Akron To Take On North Carolina At College Cup Today

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2009 NCAA Semifinals: No. 1 Akron (23-0-0) vs. No. 5 North Carolina (16-2-3)
Friday, Dec. 11 • 7:30 p.m. (EST) | WakeMed Soccer Park • Cary, N.C.

Radio: 1350 AM (WARF) | Steve French (Play-by-Play)
Television: ESPNU | JP Dellacamera (Play-by-Play) | Kyle Martino (Color)
Audio Streaming and Live Stats: www.GoZips.com

Top-Seeded Zips To Continue Perfect Season at College Cup
The No. 1 University of Akron men's soccer team will make its second appearance at the College Cup, and first since 1986, when it takes on No. 5 North Carolina Friday at 7:30 p.m. (EST) at WakeMed Park in Cary, N.C.

On The Air
• Friday's game will be broadcast live on ESPNU and on tape delay on ESPN2 on Saturday, starting at 11 a.m. JP Dellacamera will handle play-by-play duties while Kyle Martino will provide analysis.

• Fans can also listen to all the action live locally on 1350 AM (WARF) and via streaming audio on GoZips.com. UA broadcasting veteran Steve French will have the call.

The Road To Cary
After running the table through the regular season and Mid-American Conference Tournament, the Zips earned their first No. 1 seed in school history and a first-round bye. Akron shut out South Florida, 2-0, in the second round and Stanford by the same score in the third. UA then picked up its third straight shutout of the tournament, topping Tulsa, 1-0, in the quarterfinals last Saturday.

• UA has yet to allow a goal in three matches, out-scoring its three opponents, 5-0.

• In those games, Akron has out-shot its opponents, 42-11, including an 18-7 advantage on-goal. The Zips out-shot USF, 14-1; Stanford, 16-4; and Tulsa (the third-ranked offense in the nation), 12-6.

• Along those lines, UA is averaging 14.0 shots per game while limiting its opponent to 3.7.

• Junior midfielder Anthony Ampaipitakwong, one of two Hermann Trophy semifinalists on the team (Teal Bunbury), has found the net three times. He scored both goals against the Bulls and added another against the Cardinal. Two of his goals came on direct free kicks.

• Bunbury leads the Zips with 13 shots, including six on-goal.

• UA has received game-winning goals from three different players during the tournament - Ampaipitakwong vs. USF, Bunbury vs. Stanford and Kofi Sarkodie vs. Tulsa.

Akron At The College Cup
Akron's only other appearance at the NCAA College Cup came in 1986. UA defeated Fresno State, 1-0, on the road to advance to the national championship game, which was held in the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Wash. There, the Zips were defeated 1-0 by Duke on a second-half goal that banged off the bottom of the crossbar and into the net.

Overall, the Zips were 17-4-3 that season as a member of the Ohio Soccer Coaches Association and were coached by Steve Parker.

Akron vs. North Carolina
The Zips are 1-2 all-time versus North Carolina in a series dating back to the 1982 campaign. Although the two schools haven't faced each other in a regular-season match in more than two years, UA and UNC played to a 1-all tie in an exhibition in Greensboro, N.C., last spring.

Trailing 1-0 at the intermission, Darlington Nagbe scored the equalizer midway through the second half. Nagbe finished off a run by Teal Bunbury, who drove past his defender on the left flank. Nagbe then split two defenders and buried the shot back post.

North Carolina scored its goal early in the first half on a corner kick that was headed home at the back post.

Chasing History
It has been a historic season by many standards for the Zips, who have already set program records for wins (23), consecutive wins (23), shutouts (17) and home victories (13). But many more await as UA continues its postseason run:

• The men's soccer program is attempting to win the first national championship as a team in Akron Athletics history.
Three individuals have accomplished the feat at UA: Christi Smith (Track and Field; Heptathlon, 2000), Stevi Large (Track and Field; Hammer Throw, 2009), Jenna Compton (Rifle; Air Rifle, 2009).

• With their 23rd straight win of the year last weekend, the Zips tied the NCAA's record for most consecutive victories in a single season. Ironically, UA head coach Caleb Porter was a senior midfielder on the Indiana team that originally set the record. Porter's Hoosiers ran the table during the regular season in 1997 then lost to UCLA in the semifinals.

• Akron's winning streak is more impressive considering a tough stretch during the middle of the season that had the Zips play six of seven games on the road from Oct. 3-23. UA traveled to Florida Atlantic, UIC, Western Michigan and Virginia Tech before playing its lone home contest during that run against Northern Illinois. Akron then jumped back on the road for Michigan and Buffalo.
UA not only kept its perfect season intact, but continued to dominate its opponents, out-scoring foes 19-2 and posting a shots advantage of 121-33 during that time. Along the way, the Zips notched impressive wins at UIC (3-1), Virginia Tech (2-0) and Michigan (5-1).

• Navy holds the NCAA record for the longest winning streak (25) over two seasons (1964-65).

• The Zips are also attempting to become the first team in 35 years - and seventh in NCAA history - to win a national championship with a perfect record.* The following is a look at the six previous teams that won national championships with perfect records.

With two more wins, Akron would become the first team in NCAA history to finish unbeaten and untied with 25 wins.

Dispelling The Mid-Major Myth
Since 2005, the Zips have posted the best winning percentage in the nation with an overall record of 86-12-11 (.839) - Wake Forest is second with a mark of 91-18-12 (.802). But it is important to note that while Akron plays in a mid-major conference (Mid-American), it plays anything but a mid-major schedule.

In fact, the Zips have recorded a top-10 RPI in each of the last three years under Caleb Porter (No. 1 in 2009, No. 5 in 2008 and No. 10 in 2007) and went 5-0 against the Big Ten Conference this year with wins over Indiana (1-0), Ohio State (3-0), Michigan (5-1), Penn State (3-0) and Michigan State (2-1).

Furthermore, UA defeated six teams (St. Louis, Indiana, Ohio State, Tulsa, Penn State, Michigan State) that qualified for the NCAA Tournament this year, out-scoring them, 13-1, during the regular season.

Akron In the NCAA Tournament
The Zips are making their 24th appearance as a program in the NCAA Tournament where they own an all-time record of 13-23-2 (.368). UA has fared much better recently, however, as it is 5-2-2 (.667) since 2005.

• UA has qualified to the NCAA Tournament in each of the past three seasons and in eight of the past nine (2009, 2008, 2007, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001).

• Akron is 4-2 (.667) in NCAA Tournament games under head coach Caleb Porter.

• UA is making its second appearance at the College Cup and its first since 1986. In all, the Zips have advanced to the Round of 16 five times and the quarterfinals three times.

• The Zips made their first appearance in the NCAA postseason in 1961; falling to Saint Louis, 2-7, in the Midwest Playoffs.

Zips reset
The top-seeded University of Akron men's soccer team defeated eighth-seeded Tulsa, 1-0, before 4,254 fans last Saturday night at Lee Jackson Field.

Kofi Sarkodie scored the game's lone goal in the 17th minute by putting the finishing touch on a perfectly-placed through ball from Blair Gavin near mid field. Sarkodie took the pass in-stride, made a strong run to the right post and slipped the ball over the goalkeeper's' right shoulder into the upper-left corner of the net.

The early goal highlighted an opening half that was all Akron from the get-go as the Zips owned a 9-1 shots advantage over the Golden Hurricane, who entered play ranked third in the nation in scoring. Akron dictated the game with its precision on the attack and signature swarming defense while limiting Tulsa to just one shot through the first 74 minutes of the contest.

When TU finally got some scoring chances, UA goalkeeper David Meves was up to the task as the true freshman made a pair of outstanding saves - denying two close-range shots by Justin Chavez - in the game's final minutes. Meves, who broke Evan Bush's school record (2005) with his 15th shutout of the year, finished with three saves while logging all 90 minutes between the pipes.

Department of Defense
• With seven goals allowed in 2080:47 as a team, the Zips' goals-against-average of 0.30 is currently the fourth best, single-season mark in NCAA history.

• Moreover, Akron is one of just two schools (Virginia) that has posted a shut out in each game during the NCAA Tournament. For the year, Akron and Virginia, which is ranked No. 1 in GAA by the slightest of margins (0.29), share the nation's lead for fewest goals allowed (7).

• The Zips added to their school-record shutout total with No. 17 against Tulsa last weekend and enter play this weekend as the owners of the nation's No. 1 shutout percentage (.740).
As it stands, it is the sixth-best mark in NCAA single-season history.

• UA has limited opponents to an average of 4.7 shots per game and just 2.0 shots on goal per game while out-scoring teams 58-7 in 23 contests.

• Akron did not allow a shot on goal in a game three times this season (Bowling Green, Sept. 26; Buffalo, Oct. 23; Northern Illinois, Nov. 13) and held opponents to one shot or less on goal eight times.

• The Zips have allowed more than one goal just once this season (3-2 win over Hartwick on Nov. 7, 2009) and just twice in the past two seasons (4-3 win at Ohio State on Nov. 7, 2008). In fact, since Sept. 13, 2007, UA has held its opposition to one or fewer goals in 60 of 62 matches.

• Since Porter took over in 2006, the Zips have allowed two or more goals in a game just seven times in 86 contests (8.1 percent).

Dual Threat
For as good as UA has been defensively this season, the Zips have been just as dominant on the attack. In fact, they are the only school in the nation to be ranked in the top five for both scoring offense and goals-against-average. Akron's average of 2.59 goals per game lead the nation while it's GAA of 0.30 is ranked second (behind Virginia's mark of 0.29).

There is only one other school in the country (Liberty) that is ranked in the top 10 for both offense and defense. Liberty is ranked fifth with an average of 2.15 goals per game and sixth with a GAA of 0.53.

Akron: On the Attack
Despite losing the nation's leading scorer from a year ago in MLS No. 1 overall draft pick Steve Zakuani, the Zips have actually improved their attack in 2009. In fact, Akron has scored 58 goals through 23 games (2.52/game) this fall after totaling 47 in the same number (2.04/game) a year ago.

And this year's version has already proven to be much more diverse with 11 players contributing goals and seven different players with at least one game-winner. Last season, Zakuani accounted for 42.5 percent (20 of 47) of UA's goals and seven of 17 game-winners.

• Akron has out-shot its opponents, 386-108, in 2009 including a 200-45 margin in the first half.

• Six players have recorded multiple game-winning goals in 2009. Bunbury and Nagbe lead the way with five apiece, followed by Ampaipitakwong (4), Gavin (3), Nanchoff (2) and Sarkodie (2).

• Bunbury enters Friday's match as the leading scorer in the nation with 17 goals. With just one other active player (Zack Schilawski; Wake Forest) listed in the top eight in scoring and none with more than 14 goals, Bunbury stands a strong chance to win the national scoring title.

If so, it would be the second straight year the national scoring leader has come from Akron. MLS No. 1 overall draft pick Steve Zakuani led all scorers with 20 goals and 47 points in 2008.

True Student-Athletes
Not only are the Zips one of the best teams in the nation on the field, they are also one of the best academic teams in the classroom. Akron posted a team GPA of 3.27 in 2008-09 to win the NSCAA/adidas Men's Team Academic Award.

On top of that, all but two starters own a GPA of 3.0 or better: Anthony Ampaipitakwong (3.119), Chad Barson (4.0), Teal Bunbury (3.219), David Meves (3.936), Michael Nanchoff (3.560), Kofi Sarkodie (4.0) and Ben Zemanski (3.51). Incidentally, Blair Gavin nearly made the cut with a 2.958 GPA.

Along those lines, two starters - Sarkodie and Zemanski - were named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team for their achievements on the field and in the classroom.

Sarkodie, a microbiology major with a 4.0 GPA at UA, garnered First Team honors while Zemanski, a mechanical engineering major with a 3.51 GPA, was named to the Third Team.

Sarkodie is just the third Akron men's soccer player to achieve First Team status, following Justin Millard in 1998 and Orjan Bjaneso in 2000, and the eighth UA student-athlete to do so overall. It is also the second time the soccer program has had two Academic All-Americans announced in the same season (Bjaneso and Kyle Milligan in 2001). Elliot Bradbrook was the last UA student-athlete to achieve academic All-America honors in 2007.

To be nominated, a student-athlete must maintain a 3.3 cumulative grade-point average, participate in at least 50 percent of their team's games and be of at least sophomore athletic eligibility.

Courtesy of Akron Sports Information