Courtesy: Jeff Harwell-Zips Sports Photography Senior Matt Tutich is 22nd in the nation with nine assists in 2008.

NCAA Men's Soccer Championships ~ Second Round

No. 5 seed Akron (16-1-4) vs. Ohio State (9-8-3)
Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2008 • 7:30 p.m. • Lee Jackson Field • Akron, Ohio
Media: Live Stats • GoZips.com

Fifth-Seeded Zips To Begin NCAA Title Run Tuesday
After earning a first-round bye, the fifth-seeded University of Akron men’s soccer team will host Ohio State in the second round of the NCAA Championships Tuesday night at Lee Jackson Field. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.

Akron Awarded Highest Seed in School History
Fresh off winning its second consecutive Mid-American Conference regular-season and tournament titles, the Akron men’s soccer team was awarded a school-best fifth seed to the 2008 NCAA Championships and a first-round bye in the 48-team field.

It is the fourth time Akron has earned a national seed in program history. The Zips were nation’s No. 15 seed in 2003, the No. 9 national seed in 2005 and the No. 14 seed last season. The Zips, who have been ranked in the top 10 by the NSCAA in every week of the regular season and in the top 5 on eight occasions, will be playing in their 23rd NCAA postseason, dating back to 1961.

Poll Position
The Zips maintained their No. 4 ranking in the final regular-season NSCAA/adidas poll after capturing the MAC Tournament championship on Nov. 16. Akron played fourth-seeded Hartwick to a 1-1 tie before dispatching the Hawks 3-0 in penalty kicks. Then, Steve Zakuani netted the game-winner in the 104th minute to lift Akron to a 1-0 win over Northern Illinois in the title match.

Despite the success, UA fell from third to fourth in the Soccer America poll and from second to fourth in the College Soccer News rankings while holding on to its No. 3 designation in the Top Drawer Soccer poll.

All those rankings go out the window Tuesday night, however, as the Zips find themselves just four wins away from the school’s first national title.

Zips Ranked No. 5 in RPI
Akron also maintained its No. 5 standing in the last RPI index, released by the NCAA on Nov. 10. The rating system is based 50 percent on the team’s win-loss percentage, 25 percent on the team’s strength of schedule and 25 percent on the strength of schedule of the team’s opponents. The RPI was the primary gauge used to determine seeding for the NCAA Tournament.

Akron in the NCAA Tournament
The Zips own an all-time record of 9-22-2 (.303) in the NCAA Tournament since its first appearance in 1961. Their last tournament win came in a 5-0 defeat of West Virginia in the second round at Lee Jackson Field in 2005 and was followed by consecutive ties at fourth-seeded Connecticut and at third-seeded Maryland that same year. The Zips slipped by the Huskies, 4-3, in penalty kicks but saw their title run come to a halt after falling 4-1 in kicks to the Terps in the quarterfinals.
Last season, Akron, as the No. 14 seed, was defeated by South Florida, 1-0, in double overtime at Lee Jackson Field.

A Win Tuesday Would be Extra Sweet
A win against Ohio State would vault Akron into the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in school history. UA also accomplished that feat in 2005, 2003 and 1986. The Zips advanced to the quarterfinals on two occasions (‘05, ‘86) and went all the way to the national title game in 1986, falling to Duke, 1-0.

Zakuani Earns Player of the Year Honors from Top Drawer Soccer
University of Akron sophomore Steve Zakuani, the nation’s scoring leader and 2008 Mid-American Conference Player of the Year, was named Player of the Season by Top Drawer Soccer on Nov. 21.

Zakuani has exceeded lofty expectations this season as a Hermann Trophy candidate and preseason Soccer America All-American. The striker leads the nation in goals scored (20) and points (47) and has been at his best with the game on the line.

The native of London, England has seven game-winning goals to this credit for the season but none may have been bigger than the one in double overtime to defeat Northern Illinois in the MAC Tournament championship game on Nov. 16 at Lee Jackson Field. Hobbled by a sprained ankle, Zakuani battled harsh winter weather conditions and played through pain that kept him out of the starting lineup for the first time of his career.

The 2007 MAC Newcomer of the Year found the net in the 104th minute to lift the Zips to their second consecutive MAC Tournament title and sixth overall in the program’s heralded history.

The 15 finalists for the Hermann Trophy are expected to be announced later this week.

Accolades Continue From Top Drawer Soccer
First-year UA standouts Darlington Nagbe and Kofi Sarkodie were also honored by Top Drawer Soccer, earning first team all-rookie accolades.

Nagbe, the 2008 MAC Newcomer of the Year, recorded a pair of goals and three assists while firing off 33 shots as a first-year player for the Zips. The forward excelled as the season progressed and enjoyed an expanded role in the MAC Tournament title game with Zakuani limited due to injury.

Nagbe recorded both of his goals in a rout of Florida Atlantic on Sept. 19 and assisted scores in back-to-back games at Hartwick (Nov. 1) and at Ohio State (Nov. 7), a potential NCAA Tournament opponent for UA. Ironically, Nagbe’s other assist on the year came against Akron’s other potential opponent, Oakland, on Oct. 8.

Sarkodie hit the ground running, by scoring the game-winning goal and assisting in a shutout in Akron’s 3-0 season-opening victory against then-ranked No. 3 Notre Dame on Aug. 31. The UA defender and current captain of his U.S. Youth National team, who also has two assists to his name in 2008, has been instrumental in the success of the Akron defense, which is ranked third nationally with a goals-against-average (GAA) of 0.45 – allowing just 10 scores in 21 games.

As a unit, Zips defenders are amidst one of – if not the best – seasons in school history. The team’s GAA is currently the lowest ever recorded by Akron team and its 13 shutouts are two shy of the single-season mark.

Akron Versus Ohio State
• Tuesday’s game will mark the first time Akron and Ohio State have ever faced each other in the NCAA Tournament.

• UA leads the all-time series with OSU, 22-6-2 (.767), and is 12-1-1 versus the Buckeyes at Lee Jackson Field.

• The Zips and Buckeyes played to a 1-1 double overtime tie in their last meeting in Akron (Sept. 26, 2007). The only time OSU defeated UA at Lee Jackson Field was a 3-2 decision during the 1979 campaign.

• Akron has out-scored Ohio State, 108-40, in 30 all-time meetings.

• A short-handed Buckeyes team upset Oakland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. After playing to a 0-0 tie, OSU slipped by the Golden Grizzlies, 4-3, on penalty kicks. The Buckeyes played without six of their starters after they were suspended for the violation of team rules. Five freshmen started in the match and six participating players had seen action in five or fewer games this season.

UA Wins Thriller at Ohio State in Last Meeting
Steve Zakuani scored a pair of goals and assisted two others while Blair Gavin put the finishing touches on an improbable comeback as the Zips rallied to a 4-3 victory over Ohio State on Nov. 7 night before 1,008 fans at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.

Akron started the second half with a 1-0 lead, but it wouldn’t hold up in a frantic second half that featured six goals and 17 combined shots.

UA, which hadn’t allowed more than one goal in a single game up to that point all season, saw OSU score two times in little more than one minute to regain the lead early in the second half and find the net three times for the contest. The Zips’ defense had allowed just six scores through the first 18 games of the year.

The 2007 national runners-up Buckeyes wasted little time after the break, blitzing back with two goals in the first five minutes of play. A goal by Ben Zemanski tied the game in the 55th minute, but the Zips had to rally once more as OSU regained the lead less than a minute later.

Zakuani scored his second goal of the game to pull the Zips even before assisting Gavin’s game winner in the 82nd minute. Zakuani crossed the ball from the left side of the box and Gavin lifted the ball just under the crossbar from 10 yards out for his first goal of the season.

The Friendly Confines
Locking up a top eight seed for the NCAA Tournament should be a key factor to the Zips’ postseason aspirations. Akron is 11-0-1 at home this season and has been defeated just twice in 47 games at Lee Jackson Field since 2005, posting an outstanding record of 41-2-4 (.915). The two losses came at the hands of then-ranked No. 20 Indiana (0-2 in 2006) and South Florida (0-1, 2OT) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year.

During that stretch, the Zips have out-scored their opponents, 117-19 and are allowing an average of just 0.40 goals per game. Akron is 30-2-3 (.900) at Lee Jackson Field in two-plus seasons under head coach Caleb Porter.

Zakuani Zips up Charts
Steve Zakuani, who is the nation’s scoring leader, moved into fifth place on the school’s single-season goals scored and points lists after scoring his 20th goal at the MAC Tournament.

He is currently tied with George Nanchoff, the father of current UA sophomore Michael Nanchoff, with 47 points in 21 games while solely owning the fifth spot for goals scored with 20 on the season.

UA’s record holder for most goals scored in a single season is Milich, who found the net an astounding 31 times – the 10th-highest total in NCAA history – during the 1961 campaign. Milich also set the school record for points in 1961 with 75 to his name.

Akron Well Represented in MAC Awards
Following its seventh undefeated league season, Akron placed seven players on the All-Mid-American Conference First Team, including Player of the Year Steve Zakuani and Newcomer of the Year Darlington Nagbe.

Additionally, UA made a clean sweep of the postseason specialty awards for the second straight year as third-year head coach Caleb Porter claimed his second consecutive Coach of the Year award.

Zakuani became the sixth Zips player to earn the league’s highest award since 1993 and follows Corey Sipos (2007), Sinisa Ubiparipovic (2006) and Ross McKenzie (2005) as the fourth consecutive UA player be honored in as many seasons.

Nagbe is the seventh UA player to earn newcomer honors and the third in the last four seasons, following Zakuani, who received the title last season and senior goal keeper Evan Bush, who achieved the distinction in 2005.

Joining Zakuani and Nagbe on the All-MAC First Team were Anthony Ampaipitakwong, Blair Gavin, Matt Tutich, Kofi Sarkodie and Bush. Picking up second team honors this season were Ossie Michalsen and Ben Zemanski.

Record Watching
Akron is in the midst of one of the best seasons in program history and is threatening to break a number of school records. With 13 shutouts and 10 goals allowed in 21 games (0.45 GAA), the Zips are two shutouts shy of the school record (15) and are on pace to break the single-season mark for goals-against-average (0.50). Both records were set during the 2005 campaign.

Bush Among Nation’s Top ’Keepers
It goes without saying that senior goal keeper Evan Bush will be remembered as one of the best players to ever wear an Akron uniform. After redshirting in 2004, the two-time all-league standout and current team tri-captain stepped in between the pipes and never looked back, setting MAC records for shutouts (47) and wins (61) in a prolific four-year career, which has seen him start all 84 games he has appeared in. In more than 7,500 minutes in goal, he has allowed just 51 goals while posting a career goals-against-average of 0.61.

In addition to his all-conference honors, Bush has been named MAC Player of the Week twice this season was named to the National Team of the Week by College Soccer News (Oct. 13) and Soccer America (Oct. 28).

Season Trends
The Zips are 15-0-1 when scoring first in games, 12-0-0 when leading at halftime and 13-1-2 when they out-shoot their opponents. UA, which came from behind to defeat Cleveland State (Sept. 21), has never trailed at halftime this season.