Men's soccer
Akron's season concluded tonight with a 1-0 loss to Central Florida in double-overtime.
The Zips outshot the Bulls, 17-8, but Yohance Marshall scored the game's only goal in the 101st minute.
Star freshman Steve Zakuani got off five shots.
Men's soccer
If Caleb Porter knew Zips history, his bags would be packed for Moscow or some other cartoonishly unfair place for a first-round road game.
For once, however, the Zips didn't get screwed. In fact, they won't even play in the first round.
After the bye, either South Florida or Colgate will come to Lee Jackson Field. Then the course gets more difficult with a road game against No. 3 Connecticut. No. 2 Wake Forest, who beat Akron earlier in the season, also is on the Zips' side of the bracket.
The Zips will play their first game Wednesday the 28th. Round three will be the following weekend.
Men's soccer
Anthony Ampaipitakwong put an exclamation point on his freshman season by sending his team to the NCAA Tournament.
Akron won the MAC Championship over Buffalo 1-0 thanks to his goal in the 101st minute. The Zips outshot the Bulls 18-4 and landed four players on the all-tournament team.
We will find out tomorrow where the Zips fit in the tournament bracket. They should be hoping for a first-round bye.
Men's basketball
Akron missed 8 of last 9 foul shots in a valiant attempt to blow a second-straight game in Alaska.
A Nick Dials running floater with 3.9 seconds remaining foiled the cunning plan as the Zips beat Tennessee State 74-72.
"I had a big 7-footer running out at me, so I had no choice but to drive," Dials said.
Jeremiah Wood led the Zips again with 17 points and eight rebounds. The assist-to-turnover ratio was more palatable, as well, at 17-13. Akron will leave Alaska with third place in the BP Top of the World Classic.
"We're definitely going to have to do some things differently," Keith Dambrot said. "Anyone who thinks our team right now is as good as last year's team is mistaken.
"I think we're going to get better, but people will have to be patient."
The Zips will have a week to heal before a string of home games begins Saturday versus Binghamton.
Men's soccer
Akron beat Northern Illinois 2-1 in double overtime to advance to the MAC Championship. The Zips will play Buffalo for the conference crown Sunday at 2 p.m. in front of the home crowd.
Akron got its goals from Steve Zakuani and Michael Nanchoff. The Zips consistently had difficulty clearing the ball from NIU scoring position. The Huskies were the only MAC team whom Akron did not beat. The teams tied 0-0 earlier in the year.
Men's basketball
Akron made it a lot closer than necessary against South Carolina Upstate last night.
The Zips eventually won 64-60, but the Spartans exposed some problems the team will need to overcome.
USCU outrebounded Akron 43-29. Akron made only 15 of 30 free throws. The team had only seven assists, compared to 13 turnovers.
Despite contributing to the latter two categories with nine missed free throws and five turnovers, Jeremiah Wood led the team with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Some sloppiness is excusable in the season's first game. Look around the nation. However, the Zips will need to gather themselves before tonight's matchup against Portland State. It starts at midnight EST.
I will break down the Vikings later today. I have to find something to do because there's no college football worth watching.
Men's basketball
To be honest, I have never heard of them.
I have a perfectly good excuse. They have been in Division I for only a week.
They leaped into the Atlantic Sun conference, which has some nice wins to its credit so far (Belmont over Cincinnati, Gardner-Webb over Kentucky, Mercer over USC).
Before making the jump, USCU won two of the past three Peach Belt Conference championships. Consequently, they went to the Division II tournament.
The first thing that pops out about their roster is 7-foot-2 Nick Schneiders. He played 14 months on Germany's playgrounds before USCU recruited him. (Kinda sounds like "The Air Up There," doesn't it?) Schneiders is still raw, but he can rebound.
Head coach Eddie Payne formerly held that job at East Carolina and Oregon State. He is known for a high-tempo game with three guards in the starting lineup. His son Luke Payne is one of those guards. He is a smart distributor and good shooter. Another good guard is Jeremy Byrd, whose quickness leads to a lot of steals.
Bobby Davis, a junior college transfer, leads the team with points after putting up 13 in a loss to Utah.
Those four guys could probably play for some MAC teams. With nine freshmen on the roster, however, depth will be a problem. If the Spartans love to run so much, they'll need a lot more.
Akron needs to push the ball, get a big lead and cruise.
Prediction: Akron 78, USCU 49
The line is Akron minus 25 with an over-under of 110.
Men's soccer
Akron will play Northern Illinois in the MAC Tournament semifinal tonight.
If you remember, the Huskies knocked the Zips out of the tournament last year.
Coach Caleb Porter said the team is very confident heading into the weekend.
Football
The theme — Ohio's defense has been successful when it is able to penetrate into teams' backfields. The Bobcats are second in the MAC with 24 sacks. They are in the top-half in the conference in stopping the run and pass. The line in this 4-3 defense is the strength.
Key players — Landen Cohen and Kris Luchsinger lead that line. Safety Todd Koenig leads the team in tackles. Although he has been quiet this year, don't forget about punt returner Chris Jarrett, who was a third-team Freshman All-American last year.
How Akron can score — This should be a good test for Akron's line. It must limit penetration because the Zips won't move the ball if they're facing third-and-long all night. Chris Jacquemain is eligible to play, but the coaches haven't announced who will start. As with the entire season, I might as well be throwing the passes if the Zips don't enter the endzone at least four times.
The Steelers beat up on the Ravens last night, thanks in part to linebacker James Harrison's awesome game. Consequently, ESPN is all over Kent State for producing the emerging star.
The Buchtelite's Vincent Dorsey wrote about some of the suspensions this season.
Nick from VanDelaySports.com says Ohio will win 28-13.
Men's soccer
The Zips earned the No. 1 seed in the MAC Tournament, which means the Zips will get home games on Nov. 16 and 18.
The Buchtelite's Adam Ferrise breaks down the team and says it has earned the status of the "real" football/futball team on campus.
Men's basketball
In the realistic event that Akron loses again in football Wednesday, keep your chins up.
Keith Dambrot's boys are playing an exhibition against Walsh Thursday at 7 p.m. at Rhodes Arena.
With National Letter of Intent Signing Day coming up and the season about to begin, I hope to have some inside scoops for you within the week.
Men's soccer
Akron lost in second overtime against Michigan Wednesday night on a goal that broke Evan Bush's stint of more than 100 minutes without allowing a goal.
The Zips outshot the Wolverines 9-6, but UM's Jake Stacy kicked the only ball that mattered.
The Zips will play at conference leader Buffalo on Friday in a game that probably will determine the MAC regular season champion.
Football
As you probably know, I think Kent State's Doug Martin is a bad coach. His comments after Saturday's loss to Bowling Green show his candor is also too high for the leader of a program. "They really did a nice job of changing their offense drastically from what they'd done this whole season and kind of caught us off-guard," he said. So coach, you're saying you can't adjust to a team who likes to pass, but decides to run?
Buffalo played Syracuse close, losing 20-12. Lee Corso said yesterday that Turner Gill would make a fine coach at Nebraska — his alma mater. I agree, although it would destroy the momentum he has going for the MAC East leaders.
Speaking of the Bulls, they have a division record of 2-0. Miami and Bowling Green are 2-1. Akron and Temple are 1-1 and 2-2, respectively. Kent State (1-3) and Ohio (0-2) have an uphill climb. As I mentioned, however, it's all about the head-to-head tiebreaker. In that sense, Akron controls its own destiny.
Regardless, my conclusion in all of this is that the MAC is garbage this year. No team can play consistently from week to week. The team closest to doing that is Buffalo and maybe Ball State.
1) Ball State
2) Central Michigan
3) Bowling Green
4) Buffalo
5) Western Michigan
6) Miami
7) Temple
8 ) Akron
9) Ohio
10) Kent State
11) Eastern Michigan
12) Toledo
13) Northern Illinois
Oh yeah, and vote for Zippy, who might suffer her first loss to Monte.
Men's soccer
Caleb Porter said his team played its best soccer of the season in the second half of Saturday's 4-0 win over Bowling Green.
English sensation Steve Zakuani scored two goals and Evan Bush kept his scoreless streak alive, despite not needing to save a single shot.
Akron will play at Michigan Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Football
J.D. Brookhart should take his running back along on recruiting trips in Northeast Ohio.
Bryan Williams loves being home after a two-year stint at Valley Forge Military College. Vincent Dorsey wrote a fine feature about the junior's collegiate career.
The new Capital One commercial features Zippy, who hits an iron from the fairway. The ball improbably ricochets off several items and competitors and finds the cup. Great shot, Zippy! I saw the commercial on ESPN tonight. Hopefully that gives the marsupial a boost. She trails Monte by about 150 votes as of 1 a.m. Thursday morning. Vote here.
Here's my plan: Everyone needs to vote twice today and Friday. Do it before you leave work for lunch and when you return. Bam boom! There's 10,000 votes right there.
Men's soccer
Akron beat Penn State tonight 3-0 in what Caleb Porter called the Zips' most complete performance this season.
Steve Kalan scored two goals for Akron while Evan Bush pitched another shut out and extended his no-goals streak to 790 minutes.
Next victim: Bowling Green at home, Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Men's soccer
After tying Northern Illinois 1-1 on Saturday, Akron trails Buffalo for the MAC lead.
NIU's excellent student newspaper, the Northern Star, says the Huskies kept close with the Zips thanks to solid defense.
The Zips will travel to Buffalo on Oct. 26 in a battle for the regular season conference crown. As the team found last season, however, it's the postseason tournament that gets you a berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Football
Temple coach Al Golden told the Philadelphia Inquirer he was going for the win in the final drive, not the tie.
Zippy finished ahead of Seymour from Southern Miss. Next up: Monte from Montana. Vote here, because the Roo is losing by 200 as of noon Monday. It's inevitable that other schools will start voting against the front-running marsupial.
No new recruiting offers or commitments lately. Believe me, I've been checking the Web sites.
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