College Cup 2017: Dec 8, Akron v. Stanford

[Z.I.P.]

I don't believe I've ever seen a college team play that successfully aggressive a game defensively, and all their attack was based on and off of their ability to pressure Akron at both ends of the pitch.  Well done, Cardinal and Coach Gunn.  

Edited December 9, 2017 by Z.I.P.

[a-zip]

Stanford looked very much the part of reigning 2 time champs. 1st half was the worst Akron soccer I can remember. Schultz probably the worst game I can remember by an Akron player. Bummed, was planning on going to Philly on Sunday. 

[SBZipfan]

Stanford has really stepped up their game. Their lowish seed (#9) was due to a weak schedule (only one game against an RPI top-25 team before the NCAAs); usually that means a team is unprepared for high-level competition, but Stanford's upperclassmen have two national championship runs to draw on, and clearly they have done exactly that.

 

Congrats to the Cardinal, and to the Zips for an excellent season that ended with them being one of the top 4 teams (out of over 200 overall) in D1.

[malonepioneer12]

Great season Zips.  Beaten by a very good veteran team.  They almost seem like a pro team.  I expect them to 3 peat. Shultz’s two worst memories are going to be Stanford.  

[zipsrule]

39 minutes ago, Z.I.P. said:

I don't believe I've ever seen a college team play that successfully aggressive a game defensively, and all their attack was based on and off of their ability to pressure Akron at both ends of the pitch.  Well done, Cardinal and Coach Gunn.  

I had a similar thought.  The Stanford defensive pressure was unlike any I have seen.  We could not get anything going.  Playing like that, Stanford will be tough to beat.  That being said,  a tremendous season by Akron.  They should be proud of their accomplishments.

[fknbuflobo]

1 hour ago, Z.I.P. said:

I don't believe I've ever seen a college team play that successfully aggressive a game defensively, and all their attack was based on and off of their ability to pressure Akron at both ends of the pitch.  Well done, Cardinal and Coach Gunn.  

Cardinal were relentless.  All pressure all the time.  They really rattled Zips.

 

Better team won.

[malonepioneer12]

Is it fair to say the more talented team won? 

[fknbuflobo]

1 minute ago, malonepioneer12 said:

Is it fair to say the more talented team won? 

Yes.  Stanford has enjoyed top 5 recruiting classes for at least 4 years in a row.  Cardinal can press like that because they have the horses to do it .  And both of the goals were really good scores.  Those score on any team anywhere.  

[Z.I.P.]

For non-soccer fans..., this was Akron soccer's version of the VCU NCAA tournament basketball game.  Blitzed!  Losing by TWO goals in College Cup is not good!  Humor, people.  We need humor!  

[Captain Kangaroo]

Stanford has slightly better talent than the Zips, but seemed to want the win more than the Zips. They played with aggression and a will to win the entire match. For the most part, the Zips played too mechanical and tepid. They never came close to matching Stanford's intensity.

 

I don't mind losing to a better team, and that's what the Zips did tonight. They had an awesome season... just fell a little short of a National Championship. Not too shabby.

 

[Zip_ME87]

56 minutes ago, Z.I.P. said:

For non-soccer fans..., this was Akron soccer's version of the VCU NCAA tournament basketball game.  Blitzed!  Losing by TWO goals in College Cup is not good!  Humor, people.  We need humor!  

 

Terrible comparison ZIP. I disagree wholeheartedly.

[Zip_ME87]

9 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

Stanford has slightly better talent than the Zips, but seemed to want the win more than the Zips. They played with aggression and a will to win the entire match. For the most part, the Zips played too mechanical and tepid. They never came close to matching Stanford's intensity.

 

I don't mind losing to a better team, and that's what the Zips did tonight. They had an awesome season... just fell a little short of a National Championship. Not too shabby.

 

 

Thanks CK. I've followed this team on the road and at home throughout this season, and this tweet sums 2017 up for me...

 

 

I'm sad that our seniors didn't get to leave UA with the Championship trophy, but they were 1 of 4 teams out of 205 D1 Men's Soccer Programs who played tonight. Not too shabby at all. Thanks Coach Embick, staff and players for a fun ride. So glad I was there!

 

 

[Z.I.P.]

7 minutes ago, Zip_ME87 said:

 

Terrible comparison ZIP. I disagree wholeheartedly.

Well, I was hoping for some late night laughter.  Don't take it seriously!  

[Zip_ME87]

Just now, Z.I.P. said:

Well, I was hoping for some late night laughter.  Don't take it seriously!  

 

It's hard to laugh when you just got back from seeing some really downtrodden faces and coaches who really wanted to see these seniors go out with a trophy. I think the world of these guys; just hard not to be heartbroken for them.

[Zip_ME87]

6 hours ago, Z.I.P. said:

For non-soccer fans..., this was Akron soccer's version of the VCU NCAA tournament basketball game.  Blitzed!  Losing by TWO goals in College Cup is not good!  Humor, people.  We need humor!  

 

ZIP, what I should have said, is yes, I agree, Stanford dictated the game and took the Zips out of our game like VCU did to the Mens Basketball team. Stanford was the better team in this College Cup semifinal. However, unlike the basketball game which was over in the first 5 minutes, the Zips hung in there tonight until the 2nd goal which came with only about 11 minutes to go. I'm sure you recall the 2015 College Cup. Jake Fenlason was our star during the run of play. The Zips didn't even have a shot in the first half. If not for Jake, that match would not have made it to PK's.

 

I don't know what to say about the ref last night. He definitely let them play. It was interesting when Manel had had enough and slammed the Stanford player to the ground. The ref just kinda smiled at it and let it go. The game was definitely physical, most of which was allowed to go. No cards at all was interesting given the physical play.

[Blue & Gold]

So... has Stanford given college soccer a blueprint for how to beat the Zips?  Not being educated in the game, I'm still a bit perplexed at how thoroughly we were handled last night. 

 

In the past I've wondered why teams didn't press us more on defense & make our ball handlers uncomfortable. My thought was that it must be physically impossible to keep up pressure like that for two 45-minute halves. But Stanford did.

 

[skip-zip]

2 hours ago, Zip_ME87 said:

I don't know what to say about the ref last night. He definitely let them play. It was interesting when Manel had had enough and slammed the Stanford player to the ground. The ref just kinda smiled at it and let it go. The game was definitely physical, most of which was allowed to go. No cards at all was interesting given the physical play.

 

They appeared to have more size, and beat us up physically.  Early on, you could get the sense that this was the way the officials were going to let this game go, and that was clearly to Stanford's advantage.   The TV cameras caught plenty of other altercations between players that I don't even think the refs ever saw, or they kept deciding to let them go.  I don't believe I have ever seen a college soccer game that was allowed to be that physical.  I wonder if this changes a coach's recruiting focus a bit, so we can have some physical players to equalize things in a Final 4 game that starts to go this way?

 

31 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

In the past I've wondered why teams didn't press us more on defense & make our ball handlers uncomfortable. My thought was that it must be physically impossible to keep up pressure like that for two 45-minute halves. But Stanford did.

 

In this situation, doesn't it seem like we should have changed what we were doing, and try to beat them "over the top"?   I realize that's not our style, but I'd think that we'd have to be prepared at some point to find a way to attack a team that was over-pursuing on the back end.  Basketball teams know how to beat a press and get easy baskets at the other end.  I'd think that you can prepare a soccer team to know what to do when the defense is playing like that too.  

 

But to your point, I was impressed that Stanford got away with that for the entire game.  So often, they seemed to have everyone covered, and had the ability to get into our normal passing lanes.  It was unbelievable to watch.    

Edited December 9, 2017 by skip-zip

[TennZip]

 

[TennZip]

This team went much farther than I expected them to go...I was glad to see Marla Ridenour write about this being a season to savor.

 

https://www.ohio.com/akron/sports/university-of-akron/marla-ridenour-despite-disappointing-finish-ua-mens-soccer-team-banished-demons-turned-season-on-the-brink-into-something-to-savor

[TennZip]

great to see a former zip on the sideline supporting this year's team

 

[ZipsVoice]

Unfortunately, (or fortunately?) I had to work another sporting event last night, and had the ol' iPad sitting next to me trying to watch the match as best I could.  I was shocked throughout at the fact that every time I looked down at the screen the ball seemed to be in our defensive third.  We've alays been the team that racks up huge possession numbers vs. our foes.  A woman who's daughter plays for Ashland (and a huge Zips fan) was sitting behind me and watching over my shoulder and she sorta became my play-by-play commentator, and she was as surprised as  I.  Good friend of Simon Spelling, she's followed the team since her college days when Simon was an assistant.  She was bemoaning the fact that Stanford was owning possession so much, and that sooner than later the Zips would pay the price, and voila....Came home and watched the DVR-ed match and can't argue with anything already posted.  We got outplayed and I dare say out coached.  Gunn, I think, surprised the Zips and staff with their game plan, and I too, like skip-zip, didn't see any adjustments on our part.  Unlike TennZip I thought this team to be as talented as the Championship team of 2010, not after the first 4 matches, but certainly by the end of the season.  I did expect them to get this far, and farther.  But what a heck of a season for these young men, and the staff, and the school, and the soccer community in Northeast Ohio.  Well done lads, and with 9 seniors leaving, it'll be fun to get to know the new side in 2018.  Just wanted to spend one more day with ZipsNation....that's what I wanted for Christmas!  Oh, and for Z.I.P. to fly me out to Honolulu for the basketball tournament!  (humor!!!!!)

[Z.I.P.]

11 hours ago, Blue & Gold said:

So... has Stanford given college soccer a blueprint for how to beat the Zips?  Not being educated in the game, I'm still a bit perplexed at how thoroughly we were handled last night. 

 

In the past I've wondered why teams didn't press us more on defense & make our ball handlers uncomfortable. My thought was that it must be physically impossible to keep up pressure like that for two 45-minute halves. But Stanford did.

 

I can't help comparing this result to the way MLS teams adapted to Caleb Porter's Portland Timbers teams!  Of course Caleb and his staff were able to RE-adjust enough to win an MLS Cup and Conference title this year.  We'll have to see how future opponents learn from this match.  One factor is -- we will continue to have at or near the most skilled and athletic talent in the college game.  That allows you to play a variety of styles.

[MDZip]

A couple comments from being there. Great facility to hold it in but not so sure Philly in December is the right place. Were lucky that the snows held off until today otherwise it would have been pretty dicey getting there. Also not a fan of the configuration of the stadium forcing you to go into Gates at one end of the stadium and walk all the way around the stadium to get back to the parking lot after the game. Also mild annoyance that as I walked around the inside the stadium I saw a national championship banners from every year from 2009 through 2016 but not one for the Zips. Also for those that were there why was some idiot Stanford fan sitting right in the middle of the Akron section? He wasn't awful but he didn't need to be there plenty of room in the Stanford section. One Akron student decided she'd had enough and went and stood in front of him to help convince him to move. He didn't (and she didn't so some Indiana fan decided she needed to get involved and called the Usher). Thank goodness the Usher convinced him he needed to go back to the Stanford section. Nothing on the game everyone's already covered that pretty well and I'm sure my view was clouded by that showing. You might be able to tell I didn't enjoy this one so much. And that's not even getting into that the cheapest tickets to even get into the stadium were $33. If it's ever held there again and the Zips go I will certainly return but I'm not going to be happy about it, :-) Oh yeah and $11 "crab" fries. 

Edited December 10, 2017 by MDZip

[Zip_ME87]

MDZip, I agree that I don't think Philly is the right place, although I like their colors (blue and gold). Santa Barbara would not have been the right place this year, either. I don't think  that would have worked out well with the fires just down the road in Ventura. I work with some folks in Goleta who told me Thursday the air was full of smoke due to the wildfires. In 2010, we were very lucky. The weather was miserable the weekend before and the weekend after we were there. I thought Houston was a nice try last year, but the field looked horrible. I'm not sure the answer...Orlando (that's where the Women's College Cup was this year). Perhaps if David Beckham ever gets the Miami MLS team going, Miami would be the place.

 

As far as the Standford fan, I don't understand the need for someone to be in your face like that. It's like the Stanford team coming over to celebrate in front of the Akron students after their 1st goal instead of going to the other end and celebrating with their own fans. Classless. Go Hoosiers!

 

[TennZip]

22 hours ago, ZipsVoice said:

Unlike TennZip I thought this team to be as talented as the Championship team of 2010, not after the first 4 matches, but certainly by the end of the season.  I did expect them to get this far, and farther.  But what a heck of a season for these young men, and the staff, and the school, and the soccer community in Northeast Ohio.  Well done lads, and with 9 seniors leaving, it'll be fun to get to know the new side in 2018.  Just wanted to spend one more day with ZipsNation....that's what I wanted for Christmas!  Oh, and for Z.I.P. to fly me out to Honolulu for the basketball tournament!  (humor!!!!!)

I will not denigrate this current team.  They had a great season and I am very proud of them....and happy for  them and the coaches.

Joao is a phenomenal top notch talent and will have a long career in the MLS if he chooses to play there

However, the 2010 team was phenomenal.  Going from memory, I think they had 5 generation adidas signees.  I think they had 5 of the 7 first draft picks in the MLS draft

a midfield of the phenomenal Perry Kitchen, the sensational Ampai, the clutch Scott Caldwell and Michael Nanchoff

all 4 on the back line....have spent many years in the MLS...Kofi, Chris Korb, Chad Barson and Zarek Valentin....I think that Kofi was soccer america's player of the year

Darlington and Darren up front...

Ben Speas, Reinaldo Brenes, Eric Stevenson on the bench....

    I will grant you that I would take Ben Lundt as my GK over David Meves...Again, David did well on PK's against virginia in 2009 and Cal in 2010....and he helped win a national title...so he will always be great in my book.