Wake Forest

[GoZips88]

Preview of match from GoZips.comPreview of match from Wake ForestLive StatsLive Video Let's Go Zips!!!

[bisbee]

Will be interesting match up for DeAndre Yedlin and Wake's Sean Okoli. Both are from Seattle and they were team mates on the seattle sounders Academy U18 team last year. Prior to that they were on opposing sides for many years.

[fknbuflobo]

Will be interesting match up for DeAndre Yedlin and Wake's Sean Okoli. Both are from Seattle and they were team mates on the seattle sounders Academy U18 team last year. Prior to that they were on opposing sides for many years.

Very interesting! Will definitely watch that matchup closely. Zips should have bagged Okoli as well. Young man is on a roll; he will warrant tight marking.Bisbee, stop down to Lot 9, on Exchange Street, right in front of Infocision Stadium. Tank123 in town?

[bobbyake]

hope to see everyone in Lot 9 again.

[UAZipster0305]

I'm pumped about this one. Great match-up! Let's see how the guys from NC play in the cold.

[UAZipster0305]

This is an exciting game. Great home opponent late in the season.

[TennZip]

why is DeAndre Yedlin not playing?I understand about starting the seniors...but Yedlin is clearly better than Dagilis.Dagilis just cost us a goal

[UAZipster0305]

Another tough tie: 2-2. We had WF on the ropes and couldn't close the game out. The inability to close out a game is this team's weakness. The home unbeaten streak continues though.

[Dave in Green]

I was only able to watch the first 40 minutes of this game. When I signed off, it was with a sense of gloom. Once again the Zips didn't appear to be a superior team. Just now signing back on, I was expecting the worst. So, honestly, a tie is almost a relief. This Zips team is undoubtedly one of the top 20 teams in the country, which fans at many other schools would be ecstatic about. But they just don't appear to be national championship caliber this season. Last season's team really spoiled Zips fans.

[Crew8]

I was only able to watch the first 40 minutes of this game. When I signed off, it was with a sense of gloom. Once again the Zips didn't appear to be a superior team. Just now signing back on, I was expecting the worst. So, honestly, a tie is almost a relief. This Zips team is undoubtedly one of the top 20 teams in the country, which fans at many other schools would be ecstatic about. But they just don't appear to be national championship caliber this season. Last season's team really spoiled Zips fans.

Not giving up hope yet. Championship or bust!

[Blue & Gold]

I was only able to watch the first 40 minutes of this game. When I signed off, it was with a sense of gloom. Once again the Zips didn't appear to be a superior team. Just now signing back on, I was expecting the worst. So, honestly, a tie is almost a relief. This Zips team is undoubtedly one of the top 20 teams in the country, which fans at many other schools would be ecstatic about. But they just don't appear to be national championship caliber this season. Last season's team really spoiled Zips fans.

Not giving up hope yet. Championship or bust!

It's awesome that this is where the program is. This team is so much fun to watch & it's just simply great having a team (from a relatively major sport) that we know are perennial national title contenders. I think I'll be content if we make the Final Four.

[Zip_ME87]

It's great that we've come to expect so much from our Men's Soccer Team, as we should. But, I'm with Crew8 and Blue&Gold. We've been spoiled by our 2009 and 2010 teams. Hopefully, this team will improve to that caliber over the next 1 to 2 seasons. However, as far as this season, we have to deal with the adversity, support this team, and do all we can to help them dig deep over the next 6 weeks to find a way to get it done. GO ZIPS!

[skip-zip]

I felt like these last few home games, which were dispersed among a couple of losses, would answer some questions. And apparently, they have. Not about the team's championship chances, but about the fan support. I posed this question not long ago: Were the dramatic increases in attendance over the last year or so a result of increased support for Akron soccer? Or, was it a result of a decent amount of bandwagoners who just wanted to be a part a Zips sport that was #1 in the country?Does the significantly lower attendance numbers the last few games support the latter? Getting a crowd like we had last night for getting a home game against a marquis ACC opponent was especially troubling. But, so have the last few games combined, especially when you know that there's no-shows that were counted in those very average attendance figures.

[Dave in Green]

I see now from the stats that the Zips outshot Wake 20-10. I would have never guessed that from the first 40 minutes of the game that I was able to watch, when it seemed as if Wake was the more aggressive and effective team. I'm not giving up on what this Zips team might be able to put together by the end of the season. While they are currently not keeping pace with the very best teams in the country, I will never doubt the potential of a Caleb Porter-coached team to put together a late-season run.

[bobbyake]

I felt like these last few home games, which were dispersed among a couple of losses, would answer some questions. And apparently, they have. Not about the team's championship chances, but about the fan support. I posed this question not long ago: Were the dramatic increases in attendance over the last year or so a result of increased support for Akron soccer? Or, was it a result of a decent amount of bandwagoners who just wanted to be a part a Zips sport that was #1 in the country?Does the significantly lower attendance numbers the last few games support the latter? Getting a crowd like we had last night for getting a home game against a marquis ACC opponent was especially troubling. But, so have the last few games combined, especially when you know that there's no-shows that were counted in those very average attendance figures.

attendance wasn't that bad, 2,958 announced. The stands were filled all around. I think the biggest variance in attendance comes from the student section but it was Halloween, a lot of students were partying. A lot of parents were taking their children trick-or-treating. According to a friend, there were plenty of empty seats at the Horse Shoe yesterday even though they were playing Wisconsin. They go by tickets sold as well.Akron Soccer average attendance is currently up 3% over last year. It's a positive. We had 20+ tailgating for the Bowling Green and Wake Forest game, let's make our goal the 30's for Michigan State.

[bobbyake]

btw, the referee was Christopher Koloffon, who does a lot of Big Ten games. He made a lot of poor calls yesterday.

[skip-zip]

I felt like these last few home games, which were dispersed among a couple of losses, would answer some questions. And apparently, they have. Not about the team's championship chances, but about the fan support. I posed this question not long ago: Were the dramatic increases in attendance over the last year or so a result of increased support for Akron soccer? Or, was it a result of a decent amount of bandwagoners who just wanted to be a part a Zips sport that was #1 in the country?Does the significantly lower attendance numbers the last few games support the latter? Getting a crowd like we had last night for getting a home game against a marquis ACC opponent was especially troubling. But, so have the last few games combined, especially when you know that there's no-shows that were counted in those very average attendance figures.

attendance wasn't that bad, 2,958 announced. The stands were filled all around. I think the biggest variance in attendance comes from the student section but it was Halloween, a lot of students were partying. A lot of parents were taking their children trick-or-treating. According to a friend, there were plenty of empty seats at the Horse Shoe yesterday even though they were playing Wisconsin. They go by tickets sold as well.Akron Soccer average attendance is currently up 3% over last year. It's a positive. We had 20+ tailgating for the Bowling Green and Wake Forest game, let's make our goal the 30's for Michigan State.

Anything can be sugar coated, but, it's fallen off dramatically over the last several games, and is absolutely shattering the numbers you had predicted, and even the numbers I had hoped for. We can blame it on anything we want...but...Trick or Treating?? Everyone has been able to walk right up to the ropes behind the goal for several games now. It was Senior Night last night, for God's sake. Some blame it on the "MAC portion of the schedule", which isn't a valid argument when we go under 3,000 for Penn State and Wake Forest as well. And again, that's just an "announced" number. Maybe it's hard for some people to take, but I am sure it's not a coincidence that a couple of losses, a couple of ties, and a drop in national ranking has caused a lot of "frontrunners" to drop off the bandwagon.

[bobbyake]

I felt like these last few home games, which were dispersed among a couple of losses, would answer some questions. And apparently, they have. Not about the team's championship chances, but about the fan support. I posed this question not long ago: Were the dramatic increases in attendance over the last year or so a result of increased support for Akron soccer? Or, was it a result of a decent amount of bandwagoners who just wanted to be a part a Zips sport that was #1 in the country?Does the significantly lower attendance numbers the last few games support the latter? Getting a crowd like we had last night for getting a home game against a marquis ACC opponent was especially troubling. But, so have the last few games combined, especially when you know that there's no-shows that were counted in those very average attendance figures.

attendance wasn't that bad, 2,958 announced. The stands were filled all around. I think the biggest variance in attendance comes from the student section but it was Halloween, a lot of students were partying. A lot of parents were taking their children trick-or-treating. According to a friend, there were plenty of empty seats at the Horse Shoe yesterday even though they were playing Wisconsin. They go by tickets sold as well.Akron Soccer average attendance is currently up 3% over last year. It's a positive. We had 20+ tailgating for the Bowling Green and Wake Forest game, let's make our goal the 30's for Michigan State.

Anything can be sugar coated, but, it's fallen off dramatically over the last several games, and is absolutely shattering the numbers you had predicted, and even the numbers I had hoped for. We can blame it on anything we want...but...Trick or Treating?? Everyone has been able to walk right up to the ropes behind the goal for several games now. It was Senior Night last night, for God's sake. Some blame it on the "MAC portion of the schedule", which isn't a valid argument when we go under 3,000 for Penn State and Wake Forest as well. And again, that's just an "announced" number. Maybe it's hard for some people to take, but I am sure it's not a coincidence that a couple of losses, a couple of ties, and a drop in national ranking has caused a lot of "frontrunners" to drop off the bandwagon.

I haven't updated the attendances for other teams for last 2 weeks, but we were #2 in the nation 2 weeks ago. If we're not in the top 2, we're most likely still in the top 5 of the nation. Brick by brick we'll build our tradition. We have the tailgating thing going now.

[Dave in Green]

I haven't updated the attendances for other teams for last 2 weeks, but we were #2 in the nation 2 weeks ago. If we're not in the top 2, we're most likely still in the top 5 of the nation. Brick by brick we'll build our tradition. We have the tailgating thing going now.

Great attitude! When you look at the size of some of the other top universities and the advantages they might have with more students living on campus, nicer weather, etc., what has been accomplished already in terms of UA's soccer attendance is pretty special. I'm impressed.

[bisbee]

Instead of being concerned about the attendance why no discussion about what happened on the field? This game represented a definite departure of tactics and lineup from prior games this season. What do those of you who saw the game think?

[Z.I.P.]

Instead of being concerned about the attendance why no discussion about what happened on the field? This game represented a definite departure of tactics and lineup from prior games this season. What do those of you who saw the game think?

Thanks for getting the thread back on track. NOT being there, I'd like to know what happened on the field rather than in the stands. What was the tactical departure, Bisbee? What do you think is causing the changes?

[Zip_ME87]

Instead of being concerned about the attendance why no discussion about what happened on the field? This game represented a definite departure of tactics and lineup from prior games this season. What do those of you who saw the game think?

Thanks for getting the thread back on track. NOT being there, I'd like to know what happened on the field rather than in the stands. What was the tactical departure, Bisbee? What do you think is causing the changes?

I didn't see the change in tactics to which Bisbee is referring. I'd like to understand it as I admit that I don't have the understanding of the game that others have. ***edit...DeAndre didn't start (only played in the 2nd OT, if I remember correctly)***...so, yes there was a change of personnel. In the OT, I believe that Holmes, Schmitt, and Mattocks were all on the field at one time...that made sense that we were trying to score the "golden goal". As far as Dagilis playing defense...yes there was a mix up between him and the other defenders that led to the first WF goal. However, I wouldn't put that all on Matt; it was a defensive mix up. Also, Matt wasn't on the field at UCSB or Michigan, and our defense gave up the "golden goal" in both of those games. In this game, both Dagilis and Barson had outstanding saves in front of our goal (while Meves was on the ground) preventing an additional WF goal. It's a team effort, and the bar was set high by the teams we had in 2009 and 2010. I didn't really see anything in this game that I haven't seen in other games this year that would cause me to say we lost because of specific players either being on the field or others not being on the field.

[fknbuflobo]

Tactics did not change for Wake Forest, though personnel definitely did. Akron executed the same game plan they have employed throughout the Porter tenure. Incidentally, Wake Forest plays the exact same system. I cannot recall an opponent so closely mirroring Akron’s style. One might argue that Akron employs the Wake Forest style, as WF has been doing it for much longer. It is puzzling that Yedlin, having started over Dagilis all year, saw only 10 minutes playing time. Had Yedlin been injured, he would not have played at all, so injury was not the reason. Perhaps Yedlin was ill, but Bisbee’s comments pretty much dispel that notion. And I do not buy the Senior Night explanation either. Senior Holmes inexplicably played very sparingly as well. This is a head scratcher. I have been harshly critical of Dagilis this year, especially during the Spring. In all fairness, against WF, Dagilis played the best ball he has since 2008. Props to local boy! IMO, the first WF goal was really due to a systematic defensive breakdown rather than individual play.Perhaps Porter is managing the squad as one would a professional side. Whoever impresses during practices earns the playing time in the first 11, lending no gravity whatsoever to scholarship structure or previous accolades. Consequently, it is likely the lineup will change match to match for the rest of the campaign. Although I can understand Porter managing this way, it does not bode well for a championship season. On the bright side, it is unlikely any player besides Mattocks will turn professional during the off-season. It sure would be great if Darren elected to stay on another year, but I do not see it. At this point, neither Barson nor Caldwell can secure a Generation Adidas contract.

[yazan07]

On the bright side, it is unlikely any player besides Mattocks will turn professional during the off-season. It sure would be great if Darren elected to stay on another year, but I do not see it. At this point, neither Barson nor Caldwell can secure a Generation Adidas contract.

I don't necessarily think they would need to, as they would be able to sign as homegrown players with Columbus and New England, respectively. Don't quote me on this because I'm not exactly sure how it works but I think because they played for those teams' academies they could sign directly with them. Let's just hope that whether or not that is a path they can take, that they chose to stay for their senior year. Although Mattocks is arguably our most important player right now, if we were to only have to really replace him next year, I think it could be a very successful year.

[Zip_ME87]

On the bright side, it is unlikely any player besides Mattocks will turn professional during the off-season. It sure would be great if Darren elected to stay on another year, but I do not see it. At this point, neither Barson nor Caldwell can secure a Generation Adidas contract.

I don't necessarily think they would need to, as they would be able to sign as homegrown players with Columbus and New England, respectively. Don't quote me on this because I'm not exactly sure how it works but I think because they played for those teams' academies they could sign directly with them. Let's just hope that whether or not that is a path they can take, that they chose to stay for their senior year. Although Mattocks is arguably our most important player right now, if we were to only have to really replace him next year, I think it could be a very successful year.

I believe you are correct about the "homegrown player" rule and signing directly with the teams for whose academies they have played. However, I'm not sure I agree with fknbuflobo's assertion that neither Caldwell nor Barson could get a Generation Adidas contract at this point. Barson, for instance, has proven himself time and again with major game-saving stops in front of the goal and being named a team "linchpin" (by Top Drawer, I think it was) keeps his name in view.