ended up slowing down the play. I personally don't see that as a big problem, as he definitely made stuff happen and almost always made the right choice. That more than I can say for Caldwell this year. I think Ben could have been one of standouts this year whether it was in midfield setting up the forwards, or as a winger like he's playing at UNC. How great would it have been to have him opposite Holmes, giving us two wingers who could rip a shot with both feet? As far as not being a former Zip... If Ben wants to play pro, it would not have been a smart career choice to stay at a school where he repeatedly gets overlooked for no apparent reason. Seeing as he's from the area, worked hard for the team however/whenever he could, was a big part in our 2009 and 2010 College Cup performances (does ANYONE remember his crazy goal line clearance in 2009?), and only moved on because he was told he has no future with this team, I definitely consider him a former Zip. Had he been given the time I feel he deserved, I have no doubt he would have been fully committed to the Zips. I wish him the best in the future, and hope to see him at a Crew game someday.

For Arsenal the match meant nothing to them as they already finished on top of the group. They took what, 3 regular starters to the match? Glad they decided to rest the regular guys. As for my teams, I support Arsenal (Sp*rs suck!), and love watching Barcelona. Barca just always amazes me everytime I watch them, especially that little magician. Best player in the world. I love that Akron strives to play the same tiki-taka style as them.

And David Mayer. This team will be just fine. I think Mattocks will leave, but he'll be the only non-senior leaving IMO. I think we may see a fair number of this years' freshman who got zero playing time transfer out. I don't think Mayer will return. Based on past history I could see the transfers. There's no point in staying behind someone who plays the full 90. I'm not really sure the mass exodus of freshman is what will happen though. Is a redshirt freshman more likely to transfer than a guy like Brenes? He doesn't really have a defined role yet will already be a junior. He's clearly a very good player but he's stuck behind two future MLS players in central midfield. I don't think Mayer goes though. Just look at his tweets from today. Mayer staying would certainly be a good thing. I don't read tweets but my statements about him transferring were not based on anything i heard nor on anything factual. I presumed he would leave because of lack of any playing time,albeit one half or less,over the last half of the season. Since all guys want to play i presumed he would transfer but it would be great news if he was to stay. I was really impressed with Mayer at the start of the season. After the Cal Poly game (when he was one of our better players) he didn't seem to play at all. We have played 5 other left backs plus Mayer this season (Stevenson, Portillos, Balogun, Gallego and Brenes) which is strange. Does anybody know what happened to Mayer? I believe he injured his foot/toe and was out for some amount of time because of that. I heard (just heard, I am not certain) that he and Porter had a falling out. I hope not. I really had high hopes for him too, and thought we would have been able to pencil him in as our starting LB. I heard the same. I wasn't all that impressed with him anyways. He never really had a good first touch, and I saw him misread the ball more than once and let it go over his head when it should have been an easy header. Those kind of mistakes can cost big in the back line. He did look pretty good going forward though, and put in some really nice crosses with his left. I do think he could be pretty good next year if he can iron out the kinks. He wasn't ready this year.