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Training Day

Koroma on left, Schmitt in the middle, Derschang of the right. Serna must beat out Tommy to start, and Tommy was on fire during Spring.

Me thinks we may hear this call again in 2012!

This Spanish team is arguably the best international side ever.

Do you mean to insinuate that Can't State has a men’s baseball team? When did that happen?

I was waiting for someone else to mention it. After watching Spring season, and considering the recruiting class, I believe the Zips will be 2012 NCAA Champions. Seriously!

I am still stunned!

Well, those are the two best sides, really. Justice is served.

I finally saw the replay of that goal. A full volley off a long cross! It is probably the strike of the tournament. He almost had another one just like it.

Well, I am certainly out of the running. I had the Netherlands (and their horrible defending) winning it all. Earning no points whatsoever is much worse than merely unlucky. Look for complete overhaul of Dutch roster by World Cup.

Well, that article just answered all the boring, prying questions I have been asking you over the past year. I should have waited for this piece and saved everyone the bother.

Agreed! However, many are of the opinion that the womens team is (or was) on the verge of taking the MAC. There is no good reason Akron should not have an elite womens soccer program. This is quite a setback. I wonder what the real story is.

Thanks for putting us back on track. As I stated above, the only small modification I would make is to extend extra time, keeping the golden goal. In NCAA, two 15 minute halves is just not long enough. Make it an additional 45 minutes, with no intermission. Fatigue will set in and someone will eventually score. If still equal at the end of an additional 45 minutes, then call the regular season a draw, and call the post season PKs. Like everyone else, I hate PKs at the end of extra time. However, if the match demands a winner (post season), PKs is the tradtional way to decide things. I see no need to change it, even though I have tasted that bitterness more than once.

I cannot name that play; I do not particularly care for Baseball. Perhaps mine was not the best analogy to illustrate my point. Eliminating Off-Side rule is as radical a shift in Soccer's structure as permitting the handling of the ball. Alter the Off-Side rule (while keeping all else constant) and you have an entirely different sport. There are many rules I would change, in several different sports. Your example of CFL Receivers moving before the snap is a good one. I like how the CFL game is much more fluid and natural. The NFL needs to cut their rulebook in half. I am not especially worried about which half they keep. I just know that fat guys blowing whistles is not entertaining to watch, regardless of the scoring, regardless of the sport. What I want more than anything is uninterrupted action. I do not equate scoring with excitement. The buildup to a crescendo is much more exciting to me than repetitious scoring, as in Basketball. I happen to enjoy Basketball (having played it for years), but I am not the least bit put-off by a low scoring game where each possession is crucial. Conversely, I remember high scoring NBA yawners back in the day, when no one played serious defense. There was plenty of scoring, without any drama whatsoever. Scoring and action are not exactly the same things.

These supposed remedies are mostly nonsense! The game does not need repairing; it is doing just fine. Most of these rules are very old by sporting standards, well over 100 years. Leave the rules alone. If Soccer is not your cup of tea, watch something else! I would love to incorporate more fans; I am not the least bit elitist. The more the merrier! But attracting more fans cannot come at the expense of the game itself. Imagine how entertaining Baseball would be if runners could be forced out by hitting them with the ball. Of course, the very fabric of the sport would be forever altered, losing all historical perspective. But hey, it sure would be fun to watch! The unfortunate proposal to remove Off-Sides has reared its stupid head once again. This is a common and frequent suggestion, but without real insight. Remove Off-Sides and every match would result in one herd at one goalmouth and another herd at the other goalmouth, each fouling and slogging about for a garbage goal. The Off-Side rule is integral to the sport. Do not tamper with it. The only small modification I would make is to extend extra time, keeping the golden goal. In NCAA, two 15 minute halves is just not long enough. Make it an additional 45 minutes, with no intermission. Fatigue will set in and someone will eventually score. If still equal at the end of an additional 45 minutes, then call the regular season a draw, and call the post season PKs. Done.

Pete Milich, would have loved to have seen him play, but his glory days were the very early sixties. Any guy that scores a goal in sixteen consecutive games has got to be worth watching. He also still holds the Zips record for goals in a career (85). This was in the very early days of Akron soccer and got the Zips off on the right foot (pun intended). +1

Yes. Superb photo. Great uniform for a great franchise. Awesome hair! I hope he keeps that throughout the season.

Simon Spelling

Wil Trapp #6 DeAndre Yedlin #17

Is it too soon to submit my resume?

Nice find, Mike. I read Slate regularly, but I somehow missed this one.

That is GREAT stuff! I love it! This confirms what I have been blathering about for a long time now. NEO, Akron in particular, is a hotbed of organically grown American soccer. This is not a result of the Zips' success. Rather, the Zips' success is an extension of the overall community. We love soccer around here, and we have done so for many generations. Here exists a quiet tradition; the roots run deep. THAT is the primary reason the Zips’ success is so very precious to us. It IS us! I think I need a tissue. Yours is the best posting I have read in quite some time! Keep it coming!

You are correct. Those stats must be post season as well. I was misreading the stat. It is still amazing that we have defeated Indiana only 6 times out 32 meetings. Over the life of the soccer program, Hoosiers are the nemisis of the Zips. Damn them! That tournament this year at Notre Dame really scares me.

Yes, these stats are exclusively regular season. We beat Hoosiers at home in 2009, off Mikey Nanchoff's last minute free kick. Remember? That was beginning of the season tournament, right? And then we beat them at home in 2010 during the NCAAs, right? Those stats are regular season only. Wow! It will take quite some time to level with Indiana. I remember many an @$$ whooping from Jerry Yeagley's teams. I predict we lose to them out at Notre Dame this year. Hoosiers are on the rise again, so watch out.

Does anyone know about Saad Abdul-Salaan #25? How did he get to Akron in the first place, and where is he now? Why is he not included among the twelve in the 2012 recruiting class?