Forever the pessimist, here are my excuses for a projected Terps 3-0 Zips rout: From the 2012 roster, 4 seniors graduated; 3 underclassmen went to MLS via HG. 5 players are transferring (of these 5, I believe only Koroma saw any playing time last season) More significantly, Stevenson, Gallego & Derschang (all starters) will see limited or no action due to injury. Most significantly, I believe UMD is poised to win another championship in 2013. The right players are the right age with just the right experience. Surely, the taste of that last match vs. Georgetown lingers. Regardless, I will still be there watching my beloved Zips.
Akron soccer even gets love during the NFL draft.... Bruce Feldman @BFeldmanCBS17m Eric Fisher would become 3rd MAC athlete to go #1 overall in a pro draft. (Akron's Steve Zakuani, 09 MLS; BSU's Bryan Bullington, '02 MLB)
Zips @ Terps: It was a very competitive match at a great facility against a quality opponent. The weather was gorgeous! Each team missed multiple chances. I am quite proud of how the undermanned Zips conducted their business against a superior side. A special shout-out goes to Bryan Gallego who toughed through most of the first half in obvious discomfort to his hamstring. I am not so sure his choice to play was wise, but his grit is why he is the captain of this team. Zips were Barson's team the last two years. This is now Gallego's team. Maybe 2013 will not be so bad after all. I am also proud of the few dozen Zips supporters who made the trek to College Park. We made our presence known in (mostly) classy ways. I was proud to be among the Akron faithful there.
Oh yeah, UMD's uniforms are spectacular. It is (past) time for Akron to put player's names on the backs of jersey's.
Not too one sided .... ey? I was wondering if this author was at the (meaningless spring) game against MD... I'll remind you that PSU tied UMD in preseason last year... these games mean nothing, and represent even less... Akron has some re-building to do.. I'm glad they came out of that scrimmage with confidence... but lets not get too carried away... 3.475.....
Three and four star recruits ? According to whom ? Topdrawer where every kid that pays to have his name listed is a three star recruit. Soccer recruiting evaluation is worthless since there is no recruiting service that the coaches pay for that has to be right a la football and basketball where your credibility is determined by your list.
I wouldn't go so far as to say that spring and pre-season games are entirely "meaningless," "and represent even less" ... these games are played for a purpose, and I've learned useful things about a lot of teams and players from watching these contests. Like friendlies on the national team circuit, preseason and spring games do have some substance (and also seem to influence rankings) ...
The purpose these games are played.. is "internal" to the teams themselves..., having to do with fitness, team make up.. testing out new offensive or defensive ideas.... the objective is to find competition that is equal enough to your team to make a real evaluation of your team without your outgoing players .. and maybe with some of your incoming freshman...... They have nothing to do with team Success or rankings... and if you ask the players or coaches.... there is no focus on the results...the focus is on style of play.. and fitness...
2013 Akron Men's Soccer Signees Clint Caso, MF, 6-0, 165, Kinnelon, N.J. (St. Benedict Prep/N.Y. Red Bulls Academy) Louis Cross, D, 6-1, 165, Lancashire, England (Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School/Blackpool FC Academy) Robby Dambrot, MF/D, 6-0, 150, Akron, Ohio (St. Vincent-St. Mary HS/Internationals SC) Jonny DeMoya, GK, 5-10, 180, Olney, Md. (Sherwood HS/Baltimore Bays Academy) Riley Grant, D, 6-1, 160, Copley, Ohio (Copley-Fairlawn HS/Internationals SC) Brett Gravatt, D, 6-0, 150, Dunn Loring, Va. (IMG Academy [Fla.]) Adam Najem, MF, 5-8, 140, Clifton, N.J. (Paramus Catholic HS/N.Y. Red Bulls Academy) Tyler Sanda, MF, 6-0, 180, North Royalton, Ohio (St. Ignatius HS/Internationals SC) Ismail Seremba, 5-8, 135, F, London, England (Chelsea Academy) Victor Souto, MF, 5-11, 165, Sao Paolo, Brazil (Sport Club Corinthians Paulista)
Went to see the DC U v Portland game Saturday night.... Didn't notice the "free flowing" offense CP is iknown for... Interestingly, he played 2 target forwards.. and the game was pretty much dump the ball forward for these 2 players who would either try to turn and run, or work to get the ball to Rodgers....
Soon there will be an ex Zips on every MLS roster. http://www.ohio.com/sports/zips/maj...ange-jerseys-with-each-other-as-pros-1.411886
C'mon Mike, no love for Zarek Valentin (Montreal - on loan for Bode), Evan Bush (Montreal - I think Bush was there when Caleb was there) or Ubi (Montreal - I know he's just thinking of Caleb's kids)? What about San Jose alum, Ampaipitakwai or Chivas alum Blair Gavin? Don't forget about Dillon Serna (Colorado).
To be fair, none of those kids are doing much. Evan Bush rides the bench in Montreal, Ubi has seen a total of 5 minutes, Gavin suffered a season ending injury, Serna has not seen the field yet, Ampaipitakwong derserves his own article, Valentin along with Nanchoff are playing over seas. Last I looked, I don't get the Swedish or Norwegian league on my local network television. I would like to see a story after the season is over with Valentin in the Norwegian league and his experience.
Who the hell is Keisuke Ohata? http://www.gozips.com/sports/msoc/2013-14/bios/ohata_keisuke_fsth Ohata College Soccer Recruiting Video'
I guess.... that one should think twice before jockeying with this guy for posiition in the box prior to a corner kick.
Six international players on the roster; 5 of them are freshmen. Definitely appears to be a new philosophy in recruiting with the new staff.
I remember when AFC Cleveland really plugged Ohata coming to their team. I think he may have played the last game or two, then playoffs with them. Nothing like the Akron women's assistant (head coach of AFC Cleveland) really working favors for the men's program. That's nice of them.
Recap of intrasquad scrimmage F/8/16/2013: Very spirited; there easily could have been two yellow cards (in 1 half), both involving HMF Victor Souto. He perpetrated a nasty foul and he also received one. Souto is quickly becoming my favorite on this year's squad! It was impossible to tell by the respective teams who will be starting tomorrow T/8/20/2013. I believe players were divided to keep match balanced and competitive, rather than a division between 1s and 2s.This is just an idea, a guess at the lineup, really. We have few if any truly great players, but the worst guy on the roster is extremely good. So, the ceiling may be down a bit, but the floor has definitely been raised. This is a very deep squad. ***********Brenes*********** Portillos****************Quinn Stevenson**************Foldesy ************Souto************ Derschang*********Abdul-Salaam *****Gallego*****Souders****** ************Pina************* My projected lineup favors upper classmen and is nearly the same one that took the field @ Maryland in April. After that match, Embick said, "we proved our depth today." So, I am almost certainly wrong about our starting 11. But this is just the way I see it. Of the freshmen, Souto and Najem impress most, in that order. For me, the best battle for PT is transfer Clint Caso pushing Robbie Derschang at LB. I would be remiss not to mention the strong showing of Zac Portillos, both last spring and in pre-season practice. After not much PT the last two seasons, he is making it difficult for the coaching staff to sit him. Nice work out of the senior!