Spring 2026 - Games Thread

[fknbuflobo]

On 4/4/2026 at 10:18 PM, Zips1991 said:

Anyone go to the match? I saw via three ZipsMSoc IG story that we were up 4-0 at one point. So it would seem the two conceded goals were late?

This was a thorough thrashing and mostly one-sided affair.

[Zips1991]

3 hours ago, fknbuflobo said:

This was a thorough thrashing and mostly one-sided affair.

That's exactly what I want to hear. 😆

[fknbuflobo]

Ignacio Alem distinguished himself on the left wing.  He was consistently dangerous on the dribble.

 

Freshman Leo Morana also impressed with some incisive passing through the midfield.  I believe he had at least one assist, depending on how you score it.

 

But the frosh I really have my eye on is Londen Sears.  

Here is a mountain of raw talent!  

Fairly good with his right, superb with his left.

He played all four years of high school, the old-fashioned way.

 

"... a two-time All-America honoree, he was named as the Ohio Player of the Year in each of his final two campaigns...led his squad to a state title as a senior after advancing to the title game as a sophomore."  

 

If Sears plays all four years of eligibility, he will very likely have an MLS career.  I will lay that bet right now!  His size/speed ratio is fantastic.  

He is quite rough around the edges and really needs some intensive and focused development.  Akron is a great place to receive that sort of attention, the program that turns red chips into blues every damn year.   

But what is his position?  Not sure at this point.

[Zip_ME87]

 

[Zips1991]

On 4/7/2026 at 1:03 PM, Zip_ME87 said:

 

I haven't seen the final standings anywhere. Did we miss out on making the championship match because of the penalty shootout loss to Ohio State? 

[fknbuflobo]

1 hour ago, Zips1991 said:

I haven't seen the final standings anywhere. Did we miss out on making the championship match because of the penalty shootout loss to Ohio State? 

I believe so.

[72 Roo]

3 hours ago, Zips1991 said:

I haven't seen the final standings anywhere. Did we miss out on making the championship match because of the penalty shootout loss to Ohio State? 

You are exactly right. We used the game to check out and develop players. OSU plays to win. Our best against OSU for 90 minutes is no contest. 

[TennZip]

Now, the game has been moved to the Crew Training fields?

Do they even have seating at the training fields?

 

and Marshall has to play at Ohio State home field for the championship game?

and Bowling Green and Michigan State are playing at BG?

 

What happened to all of the games being played at Historic Crew stadium?

 

and Michigan looks like they completely bailed on the spring league....

 

the spring league has been a big disappointment this year.    

 

 

[Zip_ME87]

My understanding is that the crew training fields are right there at historic crew Stadium. Question remains, though whether there’s any seating or if you need to bring your own chair. 

 

Edited Friday at 01:47 AM by Zip_ME87

[Zips1991]

2 hours ago, TennZip said:

Now, the game has been moved to the Crew Training fields?

Do they even have seating at the training fields?

 

and Marshall has to play at Ohio State home field for the championship game?

and Bowling Green and Michigan State are playing at BG?

 

What happened to all of the games being played at Historic Crew stadium?

 

and Michigan looks like they completely bailed on the spring league....

 

the spring league has been a big disappointment this year.    

 

 

I don't know but I would assume it has to do with the UFL using Historic Crew Stadium for their new football team. They don't play there this weekend but they did last weekend and maybe they don't want to scrub the paint off the field or something. I'm just guessing. I know the Crew 2 team also has moved games from Historic Crew Stadium to the new Crew stadium, or in one case, even to a stadium in Obetz, Ohio.

Edited Thursday at 08:09 PM by Zips1991

[Zips1991]

Do we have any ZN members on-site at the match today?

[Zips1991]

2 hours ago, Zips1991 said:

Do we have any ZN members on-site at the match today?

I saw on Twitter that it ended in a 1-1 draw with Louisville winning on PKs 7-6. Overall, I think it was a good spring with three wins and two draws, plus the offense is looking good which can sometimes take time to get going. Looking forward to the fall!

[72 Roo]

6 hours ago, Zips1991 said:

Do we have any ZN members on-site at the match today?

It was a 1-1 tie while losing in a shootout. The teams were evenly matched. Louisville is vastly improved over last Spring. We used the game to see who fit where. Many freshman got PT. We have a lot of talent not yet on campus and that is great because we have some holes to fill. I thought Rourke, Freddy K.  and Dreas played very well. Jared used this to clearly evaluate what we have and where he needs to mine the portal. Expect a completely different team than this Spring to Open up next Fall against Dayton.

[fknbuflobo]

The officiating was deplorably inconsistent. 

Just awful. 

By any standard anywhere.

 

There was something about the artificial turf on the training fields adjacent to Historic Crew Stadium.  Although the weather was dry and sunny, players from both teams kept slipping and sliding to ground.  This persisted the entire match.  The turf itself was dry to the touch. 

Was everyone wearing the wrong cleats?  And no one adjusted? 

These conditions exacerbated the already overly physical play and reluctant refereeing.  Terrible!  Hopefully, no lasting injuries were sustained.

 

This competition finale had been hosted in the actual Historic Crew Stadium some five (or more) years running.  Rumor is that the new UFL franchise renting the stadium as home did not want the soccer field lines showing concurrently with the football field lines. 

Imagine that. 

Never mind that Historic Crew Stadium was the first soccer specific stadium built in the USA. 

Irony abounds! 

Consequently, the collegiate Spring League (or whatever) was bumped to the training facility. 

 

Restrooms were literally one half mile from the meager seating.

 

It is doubtful any of the schools involved will want anything about this scenario repeated, so the Spring League has likely come to an end. 

It was fun while it lasted.

 

Standouts for Zips were (unsurprisingly) Matt Dreas, Matthew Paiva and Farrel Ngongang.