University of Akron junior midfielder Anthony Ampaipitakwong and sophomore forward Teal Bunbury are among 15 semifinalists that have been named for the Hermann Trophy, men's college soccer's version of football's Heisman Trophy.
Ampaipitakwong and Bunbury have each started all 22 games for the No. 1 ranked Zips, who have a 22-0-0 record and will host Tulsa in a sold-out NCAA Division I quarterfinal game at 4 p.m. today at Lee Jackson Field.
Three finalists for the award will be announced Dec. 11 and be invited to the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis for a news conference on Jan. 8, where the winner will be announced. Division I college head coaches with current membership in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) will vote to determine the 2009 MAC Hermann Trophy recipient.
Ampaipitakwong has eight goals and five assists this season. He has three goals in two NCAA Tournament games this season. He was an NSCAA third team All-American last season and is a three-time All-Mid-American Conference First Team honoree.
Bunbury won the MAC Player of the Year honor this season. He leads the country with 17 goals and also has five assists. He has recorded at least one goal or one assist in 16 of the 22 games and scored multiple goals in four games.
The Zips are averaging 2.59 goals per game, which is the highest average among the 203 Division I programs.
This is the second consecutive year UA has been represented on the Hermann Trophy semifinalist list. Former Zips forward Steve Zakuani was named first runner up a year ago before becoming the No. 1 overall draft pick by the Seattle Sounder FC in the MLS SuperDraft.
Zakuani led the nation last season with 20 goals and had seven assists. He was named the MAC Player of the Year and the national player of the year according to Soccer America and Top Drawer Soccer.
Additional Stories
Check out the Akron Beacon Journal and ohio.com for additional stories on the Zips men's soccer team. I have covered nine of the 12 home games and wrote up several away games.
Features on David Meves, Ben Zemanski, Michael Nanchoff, Teal Bunbury and Caleb Porter can be found online along with stories written prior to the season and prior to the NCAA Tournament.
Stories about the Zips "dominant soccer" style of play and UA's defense can also be found online with comments from Porter, Meves, Zemanski, Bunbury, Ampaipitakwong, Nanchoff, Darlington Nagbe, Kofi Sarkodie, Chris Korb, Blair Gavin, Ben Speas, Chad Barson, Stefan Ostergren and Zarek Valentin.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Its going to be a fun and exciting SRO atmosphere at Jackson field today. Lets hope its not the last time( Caleb leaving?). Hey Mike- how bout a blog on football coach options.
Does anyone know what the official county is for tickets sold for this game? I heard that it was near the 4,000 mark with the additional bleachers and student tickets. If that's true, Tulsa won't know what hit 'em when they walk in. I just wish I wasn't taking a final during the game.
They are shooting for 4200.
Attendance for the Tulsa game was 4,254 Temperature was 31 degrees.
Here is what the stats were for North Carolina/Drake game at NC:
Drake (16-7-2) vs.
North Carolina (16-2-3)
Date: Dec 04, 2009 Attendance: 1253
Weather: High 40s and cloudy
Here is what the stats were for Wake Forrest/UCLA game at Wake:
A crowd of 1,522 braved the 34-degree weather to see the Deacons win their 14th consecutive NCAA tournament home game.
Schilawski and the seniors went 4-0 at home in the NCAA quarterfinals.
Here is what the stats were for Virginia/Maryland game at Virginia:
The quarterfinal victory in front of 4,900 fans sends UVa back to the College Cup for the first time since 2006 and third time in head coach George Gelnovatch's tenure.
Although there have been many to accuse the administration and student body of not caring…that is very far from the truth. Most elite college soccer programs draw 1-2,000 per game. Akron is unique….the sports is highly recognized (if not most recognized) on campus and it is why it is attractive to both incoming recruits as well as Caleb Porter (or another coach should he leave).
Having said that…I hope the administration allows for flexibility in seating expansion. 3,500 is a good stadium but hopefully it can be expanded to 5,000 for tournaments and big games. Also…I think the stadium should be built in a primary location and not just tucked into the available spot. Is the current football practice field currently used by the football team?? I would build a state-of-art stadium there instead. I don't think soccer stadiums are that expensive and the return would be better that the football stadium. In any case…I trust the administration to do the right thing.
If Caleb Porter leaves for Indiana, let's wish him luck and thank him for his efforts….although I hope he stays and becomes a fixture for years to come. He can have a much higher profile at Akron than almost any school. But….I can understand the reasons for leaving.
Go Zips!!!!!
Well, Doug, I welcome your even-keeled post. Caleb is leaving, and there is nothing we can do about it. It is very unfortunate, but it is the fact – he has been grossly mistreated by the Administration, albeit we- the fans-adore(d) the guy. I too cannot throw a stone at him for wanting to move on to a REAL university soccer program. Apparently, as of this Saturday, his house is on the market (a coworker of mine lives just down the street from Caleb). However, I totally disagree we cannot put the blame squarely at the university community. I have been a loyal fan for the last 3 years. yes, once the Zips started winning, the bleechers have filled. But what about the beginning of the season? what about the last year season? what about the retarded move of the game with Northwestern to IL which costed us the title (with Stevie being on board last year)? What about the team playing without locker rooms at a stadium that is nothing more than a 40+ year old field? The University has disrespected the team, the coach, and the fans for DECADES. ANd to think we could have been another Indiana or North Carolina, as far as consistency of our soccer program. But, alas, it is not to be…
Doug and Alex – you're both such morons. Who cares about soccer anyway? What kind of a name is it even: SOCCER?! Get a life, would you?
The Anthony Ampaipitakwong Girlfriend Mystery Revealed
Anthony Ampaipitakwong is the talk of the town at the University of Akron these days. So lets dig down into the Anthony Ampaipitakwong Girlfriend issue and clear the air once and for all. Does Ampai have a girlfriend? And if so, does he have just one, two or three or more? These are the questions everyone continues to ask about this Heinman Trophy Nomenee that has been able to maintain a 2.5 GPA the entire time while in college so far.
In the course of the last year, various Anthony Ampaipitakwong Girlfriend pics have been popping up all over the place. Or are these his girlfriends? Our research indicates that Anthony is not really officially dating anyone at this time. But as a star trying to maintain a good overall PR image for himself, he’s happy to take pictures with some of the hot women on campus just so they can sport a trophie and have something to brag about to their friends in school.
Literally hundreds of young ladies currently studying at the University are hot about Anthony no doubt. Our research also indicates that hundreds of these same women are groupie women who are playing the same role trying to land a star as their very own. We think in the future we’ll see more Anthony Ampaipitakwong Girlfriend photos over the next couple years, since he always seems to be happy to take a picture with any nice girl who asks.
After Ampai goes pro and graduates (or drops out of) from the University, you might not see any more Anthony Ampaipitakwong Girlfriend pics floating around except for the old ones. He might end up getting married then and start raising a family, but of course that’s pure speculation and no one really knows Ampai’s future, we don’t even know our future, lol.
And finally for all we know Anthony Ampaipitakwong may just be the type to take pictures with anyone who asks, yes even the pretty college dorm girlfriend types, to anyone who asks after he turns pro, assuming his wife (if any) lets him. But these days it’s a womens world so I guess we’ll all just have to see what his future wife says about it should he decide to settle down and get married in the future. Some understand it’s healthy from a Public Relations perspective to do this, but some womens fangs come out when they see their husband in a picture with other women, even if it’s a good career move.