Zips recieve No. 1 overall seed in NCAA tournament
Caleb Clark
Issue date: 11/19/09 Section: Sports
The University of Akron's men's soccer team received the overall number one seed in the NCAA tournament on Monday.
With a (20-0-0) season, and the top RPI in the nation, Akron was a shoo-in for the number one seed.
"Our players dug deep all year," UA head coach Caleb Porter said. "They learned lessons and got battled-tested but they also got results. And by getting results, you put yourself in the best position possible with the seeding.
"With the No. 1 seed, we've paved our way the best we possibly could. Now the fun starts."
Akron will start off in the second round, due to a first round bye.
They will play the winner of the Stetson-South Florida match.
In the 2007 campaign, South Florida knocked Akron out of the NCAA tournament when they put in a goal in double overtime to win the game 1-0.
Another team in Akron's quarter of the bracket that is interesting to note is Northwestern, who defeated the Zips 1-0 in last year's NCAA tournament after Akron was forced to move their home game to Northwestern due to unplayable field conditions at Lee Jackson Field.
This year marks the 24th time that the Zips have made it to the NCAA tournament.
Akron has never won the national championship, but they did make it to the title game in 1986 where they lost to Duke 1-0.
Although Akron has not won the national championship, the number one seed this year puts the Zips in a very good position to compete for it this year.
"We're very excited; this is what we've worked hard for all year long," Porter said. "Our vision when we started this journey three months ago was to win the national championship. In order to do that, you have to put yourself in the best position possible going into the NCAA Tournament.
The Zips are not thinking of their perfect season when they take the field on Sunday and are only thinking of their ultimate goal.
"It's a new season," Porter said. "We're 0-0 and we're going to take things one game at a time. We don't know who we're going to play yet, but it doesn't matter. We've played all different types of teams this year so we know no matter what the game will be like, we'll be up for it."
Akron will find out Thursday night who their opponent will be for Sunday.
Stetson and South Florida play at 7:30 p.m. at South Florida and roughly two hours later, the winner will be known.
Game time Sunday for Akron's second round match will be 4 p.m. at Lee Jackson Field.
With a (20-0-0) season, and the top RPI in the nation, Akron was a shoo-in for the number one seed.
"Our players dug deep all year," UA head coach Caleb Porter said. "They learned lessons and got battled-tested but they also got results. And by getting results, you put yourself in the best position possible with the seeding.
"With the No. 1 seed, we've paved our way the best we possibly could. Now the fun starts."
Akron will start off in the second round, due to a first round bye.
They will play the winner of the Stetson-South Florida match.
In the 2007 campaign, South Florida knocked Akron out of the NCAA tournament when they put in a goal in double overtime to win the game 1-0.
Another team in Akron's quarter of the bracket that is interesting to note is Northwestern, who defeated the Zips 1-0 in last year's NCAA tournament after Akron was forced to move their home game to Northwestern due to unplayable field conditions at Lee Jackson Field.
This year marks the 24th time that the Zips have made it to the NCAA tournament.
Akron has never won the national championship, but they did make it to the title game in 1986 where they lost to Duke 1-0.
Although Akron has not won the national championship, the number one seed this year puts the Zips in a very good position to compete for it this year.
"We're very excited; this is what we've worked hard for all year long," Porter said. "Our vision when we started this journey three months ago was to win the national championship. In order to do that, you have to put yourself in the best position possible going into the NCAA Tournament.
The Zips are not thinking of their perfect season when they take the field on Sunday and are only thinking of their ultimate goal.
"It's a new season," Porter said. "We're 0-0 and we're going to take things one game at a time. We don't know who we're going to play yet, but it doesn't matter. We've played all different types of teams this year so we know no matter what the game will be like, we'll be up for it."
Akron will find out Thursday night who their opponent will be for Sunday.
Stetson and South Florida play at 7:30 p.m. at South Florida and roughly two hours later, the winner will be known.
Game time Sunday for Akron's second round match will be 4 p.m. at Lee Jackson Field.
Viewing Comments 1 - 6 of 6
Robin Anderson
posted 11/20/09 @ 9:26 AM EST
What better way to usher in "a new era" at Infocision Stadium than to feature a quality team in the NCAA playoffs? That's if you give a hoot about soccer, that is. (Continued…)
robin's embarassed mother
posted 11/21/09 @ 8:30 AM EST
I love our soccer team but the reality is a football field is too narrow for soccer. It is also too long but that can be adjusted...can't widen Summa Field though. (Continued…)
Robin Anderson
posted 11/21/09 @ 9:16 PM EST
Hm...remarkable...yet another annonymous-weenie heard from on a public discussion board...who'd have thunk it, eh? Yeah, I got your 'wit' hangin, punk. (Continued…)
robin's embarassed mother
posted 11/22/09 @ 3:35 PM EST
just telling you the facts about the difference between a football field and a soccer field. If you want to foam at the mouth over the facts (why not, you do with just about everything else?), then knock yourself out. (Continued…)
Robin Anderson
posted 11/24/09 @ 11:25 AM EST
Yeah, right...and you're more probably a Jerry Faust backer than a rocket scientist, eh, sweet-pea? All's you gotta do is eliminate the bench-warming areas on each side of the football field in order to gain the extra 20 feet requried for the width of a soccer field, don't ya know. (Continued…)
Scott Oeltjen
posted 12/01/09 @ 7:30 PM EST
Where can we get information about ticket prices for the final four and championship games? Bus charters to NC? Groups of students going down?
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