Big game this Saturday
Posted October 13th, 2006 by mrasor
Men's soccer
As you can see, I'm not talking about J.D. Brookhart's football team, which is dormant this week.
The soccer team will travel to DeKalb, Ill., to play Northern Illinois tomorrow. Both teams are undefeated in the MAC.
Akron still is nationally ranked, despite some losses to bigger schools and close calls against also-rans. As we know, a national ranking won't help that much when it comes to NCAA Tournament seeding.
The Zips (8-3-1, 2-0 MAC) need to win the MAC, and this game against NIU (10-3-1, 3-0) will be one of the most important ones until the postseason. The season finale against Buffalo (2-0 MAC) will be another.
NIU has allowed only one goal during its current five-game winning streak. Against ranked teams, the Huskies fell 5-0 against No. 4 Washington and tied No. 21 Notre Dame, 0-0.
The Zips beat the Huskies last season at Lee Jackson Field, 5-1. Akron is 11-1 all-time against NIU.
- The ABJ's Tom Reed wrote about Ben Zemanski, the prized recruit who nearly followed Ken Lolla to Louisville. It took Zemanski only 10 games to work his way into Caleb Porter's starting lineup as a freshman.
- Word on the street is that Reed, the Zips' soccer writer, is leaving the newspaper for the Columbus Dispatch. Seeing how he's one of my favorite writers of any kind, I'm not thrilled.
Football
With the Browns and Zips on bye weeks, this weekend is going to blow.
However, if you are a fan of MAC football, there are some games to keep an eye on…
- Miami @ Buffalo
- Ball State @ Central Michigan
- Northern Illinois @ Western Michigan
- Eastern Michigan @ Bowling Green
- Toledo @ Kent State
- Ohio @ Illinois
Personally, I am very curious to see the outcome of Toledo-Kent State. Go Rockets!
p.s. Remember to make your selections in the Buchtelite Pick'em League.
Men's basketball
Rather than posting all the Zips preseason accolades seperately, I'll link you to GoZips.com's recent press release that lists them.
Many publications see Romeo Travis as the MAC's best player. Most agree that the Zips will be dancing come March. That would be surreal to me.
The men and women will hold their first practices of the season tonight. They are open to the public. The women play from 7 to 9 p.m. The men take the floor from 9 to 11 p.m. I intend to be there with Buchtelite sports editor "Smooth" Dan Kadar.
