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University of Akron - Soccer (2010 national champs, 2018 national runners-up)

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BuckTwenty;1832430; said:
7 players from the Columbus Crew Soccer Academy will be playing in the national championship game between the two teams- 5 from Akron (Chad Barson, Ben Speas, Thomas Schmitt, Eric Stevenson and Andrian McAdams) and two from Louisville (Aaron Horton and Alex Obbey). Ohio is well represented in the upcoming game!
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Yep, Ohio is one of the best states for native soccer talent now, up there with California (it is arguable that other states are better due to immigrants, but not really homegrown players) if Ohio State would get our act together we could easily become a power. Sadly we are stuck with John Blume.
 
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Emperor Brutus;1833058; said:
Yep, Ohio is one of the best states for native soccer talent now, up there with California (it is arguable that other states are better due to immigrants, but not really homegrown players) if Ohio State would get our act together we could easily become a power. Sadly we are stuck with John Blume.
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Nope, looks like Akron has, and will continue to get all of the major talent in Ohio for soccer. We may not be the best at a lot but we CAN claim that in soccer. Especially over the last 5 years.
 
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Philly2Ohio;1833062; said:
Nope, looks like Akron has, and will continue to get all of the major talent in Ohio for soccer. We may not be the best at a lot but we CAN claim that in soccer. Especially over the last 5 years.
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You misunderstand me, I have no intention of taking anything away from what Akron has built. Lolla and Porter have built something great in Akron, but Ohio State is what it is. Lee R. Jackson is a very nice place to watch a game, and Zip fans are a passionate bunch. I have no idea how interested you are in Ohio soccer history, or NCAA/USA soccer history but I'll give a quick run down and if you want to discuss it furter or if you think I'm dead wrong we can talk about that too.

The historic hotbed for United States soccer is Missouri, specifically St. Louis springing from the 1904 Summer Olympics. They had five players take the field on the team that upset England in the 1950 World Cup (the city of St. Louis alone not the state) the Saint Louis University Billikens have the most NCAA championships. Indiana was the first big time university to poach that talent especially when it started to bleed into Illinois, and they have the second most. Note Indiana has only really had to compete with Northwestern in this region as none of Illinois, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa, Iowa State, Oklahoma, or Oklahoma State field teams. Until recently Ohio Had never been a particularly rich state in terms of soccer talent. Whenever Ohio produced a kid worth a damn he went to Maryland, Virgina or Indiana. Akron has done well and is now a home for soccer talent. MLS has truly changed everything Ohio can now produce the base of multiple college teams with at least MLS level talent. What is holding Ohio State back from getting some of that talent is not facilities and it isn't Akron's dominance which hasn't been going on very long in the grand scheme of things. It is John Bluem.

John Bluem took over a poor Ohio State team, didn't care if he made enemies in the Ohio Soccer system, and finalized that when he cut a bunch of his own recruits one year to make way for more promising talent. He doesn't coach a particularly professional style of soccer which make OSU less appealing to those looking to move on to bigger and better things. Bottom line is this, Akron has nothing on Ohio State in terms of facilities or regional talent. What they have done is made the right hire, twice, due to that they are now outpacing Ohio State in tradition and connections. The longer Ohio State sticks with Bluem the further behind the Buckeyes will fall and the harder it will be to make the ground up.

I applaud Akron for what they've done, and I do congradualte the university and it's fans on a great two seasons (the zips should have won it last year too) but I think the worst thing that could happen to Akron soccer is Ohio State ridding themselves of Bluem and making the right hire. Sadly looking at the soccer knowledge in the athletic department right now I doubt Akron has anything to worry about.
 
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Philly2Ohio;1833668; said:
http://www.idsnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=79050
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This season Akron (21-1-2) has outscored its opponents 60-14 and 29-4 in the first half. The Zips have trailed only once in a home game, in last weekend's 3-3 (3-2 penalty kicks) victory against California, and they've been behind in only four games the entire season. Since 2006, they are 58-0-0 when leading at halftime and 65-0-1 when scoring two or more goals.
 
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http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/columns/story?columnist=voepel_mechelle&id=5913687

Porter has been such a success at Akron that a lot of folks figured he wouldn't stay there. Surely a bigger-named school would lure him away.

But Porter said he sold his players on the idea that they didn't need to go somewhere else to win a title. They could do it at Akron, a school that has made campus-wide facility upgrades in recent years.

"My biggest rush in doing this is my players and the relationships I have with them," Porter said. "I had been preaching to them that there's no better place than Akron. There's the saying that all that glitters isn't gold. And as much as people on the outside might not think Akron is much of a place, it is very good place. It's a nice city in which to raise a family, and soccer means something to people there. People care.

"Also, my mentor [Jerry Yeagley] stayed at Indiana his entire career. He had other opportunities, but in the end, he got so attached he could never leave it. And right now, that's kind of where I'm at."
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http://www.ohio.com/sports/112105204.html

Beacon Journal; said:
UA extends Porter's contract through 2020
By Tom Gaffney, Beacon Journal sports writer

Coach Caleb Porter has been rewarded for leading his University of Akron men's soccer team to the Division I national championship.

The university announced Friday that Porter, 35, has signed a six-year contract extension that takes him through the 2020 season.
He had previously signed a five-year contract extension for the 2010-14 seasons.

Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.

''I am loyal to Akron and I want to leave a legacy for Akron soccer,'' said Porter...
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Still trying to figure out if this is good or bad... plus there are two more seniors going pro this year... so 7 leaving for Showtime...

Leaves huge gaps but sure tells the HS elite.. ya wanna get to the pros... here's the road...

I was looking forward to Kitchen for a couple years.. and happy/sad about Nanchoff... comes from good roots...

Zips should have around 12 first round picks playing this year...

Already looking over my shoulder at Louisville... those fellas are young pups... and lots of great soccer ahead...
 
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