Tulsa - THE BIG GAME!

[bmaker]

OK what superlative comes after phenomenal?

[bobbyake]

I heard the announcer say the attendance was around 4744. The stadium expansion should probably start after this season!!

[Valpo Zip]

OK what superlative comes after phenomenal?

dominant

[Big Zip]

Was the score 5-0?

[zip37]

4-nil. Dominating performance tonite, both offence and defence.

[GoZips88]

OK what superlative comes after phenomenal?

dominant

... and why didn't you and your wife make the trip over to Akron tonight?!? ;-)

[Zip_ME87]

Nice pre-game write-up of this game at ncaa.com http://www.ncaa.com/blog/mens-soccer/2010/...-weekend-1.html

NCAA.com Men's Soccer Blog

What A Weekend!

By

Drew Simon

on September 24, 2010 5:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It is anything but a quiet weekend on the D-I Men's Soccer front and this blogger has decided to use his Friday to give you a preview of the two matches this weekend that will have every soccer fan salivating. And if this blog leaves you drooling, please, leave a remark in the comments section. And then clean up your chin.

The Main Event(s)

If there was any weekend that could be considered a mid-season playoffs, it would be this one. Two Friday night games are sure to peak any soccer fans interest and while there importance can be listed as 1A and 1B, the blog will start with No. 2 Tulsa at No. 1 Akron. And before we get into the game, can we please give a round of applause to Mid-Major schools. Tulsa, coming from Conference USA, and Akron, from the Mid-America Conference, have been in great form this season, both posting undefeated records.

Tonight's game will surely be a classic and the 3,000 seat Lee Jackson Field in Akron has already sold out in preparation for the game. For those of you who will not be in attendance, the match can be seen on Fox Soccer Channel at 8:00 PM ET. Alternatively, you can click here to see the match through the Akron Zips website.

Akron has certainly been a team on a mission ever since there dramatic loss in last years National Championship. Five consecutive victories has certainly been a way to displace those terrible memories, especially when you are yet to concede while scoring 11 goals against your opponents. Did I mention that they beat UNC behind a three goal performance and then defeated Wake Forest two days later? Well I did now. This is a squad that has come together over the offseason, lost a shock exhibition match to South Florida, realized that the talent was there, and have dominated opponents. Boy do they look good!

Tulsa saw there season end in a 1-0 loss to Akron at Lee Jackson Field in the NCAA quarterfinals last year. They were also defeated by the Zips last year at Tulsa behind an Anthony Ampaipitakwong strike in the 10th minute during the regular season. But this is a new season for the Golden Hurricane (no, not pluralized) who have jumped out to a school best 6-0-0 record. There offense is led by junior Forward, Austin Neil, who is tied for the nation's lead with seven goals but the playmaker resides in the midfield through senior Ashley McInnes. Through six games, he has four goals and three assists and will be a handful for a stout Akron defense.

Speaking of offense and defense, this isn't just a matchup of the two best teams, but also a matchup of the nation's best offense (Tulsa) against the nation's best defense (Akron). Tulsa come into this match with a 3.0 goals/game average while Akron is hoping to keep another shutout in an effort to tie an NCAA record for 11 consecutive clean sheets. That adds up to 1,020 minutes and 59 seconds since Akron has allowed a goal. Other things that take 17 hours:

1) A flight to South Africa

2) A work day on Wall Street

3) Watch all three parts of The Godfather...three times.

The winner of this match is more than likely to take the No. 1 ranking in next weeks poll so there is clearly more than pride on the line tonight. Will the cliché hold that a good defense beats a good offense? Luckily, we are only a few hours away before game time. Enjoy this classic.

[scottditzen]

"Tulsa saw there season end in a 1-0 loss to Akron at Lee Jackson Field..."

Great read! Although it is amusing to see the incorrect use of the word "there" in place of "their" on a college publication lol.

GREAT GAME TONIGHT THE ATMOSPHERE WAS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[RootforRoo44]

forgot to record the match...anyone know of a site that archives television? The old one i used to use is down.

[ZachTheZip]

Some highlights, overdubbed with Caleb Porter talking about the game. You'll see more clips from the game on Youtube pop up by tomorrow.

[RootforRoo44]

Some highlights, overdubbed with Caleb Porter talking about the game. You'll see more clips from the game on Youtube pop up by tomorrow.

About damn time they did something like this, i have been recording some footage of games but i would rather enjoy the game from the front row of the student section right behind the goal than walk around.

Camera work is only alright though, BUT definitely on the right track!

GO ZIPS

btw, i ended up taking a little bit of video. Nothing that great (due to it being near impossible to take video in the middle of the sea of craziness that is the pouch) and no need to put highlights together as they already have them but I guess have some other angles of these goals worth having a look at.

[RootforRoo44]

Another look at Kofi's goal....and an up close look at Perry Kitchen.

[mes102]

Tulsa fans aren't happy...haha...making excuses..haha

http://tulsa.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=17...115&style=2

not much here...

http://tulsa.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=17...115&style=2

[MDZip]

Tulsa fans aren't happy...haha...making excuses..haha

http://tulsa.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=17...115&style=2

not much here...

http://tulsa.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=17...115&style=2

Yes, but this line from the first one was pretty amusing:

Several times I counted at least 16 Akron players on the field, including 3 number 11's from Jamaica.

[schiri]

OT: will anyone be tweeting from Columbus Wednesday?

[jem101]

Slightly OT, but as I was watching the match last night I was thinking. Is Korb the most underrated player on the team. He never makes mistakes and is capable of pushing the ball up the field. Great player.

[UA Fan]

forgot to record the match...anyone know of a site that archives television? The old one i used to use is down.

You might want to check your cable provider's listings to see if they have any replays scheduled (probably in the wee hours).

[ZippyforPresident]

Just wanted to say GO ZIPS! I was at the game, DVR'd it, and then watched it again when I got home that night after the game. Just an amazingly awesome dominant performance by the Zips and I LOOOVE IT! tOFU is in for some real fun this week....

[Z.I.P.]

Just wanted to say GO ZIPS! I was at the game, DVR'd it, and then watched it again when I got home that night after the game. Just an amazingly awesome dominant performance by the Zips and I LOOOVE IT! tOFU is in for some real fun this week....

Z.I.P. has come down from the mountain, and whoooo-hooooo! Look who climbed to the mountain top of Lee Jackson Field!! Will have much more to say about the game, which I reviewed late-night in SF, NM, late in my retreat to Nueva Espana del Norte. But for now, I just want to give a shout out to those AK Forty-Niners at LJF Friday evening (anyone who watched the FSC telecast is smiling right now) And, Holy Ronaldinho, Batman, that outside-right foot put-away by Perry Kitchen was a work of art. I'll bet there wasn't a prettier goal in the EPL today! And -- I have to give my kudos to Tulsa #14's dad when I drop back onto the island. It appears that Kofi got credit for the goal, but it couldn't have happened without the work of Blaine Gonsalves. He tried to do what Kofi himself did later in the half -- head the ball over his own goal. Just a little short -- and the ball was a bullet as well.

And, if you want to see just what the current ceiling for attendance for college soccer is -- sorry Akron, you came up about 11,000 short -- check out the game story from UCSB vs UCLA just a little later on Friday evening. The Gauchos are good enough to put a run together (especially Sam Garza!) and make a December home appearance in the College Cup. That may be the only way to give Caleb's Kids some competition. And there would be too little room in 17k seat Harder Stadium.

Adios hasta mas tarde. Aloha ahiahi. No, Go Zips, I am not wishing the fish good night. I'm wishing it to all the Zips out there.

[MDZip]

From Top Drawer soccer today:

Loved the picture of the Zips celebrating with the Rowdies and the "Domination" headline.

Writeup is here, but it's pretty short so I just copied it here:

An emphatic 4-0 win over previous #2 Tulsa punctuated the #1 status the Akron Zips continued to enjoy in our Men's Tournament 48 National Ranking.

Caleb Porter's Zips remained perfect after the win, with the team remaining unbeaten, untied and unscored upon. Observer will now have to contemplate just how good this team can be over the course of the season, as the squad will need to look to itself for motivation and challenges through the regular season, starting with a midweek game at Ohio State.

By the way, I was surprised to learn that Tulsa only has about 4200 students. We had a bigger crowd than they have students.

[Z.I.P.]

A few tidbits of information and intrigue about Friday night's huge victory.

I can assure you that that game caught the attention of the entire soccer nation. Many fans -- and coaches -- had only seen Akron play in last year's NCAA Soccer Cup, and were not privy to just how totally dominant they can be on the pitch. Friday night was proof positive that no other team comes close to what Akron is capable of doing on the soccer field. And I contribute this to describe just how dominant they were: Tulsa played a good game! Yes -- Tulsa played as good a game as they are capable of playing -- they were simply flooded over by events -- two goals in about two minutes before the fifteenth minute. On the rare occasions when Tulsa held possession for more than a couple passes, they moved the ball forward with skill and a talent level that in my opinion proves they are a top-5, and quite possibly a top-2 team in the nation. I think -- especially after the lesson they received on their Ohio trip -- that they would be even or favored over any team but Akron, playing on their home field, and can play even with anyone (but you know who) on the road.

For those who did not see the FSC telecast or the replay, the broadcast team that calls the NSCAA Game of the Week is the best and most informative team FSC puts on the air, bar none. The former 22-year Georgetown coach, Keith Tabatznik provides more knowledgeable information to the viewer -- and does his homework to obtain his info, than anyone in US soccer broadcasting. I've had the pleasure of meeting Mom Porter, as I guess some of you have -- but the stories the guys had about the rest of the Porter family were a regular "Who's Line is it Anyway" (is that the name of the 60's game show where the contestants had to guess the celebrity being described?). For those who don't know Glenn Meyernick was the deeply loved coach of US national youth teams who died several years ago, prematurely. Glenn had the story of Caleb's sister performing with "Gooch's" daughter at the Houston Ballet Company. Dad Porter? A lumberjack who became President of the world's largest paper company? I don't know if these are perfectly true, but the announcers gave us information never before presented, even to inside fans of the Zips. Credit to FSC for putting these guys together. I have forgiven Keith Tabatznik for referring in rapid speech to the Rowdies as the AK-49ers. Even if he did it three times. He admitted he had no idea where he came up with that one. I friended his Facebook page, and the Rowdies should too.

The field looked lovely on natinal TV. Only criticism I could mutter is the ball seemed to bounce inconsistently -- sometimes dieing at the feet of players after free kicks, sometimes landing two yards short and bouncing over the head. That should go away with age, as should I, I suppose.

I'm looking for phrases that make good sound bites for this Akron team, and at the same time, considering possible signage for the trip to CA in Dec (knock on fake wood). How does this feel for starts: Akron Soccer, We're Taking Our Talent to Santa Barbara?

[RootforRoo44]

Keiths Facebook page