UA vs OSU in game thread

[MDZip]

This may be the nicest opening sentence I've ever seen for a Zips-OSU contest in any sport:AKRON, Ohio - The No. 15 nationally-ranked Ohio State men's soccer team suffered its first loss of the season at the hands of top-ranked Akron, 3-0...

[Zipsrifle]

I was reading some posts on big soccer.com and one OSU poster suggested that porter would leave UA for OSU if The buckeyes just ponied up enough cash to lure him away. He mentioned that they have better facilities (probably true) and the OSU name and Nike sponsorship would sweeten the deal. It frustrated me that the mentality of their fans, when they lose to a "mid-major" school, is to simply buy their way to success. I hope Caleb and UA can build something special here.

[ZachTheZip]

OSU doesn't have the "soccer culture" there, and creating one would be nearly impossible. Columbus is a football town and no number of national championships would draw any amount of attention.Their facilities are bigger but they feel sterile. The stands are seperated by a track, and everything is far away from the action.It's almost inevitable that Porter will be coaching at Indiana at some point in the future, unless we can somehow surpass their program's accomplishments and prestige. Right now Akron is the newcomer butting in on the old guard.

[Valpo Zip]

OSU doesn't have the "soccer culture" there, and creating one would be nearly impossible. Columbus is a football town and no number of national championships would draw any amount of attention.Their facilities are bigger but they feel sterile. The stands are seperated by a track, and everything is far away from the action.It's almost inevitable that Porter will be coaching at Indiana at some point in the future, unless we can somehow surpass their program's accomplishments and prestige. Right now Akron is the newcomer butting in on the old guard.

I'd rather not be fooling myself. What the buckeye fan said on the board is probably true. If any BCS school, not particularly OSU, pay enough money, Caleb will leave. He's a human being and has dreams and aspirations just like the rest of us. Saying that he wouldn't leave because OSU doesn't have a soccer culture is (with all due respect) a ridiculous argument, did Louisville have a soccer culture when Lolla went there? Some people up in the administration have to make some serious decisions. We have a #1 team made mostly of Sophomores and Freshmen... we have the potential to win 3 back to back to back national championships, we have people who are willing to pay money to watch this team (while standing on the grass) but they are getting turned down because the games are sold out. Dr. Proenza, Mr. Curtis, and Mr. Wistrscill, the ball is in your park.

[zipseuph]

We have a #1 team made mostly of Sophomores and Freshmen... we have the potential to win 3 back to back to back national championships,

that was actually gonna be my argument for him staying

[Captain Kangaroo]

I'd rather not be fooling myself. What the buckeye fan said on the board is probably true. If any BCS school, not particularly OSU, pay enough money, Caleb will leave. He's a human being and has dreams and aspirations just like the rest of us.

Baloney.Like Bowling Green w/Urban Meyer, the Zips wouldn't have the near the money to keep the nation's top football coach in town, but they certainly have enough money to keep the nation's top soccer coach in town.What does the Ohio State soccer coach make? $145,000/yr? We couldn't find an extra 10k to keep Caleb if an OSU offer came about? Get real. Aren't the Zips someting like 26 - 6 - 3 against Ohio State lifetime? Why the hell would a UA coach go there? It's like Jim Tressel leaving OSU for Pitt. The title of University of Akron Soccer Coach is now pretty much on-par with "Maryland Soccer Coach" or "Penn State Soccer Coach." You can be #1 in the nation @ UA. You can get the #1 pick in the MLS draft from UA. You can sell out games @ UA. And you can get paid like an upper-echelon coach @ UA.If Porter leaves it will likely be for a job beyond the collegiate level. He can achieve whatever collegiate goals he has in Akron. If he departs...it would suck, but we would successfully move on. UA is committed to being a Top 10 soccer program. We've been one for decades.

[Valpo Zip]

Captain, i'll throw the Ken Lolla argument again. Why did he leave?Ken and Caleb are confident enough that they will build great teams wherever they go. OSU soccer coach title is not better than Akron's. But their facilities are better, and the money may be better.If you were Caleb, wouldn't you like to have more than 2450 fans attend your games? zipseuph, that's a good argument but like i said above, caleb knows that he has a very special team in Akron but he is confident that he will have equally special teams wherever he goes.

[Zipsrifle]

Captain, i'll throw the Ken Lolla argument again. Why did he leave?Ken and Caleb are confident enough that they will build great teams wherever they go. OSU soccer coach title is not better than Akron's. But their facilities are better, and the money may be better.If you were Caleb, wouldn't you like to have more than 2450 fans attend your games? zipseuph, that's a good argument but like i said above, caleb knows that he has a very special team in Akron but he is confident that he will have equally special teams wherever he goes.

I think this year has shown that we can have MORE than 2450 fans attending. I think we could have hit 3000+ for the OSU game if our facility could accomodate it and that is for THIS SEASON! If they continue winning, they could consistently draw more. People in NE Ohio are so starved for a winner that they will back the team. The facilities are IMO, the biggest problem we have right now for this team. I think that the scheduling has been excellent and will not hurt us. We should continue to schedule a very hard OOC schedule. Hell, we seem to play in 2 conferences, the Big 10 and the MAC. I will be one of the first people to stand up against issuing more bonds or increasing student payments for new facilities but, with that said, something needs to be done for this team. If they win a National Championship, then Dr. P and TW need to get creative in getting the ball rolling on some new facilites. Maybe we build it in steps, but we need to have a facility that will keep top talent in Akron. We are a "Mid Major" and DI National Championships are few and far between for this class of school. We can't neglect a winner!

[Z.I.P.]

OSU doesn't have the "soccer culture" there, and creating one would be nearly impossible. Columbus is a football town and no number of national championships would draw any amount of attention.Their facilities are bigger but they feel sterile. The stands are seperated by a track, and everything is far away from the action.It's almost inevitable that Porter will be coaching at Indiana at some point in the future, unless we can somehow surpass their program's accomplishments and prestige. Right now Akron is the newcomer butting in on the old guard.

I will respond to this (newly re-opened) thread through Zach's comment, since it is the one that makes the most sense, and the one I'm in agreement with -- with the exception of the first sentence of the final paragraph. Folks, you need to relax and enjoy this team's success! I know we are talking about AKRON BUT you need to realize soccer is a completely different animal. With the proper decisions and a relative modicum of resources, most any school can be a powerhouse. Do not underestimate the difference between Ken Lolla and Caleb Porter. Ken (who I like and admire) is an excellent coach who can make an unknown or just 'good' program into a top-20, and occasionally top-10 team. But, for him to create a team that could be a strong contender, let alone a favorite to win an NCAA title, is, IMHO, above his ceiling of potential. Caleb Porter, like his best players, deserves the honorific, of being a "special" type of coach. He is the type of personality and manager of people and the game who doesn't come along to ANY school very often. Akron's team will be the favorite to win NCAA titles for the next three years (unless we lose players to the pros, and don't replenish them, an unlikely event).As far as his being "predated" (gobbled up, Jurassic Park style by Velociraptor State), there are many very rich universities which would love to have someone of Caleb's caliber leading their programs. Big Ten schools are hardly the only ones who would offer more than Akron could. BUT, when we talk about soccer, we're again talking about a relatively low ceiling. These schools may be able to offer salaries in the 300k area. Yes, that's about double what he currently makes, but trust me, Caleb Porter LOVES being the coach of Akron, and he knows he can achieve at Akron anything he can achieve at any university in America. AND, everything I hear is, we ARE going to have the facilities deserving of a team as good as Akron and Caleb Porter require to keep the program at or near the top of the pyramid of college soccer. But, please keep up the pressure to ensure the administration commits to funding and building the stadium we have to have. Tom Wistercill seems to be quite aware of how important a sport like soccer can be to a school's overall athletics program. He's been at schools in Wisconsin and Minnesota where hockey is an integral part of the sports culture. Soccer inhabits that same space at Akron, so I'm confident we have a leader who understands its importance, and will do what's necessary to maintain our stature.Now, as to that comment of Zach's about it being "almost inevitable" that Caleb Porter will leave for "home" -- Indiana Hoosierland. Don't OVER-rate the attraction of Bloomington, Indiana. It is not a cultural capitol of anything. Caleb honors IU soccer for what is has been, and what it has enabled him to achieve himself. However, he also realizes anything he could do at IU (assuming they would somehow prefer to have him over his ex-boss Mike Freitag) he can do in Akron, Ohio. Caleb is creating a brand new soccer culture in Akron, and he must realize that while Indiana was the team in college soccer from 1975 to 2005, Akron could own the next thirty years. We all need to be part of making that a reality.

[Zip Watcher]

OSU doesn't have the "soccer culture" there, and creating one would be nearly impossible. Columbus is a football town and no number of national championships would draw any amount of attention.Their facilities are bigger but they feel sterile. The stands are seperated by a track, and everything is far away from the action.It's almost inevitable that Porter will be coaching at Indiana at some point in the future, unless we can somehow surpass their program's accomplishments and prestige. Right now Akron is the newcomer butting in on the old guard.

I will respond to this (newly re-opened) thread through Zach's comment, since it is the one that makes the most sense, and the one I'm in agreement with -- with the exception of the first sentence of the final paragraph. Folks, you need to relax and enjoy this team's success! I know we are talking about AKRON BUT you need to realize soccer is a completely different animal. With the proper decisions and a relative modicum of resources, most any school can be a powerhouse. Do not underestimate the difference between Ken Lolla and Caleb Porter. Ken (who I like and admire) is an excellent coach who can make an unknown or just 'good' program into a top-20, and occasionally top-10 team. But, for him to create a team that could be a strong contender, let alone a favorite to win an NCAA title, is, IMHO, above his ceiling of potential. Caleb Porter, like his best players, deserves the honorific, of being a "special" type of coach. He is the type of personality and manager of people and the game who doesn't come along to ANY school very often. Akron's team will be the favorite to win NCAA titles for the next three years (unless we lose players to the pros, and don't replenish them, an unlikely event).As far as his being "predated" (gobbled up, Jurassic Park style by Velociraptor State), there are many very rich universities which would love to have someone of Caleb's caliber leading their programs. Big Ten schools are hardly the only ones who would offer more than Akron could. BUT, when we talk about soccer, we're again talking about a relatively low ceiling. These schools may be able to offer salaries in the 300k area. Yes, that's about double what he currently makes, but trust me, Caleb Porter LOVES being the coach of Akron, and he knows he can achieve at Akron anything he can achieve at any university in America. AND, everything I hear is, we ARE going to have the facilities deserving of a team as good as Akron and Caleb Porter require to keep the program at or near the top of the pyramid of college soccer. But, please keep up the pressure to ensure the administration commits to funding and building the stadium we have to have. Tom Wistercill seems to be quite aware of how important a sport like soccer can be to a school's overall athletics program. He's been at schools in Wisconsin and Minnesota where hockey is an integral part of the sports culture. Soccer inhabits that same space at Akron, so I'm confident we have a leader who understands its importance, and will do what's necessary to maintain our stature.Now, as to that comment of Zach's about it being "almost inevitable" that Caleb Porter will leave for "home" -- Indiana Hoosierland. Don't OVER-rate the attraction of Bloomington, Indiana. It is not a cultural capitol of anything. Caleb honors IU soccer for what is has been, and what it has enabled him to achieve himself. However, he also realizes anything he could do at IU (assuming they would somehow prefer to have him over his ex-boss Mike Freitag) he can do in Akron, Ohio. Caleb is creating a brand new soccer culture in Akron, and he must realize that while Indiana was the team in college soccer from 1975 to 2005, Akron could own the next thirty years. We all need to be part of making that a reality.

HUGE Post!!This applies to all things Zips. The fans need to play a role .. and play it well.Go Zips!

[UA Fan]

OSU doesn't have the "soccer culture" there, and creating one would be nearly impossible. Columbus is a football town and no number of national championships would draw any amount of attention.Their facilities are bigger but they feel sterile. The stands are seperated by a track, and everything is far away from the action.It's almost inevitable that Porter will be coaching at Indiana at some point in the future, unless we can somehow surpass their program's accomplishments and prestige. Right now Akron is the newcomer butting in on the old guard.

tosu is making their soccer games (along w/ a couple other sports like gymnastics) free admission for all, to try to build up support/attendance. I posted on Buckeye Planet that on the other hand, tosu did help us to set a paid soccer attendance record, with a link to the GoZips article on the game...and promptly got banned. Of course, I also had posted the AP football top 10 previously and received an infraction for "inciting a reaction". There are plenty of good Buckeye fans but the moderators of that board are pretty childish to not even allow a discussion of in-state competition from Cinci, or the Akron soccer game.

[ZachTheZip]

tosu is making their soccer games (along w/ a couple other sports like gymnastics) free admission for all, to try to build up support/attendance. I posted on Buckeye Planet that on the other hand, tosu did help us to set a paid soccer attendance record, with a link to the GoZips article on the game...and promptly got banned. Of course, I also had posted the AP top 10 previously and received an infraction for "inciting a reaction". There are plenty of good Buckeye fans but the moderators of that board are pretty childish to not even allow a discussion of in-state competition from Cinci, or the Akron soccer game.

Giving away tickets for free to everybody is a bad idea. Instead, they could market them as a top 25 team and play them up as something fans should be excited to pay to see. That's what we're doing at Akron, and it's obviously working.As far as trying to post stuff on the OSU messageboards, the only one that remotely cares about soccer is jjhuddle.com where we also discuss Zips soccer occasionally.

[meatwad]

OSU doesn't have the "soccer culture" there, and creating one would be nearly impossible. Columbus is a football town and no number of national championships would draw any amount of attention.Their facilities are bigger but they feel sterile. The stands are seperated by a track, and everything is far away from the action.It's almost inevitable that Porter will be coaching at Indiana at some point in the future, unless we can somehow surpass their program's accomplishments and prestige. Right now Akron is the newcomer butting in on the old guard.

tosu is making their soccer games (along w/ a couple other sports like gymnastics) free admission for all, to try to build up support/attendance. I posted on Buckeye Planet that on the other hand, tosu did help us to set a paid soccer attendance record, with a link to the GoZips article on the game...and promptly got banned. Of course, I also had posted the AP top 10 previously and received an infraction for "inciting a reaction". There are plenty of good Buckeye fans but the moderators of that board are pretty childish to not even allow a discussion of in-state competition from Cinci, or the Akron soccer game.

I really don't know what you expected. If an OSU fan came on here and posted all of the past OSU vs. Akron football scores, would we also not ban them instantly? Talk about trolling...

[Wally B]

OSU doesn't have the "soccer culture" there, and creating one would be nearly impossible. Columbus is a football town and no number of national championships would draw any amount of attention.Their facilities are bigger but they feel sterile. The stands are seperated by a track, and everything is far away from the action.It's almost inevitable that Porter will be coaching at Indiana at some point in the future, unless we can somehow surpass their program's accomplishments and prestige. Right now Akron is the newcomer butting in on the old guard.

I will respond to this (newly re-opened) thread through Zach's comment, since it is the one that makes the most sense, and the one I'm in agreement with -- with the exception of the first sentence of the final paragraph. Folks, you need to relax and enjoy this team's success! I know we are talking about AKRON BUT you need to realize soccer is a completely different animal. With the proper decisions and a relative modicum of resources, most any school can be a powerhouse. Do not underestimate the difference between Ken Lolla and Caleb Porter. Ken (who I like and admire) is an excellent coach who can make an unknown or just 'good' program into a top-20, and occasionally top-10 team. But, for him to create a team that could be a strong contender, let alone a favorite to win an NCAA title, is, IMHO, above his ceiling of potential. Caleb Porter, like his best players, deserves the honorific, of being a "special" type of coach. He is the type of personality and manager of people and the game who doesn't come along to ANY school very often. Akron's team will be the favorite to win NCAA titles for the next three years (unless we lose players to the pros, and don't replenish them, an unlikely event).As far as his being "predated" (gobbled up, Jurassic Park style by Velociraptor State), there are many very rich universities which would love to have someone of Caleb's caliber leading their programs. Big Ten schools are hardly the only ones who would offer more than Akron could. BUT, when we talk about soccer, we're again talking about a relatively low ceiling. These schools may be able to offer salaries in the 300k area. Yes, that's about double what he currently makes, but trust me, Caleb Porter LOVES being the coach of Akron, and he knows he can achieve at Akron anything he can achieve at any university in America. AND, everything I hear is, we ARE going to have the facilities deserving of a team as good as Akron and Caleb Porter require to keep the program at or near the top of the pyramid of college soccer. But, please keep up the pressure to ensure the administration commits to funding and building the stadium we have to have. Tom Wistercill seems to be quite aware of how important a sport like soccer can be to a school's overall athletics program. He's been at schools in Wisconsin and Minnesota where hockey is an integral part of the sports culture. Soccer inhabits that same space at Akron, so I'm confident we have a leader who understands its importance, and will do what's necessary to maintain our stature.Now, as to that comment of Zach's about it being "almost inevitable" that Caleb Porter will leave for "home" -- Indiana Hoosierland. Don't OVER-rate the attraction of Bloomington, Indiana. It is not a cultural capitol of anything. Caleb honors IU soccer for what is has been, and what it has enabled him to achieve himself. However, he also realizes anything he could do at IU (assuming they would somehow prefer to have him over his ex-boss Mike Freitag) he can do in Akron, Ohio. Caleb is creating a brand new soccer culture in Akron, and he must realize that while Indiana was the team in college soccer from 1975 to 2005, Akron could own the next thirty years. We all need to be part of making that a reality.

Amen, well said, etc. etc........I recently heard that soccer provided a chance for mid-size and smaller schools to compete with the big boys..... The only way Akron is "small" is by athletic budgets... Yes tOSU is working to build the "soccer" brand and may in fact achieve this as they aren't left with much more to do in the "main" sports" That said, Akron has consistently been a soccer power if not quite an elite for some time. If we truly have become a "power" we'll leave the "talking" to the others and concentrate on the next game, mac foes, and the emerging tournament........

[UA Fan]

OSU doesn't have the "soccer culture" there, and creating one would be nearly impossible. Columbus is a football town and no number of national championships would draw any amount of attention.Their facilities are bigger but they feel sterile. The stands are seperated by a track, and everything is far away from the action.It's almost inevitable that Porter will be coaching at Indiana at some point in the future, unless we can somehow surpass their program's accomplishments and prestige. Right now Akron is the newcomer butting in on the old guard.

tosu is making their soccer games (along w/ a couple other sports like gymnastics) free admission for all, to try to build up support/attendance. I posted on Buckeye Planet that on the other hand, tosu did help us to set a paid soccer attendance record, with a link to the GoZips article on the game...and promptly got banned. Of course, I also had posted the AP top 10 previously and received an infraction for "inciting a reaction". There are plenty of good Buckeye fans but the moderators of that board are pretty childish to not even allow a discussion of in-state competition from Cinci, or the Akron soccer game.

I really don't know what you expected. If an OSU fan came on here and posted all of the past OSU vs. Akron football scores, would we also not ban them instantly? Talk about trolling...

My expectations for them were low and I wasn't surprised. If I wanted to troll I could have posted the all-time UA/tosu soccer record and taunted them about it. I just linked to the article showing the attendance record they were part of, but since it also showed they lost the game...banned with the reason given as "a..hole". This board is a lot more tolerant than that, as we saw recently with jupitertoo.

[Captain Kangaroo]

My expectations for them were low and I wasn't surprised. If I wanted to troll I could have posted the all-time UA/tosu soccer record and taunted them about it. I just linked to the article showing the attendance record they were part of, but since it also showed they lost the game...banned with the reason given as "a..hole". This board is a lot more tolerant than that, as we saw recently with jupitertoo.

Funny that on the Macbbs board they locked a jupitertoo thread where he tried his decade-old tired rant/schitck. Now he's on the Rasor blog under the name joe desjardines with the same schitck. The guy has no life, and is so consumed with jealousy it boarders on creepy. Actually, it crosses the line.

[g-mann17]

My expectations for them were low and I wasn't surprised. If I wanted to troll I could have posted the all-time UA/tosu soccer record and taunted them about it. I just linked to the article showing the attendance record they were part of, but since it also showed they lost the game...banned with the reason given as "a..hole". This board is a lot more tolerant than that, as we saw recently with jupitertoo.

Funny that on the Macbbs board they locked a jupitertoo thread where he tried his decade-old tired rant/schitck. Now he's on the Rasor blog under the name joe desjardines with the same schitck. The guy has no life, and is so consumed with jealousy it boarders on creepy. Actually, it crosses the line.

Is that him?Here I thought I was arguing with some Can't grad.

[ZachTheZip]

My expectations for them were low and I wasn't surprised. If I wanted to troll I could have posted the all-time UA/tosu soccer record and taunted them about it. I just linked to the article showing the attendance record they were part of, but since it also showed they lost the game...banned with the reason given as "a..hole". This board is a lot more tolerant than that, as we saw recently with jupitertoo.

Funny that on the Macbbs board they locked a jupitertoo thread where he tried his decade-old tired rant/schitck. Now he's on the Rasor blog under the name joe desjardines with the same schitck. The guy has no life, and is so consumed with jealousy it boarders on creepy. Actually, it crosses the line.

Is that him?Here I thought I was arguing with some Can't grad.

That's what we all thought when he first showed up on here and on Macbbs a few years back.

[Zipsrifle]

Thanks for all the details. Not only did I get an answer to my question, I learned a lot too!