Akron Magazine - Winter 2010 - (Page 22)

sIdELINEs Zips Men’s Soccer Second in Nation season record for most consecutive wins (23) while setting school records for wins (23), shots (412), shutouts (19), fewest goals allowed (7) and lowest goalsagainst-average (0.27). Moreover, of those milestones three of them rank highly among the greatest in NCAA history. UA posted the secondmost shutouts in single-season Division I history while its goals-against-average and shutout percentage (.760) are third best all-time. “What I’ll remember more than anything this year is the way we played this game and how we approached going against the best teams in the country,” says Caleb Porter, UA’s head coach. “We didn’t hope to win, but expected to win. We didn’t hang on potential results, but dictated the game. I thought we did that again today and we’ve done that all year long, so I’m proud of my guys. We will continue to follow the same formula we are going to keep chasing the national championship.” Anthony Ampaipitakwong had the Zips’ best scoring opportunity of the first half in the 14th minute when he turned the corner and fired low towards the right post but Restrepo dove to his left to make UA goalkeeper David Meves grapples with Virginia’s Greg Monaco PoSt SeASon honoRS UA sophomore teal Bunbury is one of three finalists for the 2009 Missouri Athletic Club’s hermann trophy. It is the second consecutive year an Akron player has been named a finalist for what is considered the highest individual honor in intercollegiate soccer as current Major League Soccer star Steve Zakuani finished first runner-up in 2008. University of Akron junior Anthony Ampaipitakwong was a semifinalist for the honor. Four UA men’s soccer players were named to Top Drawer Soccer’s team of the Season. Sophomore forwards Teal Bunbury and darlington nagbe earned First Team and Second Team honors, respectively. Junior Anthony Ampaipitakwong and freshman defender Zarek Valentin were named Honorable Mention. First-year goalkeeper david Meves was named to the All-Rookie Team. MAC Player of the Year: Teal Bunbury MAC Coach of the Year: Caleb Porter MAC newcomer of the Year: Zarek Valentin UA’s Chris Korb battles Virginia’s Tony Tchani for the ball After playing to a scoreless tie through 110 minutes, The University of Akron men’s soccer team was defeated by Virginia in penalty kicks, 3-2, Sunday afternoon in the NCAA national championship game at WakeMed Stadium before 5,679 fans. The top-seeded Zips (23-1-1) suffered the loss despite posting their fifth straight shutout of the NCAA Tournament, spanning 490 consecutive minutes. Akron, which defeated No. 5 North Carolina 5-4 on penalty kicks in the semifinal match Friday night, could not do so again Sunday in a match-up of the top two defensive teams in the country. Virginia led 3-1 after three rounds of penalty kicks after Akron’s Zarek Valentin and Kofi Sarkodie failed to convert. UVA’s Jonathan Villanueva and Greg Monaco each had a chance to clinch the title, but Zips true freshman goalkeeper David Meves made a pair of brilliant saves to extend the shootout. In between, fellow Akron freshman Scott Caldwell found the net to close the gap to one, but Blair Gavin’s final attempt sailed high. For the Zips, the result put an end to the greatest season in program history. The Zips matched the NCAA single- the stop. It was the second of two shots on goal for UA in the opening period as Ben Zemanski recorded the other with a blast from 30 yards a few minutes earlier. When they weren’t on the ball, the Zips’ swarming defense was relentless to get it back as Akron held the Cavaliers without a single shot for nearly 35 minutes (from 36:29 to 70:54) amid the intermittent rain that fell throughout the contest. UA was clearly the aggressor in the second half but Virginia’s defense was organized and physical in the final third. Freshman Ben Speas sparked another scoring opportunity in the 54th minute when he lost his man near the right touchline and crossed the ball into the box. Sophomore Teal Bunbury leaped up to meet it but his header went wide. Zarek Valentin, Teal Bunbury, Ben Speas and Blair Gavin were named to the 2009 NCAA College Cup All-Tournament Team. | 22 |

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Akron Magazine - Winter 2010

Akron Magazine - Winter 2010

Akron Magazine - Winter 2010 - (Page C1)
Akron Magazine - Winter 2010 - (Page C2)
Akron Magazine - Winter 2010 - (Page 1)
Akron Magazine - Winter 2010 - (Page 2)
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Akron Magazine - Winter 2010 - (Page C3)
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