fknbuflobo

At a quick count, Zips utilized 17 players @ ND.

ND 1-1 AKR FT Good result. Matt Dreas seems born to play #6. He really has a knack for it. Now, if only he learned to shoot first touch from the D….

Indeed!

I realize your question has already been answered on this thread. Indeed, Emil is son of Jussi Jaaskelainen, longtime GK for Bolton Wanderers. I too am impressed with your depth of knowledge of minor tier English professional football. Bolton were last in the Prem in 2012.

We have lost the ability to receive the ball in midfield with our backs to the opponents’ goal, and then turn it upfield. Other teams are very physical when keeping us from playing through the midfield. That first pass from our defensive third into the middle third is hotly contested. Teams now realize that preventing that pass is the key to beating us. So, we must resort to playing over midfield rather than playing through midfield. And we are not especially good at that, the long ball.

AKR 0-0 PIT FT Another lackluster scoreless draw. On a positive note, though far from flawless, Zips defending looked more cohesive and determined. Especial recognition to MF Matt Dreas who has developed into our #6. More than one Zips historian has compared Matt Dreas to Ben Zemanski at Defensive Mid-field. Encouraging to see players improve; that is why we watch collegiate sports, right? I would counsel that Dreas needs work on distributing the ball after winning possession.

Friday vs. Pitt will be good measuring for Zips. Akron can ill afford to gift opportunities on our goal as we did versus Michigan. Unlike Wolverines, Panthers will convert such gifts into scores.

The first exhibition match is now 48 hours away. Gozips.com still has yet to update MSOC roster. We have 10 new players. This would not occur in a first rate Athletic Department.

A very nice Spring indeed. Quite curious that he left.

Does UA still have a Marketing curriculum? Or was that cut?

F the Brown & Gold and the Bronco they rode in on!!! Only good thing ever to come out of Kalamazoo MI is Bell's Brewery (and Caleb Porter). Q: Why are all WMU MSOC matches played in the afternoon?

We hope Jackson Herbert can see significant playing time with ACFC.

Now, that was more like it! AKR 2-0 LOU Match was not as close as score might suggest. Very solid and steady performance by our Zips, with flashes of brilliance throughout the match. 4-2-3-1 Goal Keeper Devin Armstrong #29 is much more than a suitable backup to Mitch Budler #1. Akron is set at GK for the foreseeable future. His medium ranged save, diving to his left, sealed the deal for me yesterday. (Just in case saving two PKs last week was not enough.) Zips keep trying to move Jonas Buechte #4 to HMF, because he is really good there. The problem is that we have only one Buechte. And he is also our best option at CB. The pairing of Jonas Buechte #4 and Roberto Ydrach #8 seems to be the best Center Back tandem for Zips. Both are heady and steady. Our outside backs really impacted the match yesterday, as they commonly do. Malik Henry #5 put in his usual uneven but sometimes brilliant shift up the right flank. On the left, Ashton Kamdem #27 fought like a demon! He created one chance after another all match long! He was everywhere! Remarkable that he did not score (hit the post). Ashton Kamdem is poised to have a monster Fall 2024. Promising freshman Nicholas Beier #6 was tried at Center Back last week, with mixed results. Beier looks far more comfortable at Holding Midfield where yesterday he facilitated several thrusts into our offensive third. He is also a good ball winner. And speaking of ball winning, Matt Dreas #22 is making a strong case for starting at HMF. Dreas will tackle anything that moves in midfield. Dreas is emerging as a scrapper. Incoming transfer Maximus Barboto #21 continues to show his creativity in the final third. He is quite accustomed to providing the critical pass from Attacking Midfield into space. And he is left footed, so he fits our paradigm of inverted wingers. On the other side? Whoa! When Dyson Clapier #19 has come to play... look out! "Katie, bar the door!" Several players on the Louisville right had nightmares last night featuring Ash and Dice. Stefan Dobrijevic #18 capped off his stellar Spring campaign with a goal and a beautiful assist to Joshua Bartels #15. Stef is another Zip on the verge of greatness. Not necessarily a consensus opinion, I believe Dobrijevic is best suited to play up top. He is currently Akron's best option at Forward. In summary, an excellent performance by Zips MSOC. May this victory be a harbinger of better things to come.

Scoreless @ HT but Zips dominating.

Agree with the above. Defensive organization was severely lacking in the second half. First half was pretty clean.

Beautiful assist!

Great first touch receiving that long ball on the run! Superb goal.

Well done, Shooky!

May Richmond Laryea have a speedy recovery.

MIC 1-2 AKR Stefan Dobrijevic with the brace. Dobrijevic should get more consideration for starting #9.

Spartans looked about the same quality as the average Big East opponent. Maybe not even that good. Zips played well as a unit the first 15 minutes, creating space and asking questions of the MSU defense. Then they inexplicably seemed to lose focus after that. Toward the end, Spartans owned the match. Zips ran out of offensive ideas in the 2nd half, becoming plodding and predictable. Very tough to imagine a positive trajectory for 2024. Roberto Ydrach CB #8 continued to impress, but he made a few miscues. Maximus Barboto MF #21 provided a spark in very limited playing time in the 2nd half. Both Zips outside backs played pretty well, Henry and Kamdem.

4-2-3-1 Borneo #12 and Bartels #15 are as good as advertised in offensive MF. The pleasant surprise is Ydrach #8 at CB. This enables Buechte to play defensive MF instead of CB. Malik Henry was very sharp today at his usual RB. His goal was a thing of beauty.

Agreed. Given the present state of the program, this Spring schedule is more important than it is in most years. Zips need some collective success on which to build. Zips got work to do!

Olivia Pilato exhibits a fine upbringing!

I look forward to beating Bowling Green.