Akron Zips men's soccer
Encyclopedia
The Akron Zips
men's soccer team is an intercollegiate varsity sports
team of the University of Akron
. The team is a member of the Mid-American Conference
of the National Collegiate Athletic Association
. Akron is regularly ranked in the Top 10 NSCAA
Collegiate men's soccer poll, and have achieved the #1 ranking in 2005, 2009 and 2010. The Zips have played their home games at FirstEnergy Stadium-Cub Cadet Field since 1966, formerly named Lee R. Jackson Soccer Field and Cub Cadet Field. They won their first national championship in 2010.
transfer named Stu Parry started the soccer team at Akron. That year, they finished the season with two wins and one tie. The next year, men's soccer was officially offered by the University and after starting the season with two losses, they ended with a 2-4-1 record, with the team's first win coming against rival Kent State
.
Parry eventually led the team to nine Ohio College Soccer Association titles as well as six NCAA playoff appearances. In 1986, the men's soccer team gained the most exposure in the NCAA tournament, finishing second to Duke
by a score of 1-0. A Duke player, Ken Lolla, took over the program in 1993 and then became Akron's all-time winningest coach, with a record of 160-68-25. He also led the team to their first #1 ranking, which was also the first ever MAC team in any sport to be ranked #1.
. The fields are located towards the southeast corner of the University of Akron campus, just west of InfoCision Stadium
.
Other expansion and upgrade plans for the stadium have included a grandstand with seating capacity of 2,200, berm seating around the stadium with a capacity of 2,600, and lighting which meets national television specifications.
Announced in March of 2011 was a partnership between The University of Akron and Cub Cadet
, the premier brand of Cleveland-based MTD Products, which will rename the Zips' new, state-of-the-art grass soccer field Cub Cadet Field.
In June, 2011, the field was renamed FirstEnergy Stadium-Cub Cadet field after Cub Cadet as well as First Energy plans were announced to build 300 new bleacher seats, permanent restrooms, and a concession stand along with the renaming.
Akron Zips
One of the unique nicknames in all of intercollegiate athletics belongs to The University of Akron. Originally Zippers, athletic director Kenneth Cochrane officially shortened the nickname to the Zips in 1950. Twenty-five years earlier a campus-wide contest had been conducted to choose a nickname...
men's soccer team is an intercollegiate varsity sports
Varsity team
In the United States and Canada, varsity sports teams are the principal athletic teams representing a college, university, high school or other secondary school. Such teams compete against the principal athletic teams at other colleges/universities, or in the case of secondary schools, against...
team of the University of Akron
University of Akron
The University of Akron is a coeducational public research university located in Akron, Ohio, United States. The university is part of the University System of Ohio. It was founded in 1870 as a small college affiliated with the Universalist Church. In 1913 ownership was transferred to the City of...
. The team is a member of the Mid-American Conference
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...
of the National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
. Akron is regularly ranked in the Top 10 NSCAA
NSCAA
The National Soccer Coaches Association of America is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. The NSCAA has grown from a handful of college soccer coaches to more than 22,000 members, making it the largest coaching organization in the world. Its members coach at all levels of...
Collegiate men's soccer poll, and have achieved the #1 ranking in 2005, 2009 and 2010. The Zips have played their home games at FirstEnergy Stadium-Cub Cadet Field since 1966, formerly named Lee R. Jackson Soccer Field and Cub Cadet Field. They won their first national championship in 2010.
History
In 1954, an Oberlin CollegeOberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
transfer named Stu Parry started the soccer team at Akron. That year, they finished the season with two wins and one tie. The next year, men's soccer was officially offered by the University and after starting the season with two losses, they ended with a 2-4-1 record, with the team's first win coming against rival Kent State
Kent State Golden Flashes
Kent State University's intercollegiate athletic teams are known as the Golden Flashes or simply as the Flashes. The university fields sixteen varsity athletic teams, all of whom play in the Mid-American Conference and in the NCAA's Division I...
.
Parry eventually led the team to nine Ohio College Soccer Association titles as well as six NCAA playoff appearances. In 1986, the men's soccer team gained the most exposure in the NCAA tournament, finishing second to Duke
Duke Blue Devils
Duke University's 26 varsity sports teams, known as the Blue Devils, compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The name comes from the French "les Diables Bleus" or "the Blue Devils," which was the nickname given during World War I to the Chasseurs Alpins, the French Alpine light infantry...
by a score of 1-0. A Duke player, Ken Lolla, took over the program in 1993 and then became Akron's all-time winningest coach, with a record of 160-68-25. He also led the team to their first #1 ranking, which was also the first ever MAC team in any sport to be ranked #1.
Stadium
Lee Jackson Field was dedicated on October 22, 1966. Along with the soccer venue, the 23 acres (93,077.8 m²) complex also includes fields for the school's baseball, softball, and track and field competition areas along with a practice field for the football teamAkron Zips football
The University of Akron Zips are a college football program representing the University of Akron that competes in NCAA Division I FBS Mid-American Conference football...
. The fields are located towards the southeast corner of the University of Akron campus, just west of InfoCision Stadium
Summa Field at InfoCision Stadium
InfoCision Stadium-Summa Field is the home stadium of the Akron Zips football team at the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio. New for the 2009 football season, the official ground-breaking ceremony for the stadium was held on April 4, 2008 and it opened on September 12, 2009 for a sold out game...
.
Other expansion and upgrade plans for the stadium have included a grandstand with seating capacity of 2,200, berm seating around the stadium with a capacity of 2,600, and lighting which meets national television specifications.
Announced in March of 2011 was a partnership between The University of Akron and Cub Cadet
Cub Cadet
IH Cub Cadet is a premium line of small tractors, established in 1960 as part of International Harvester. The IH Cub Cadet was an entirely new line of heavy-duty small tractors using components from the previous Cub series tractors...
, the premier brand of Cleveland-based MTD Products, which will rename the Zips' new, state-of-the-art grass soccer field Cub Cadet Field.
In June, 2011, the field was renamed FirstEnergy Stadium-Cub Cadet field after Cub Cadet as well as First Energy plans were announced to build 300 new bleacher seats, permanent restrooms, and a concession stand along with the renaming.
Supporters
The AK-ROWDIES are a student organization which cheer on sports teams in various sports at the University. The ROWDIES were formed as an official student organization in 2005. During the soccer games, they can be found behind the goal area, heckling the opponent's goalie. You will also hear all of their soccer cheers and chants.Roster
As of September 8, 2011Notable players
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- Currently with San Jose EarthquakesSan Jose EarthquakesThe San Jose Earthquakes professional soccer team is located in the San Jose, California, United States suburb of Santa Clara, and participates in Major League Soccer , the top level soccer league in the United States and Canada.... - Teal BunburyTeal BunburyTeal Bunbury is a Canadian-born American soccer player who currently plays for Sporting Kansas City in Major League Soccer...
- Currently with Sporting Kansas City - Evan BushEvan BushEvan Bush is an American soccer player currently playing for Montreal Impact in Major League Soccer.-College and Amateur:...
- Currently with Montreal Impact - Benny DargleBenny DargleBernard "Benny" Dargle is a retired English-born American soccer player who played as a defender, making over 400 career appearances in a professional career which lasted from 1978 to 1992.-Career:...
- Conrad EarnestConrad EarnestConrad Earnest is a retired American soccer goalkeeper who is a world renowned exercise physiologist. He spent two seasons in the American Soccer League....
- Blair GavinBlair GavinBlair Gavin is an American soccer player who currently plays for Chivas USA in Major League Soccer.-College and Amateur:...
- Currently with Chivas USAC.D. Chivas USAClub Deportivo Chivas USA is an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California that competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States of America and Canada.... - Perry KitchenPerry KitchenPerry Kitchen is an American soccer player currently playing for D.C. United in Major League Soccer.-College and amateur:...
- Currently with D.C. UnitedD.C. UnitedD.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since its inception, in 1996.Over the... - Cameron KnowlesCameron KnowlesCameron Knowles is a New Zealand footballer who is currently without a club.-College and Amateur:Knowles played college soccer for the University of Akron, captaining the team his senior year. Knowles anchored an Akron defense that allowed only three goals in league play and recorded 13 shutouts...
- Chris KorbChris KorbChris Korb is an American soccer player currently playing for D.C. United in Major League Soccer.-Youth:...
- Current with D.C. UnitedD.C. UnitedD.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since its inception, in 1996.Over the... - Devon McKenneyDevon McKenneyDevon McKenney is an American soccer player who currently plays for Carolina RailHawks in the North American Soccer League.-College and Amateur:...
- Currently with Carolina RailHawksCarolina RailHawks FCCarolina RailHawks FC is an American professional soccer team based in Cary, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 2006, the team plays in the North American Soccer League , the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid.... - Darlington NagbeDarlington NagbeDarlington Nagbe is a Liberian footballer currently playing for the Portland Timbers in Major League Soccer.-College and Amateur:...
- Currently with Portland TimbersPortland TimbersPortland Timbers may refer to any of four distinct professional soccer teams:*Portland Timbers, a Major League Soccer expansion team that began playing in 2011.... - George NanchoffGeorge NanchoffGeorge Nanchoff is a retired Yugoslavian-American soccer player. He spent three seasons in the North American Soccer League and seven seasons in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned ten caps, scoring one goal, with the U.S...
- Louis NanchoffLouis NanchoffLouis “Louie” Nanchoff Louis “Louie” Nanchoff Louis “Louie” Nanchoff (born May 13, 1956 in Resen, Yugoslavia (Macedonia) is a retired U.S.-Yugoslavian soccer player. He spent three seasons in the North American Soccer League and seven seasons in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned ten...
- Michael NanchoffMichael NanchoffMichael Nanchoff is an American soccer player currently playing for Vancouver Whitecaps FC in Major League Soccer.-College and Amateur:...
- Currently with Vancouver Whitecaps - Shaun PendletonShaun PendletonShaun Pendleton was an English-American soccer defender who played four seasons in the American Indoor Soccer Association before becoming a college soccer coach. His teams won the 1991 NAIA and 2003 NCAA Division II soccer championships.-Player:Pendleton grew up in Sheffield, England...
- Currently head coach of Appalachian State UniversityAppalachian State MountaineersThe Appalachian State Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, United States. The Mountaineers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and have been a member of the Southern Conference since 1972.... - Justin SadlerJustin SadlerJustin Sadler, born October 29, 1982 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is a U.S. soccer midfielder who last played for USL Second Division side Harrisburg City Islanders.-Youth:...
- Kofi SarkodieKofi SarkodieKofi Sarkodie is a Ghanaian-American soccer player, who currently plays for the Houston Dynamo in Major League Soccer. He holds both a Ghanaian passport and a United States passport.-Youth, College and Amateur:...
- Currently with Houston DynamoHouston DynamoThe Houston Dynamo is an American professional soccer club, based in Houston, Texas, that plays in Major League Soccer, the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. Founded in 2005 as Houston 1836, the team name was renamed to Houston Dynamo following protests from Hispanic... - Roderick ScottRoderick ScottRoderick Scott is a retired Canadian association football player.-University of Akron:Scott attended the University of Akron on a soccer scholarship after a recruiter spotted him playing for the Canadian U-19 national team. He played on the Zips soccer team from 1985 to 1988. In 1986 Akron lost...
- Siniša UbiparipovićSiniša UbiparipovicSiniša Ubiparipović is a Bosnian footballer who currently plays for Montreal Impact in Major League Soccer.-Early life:...
- Currently withMontreal Impact - Zarek ValentinZarek ValentinZarek Valentin is an American soccer player currently playing for Montreal Impact in Major League Soccer.-College and Amateur:...
- Currently with Montreal Impact - Kyle VerisKyle VerisKyle Veris is an American soccer player currently playing for Pittsburgh Riverhounds in the USL Professional Division.-Youth and College:...
- Currently with Pittsburgh RiverhoundsPittsburgh RiverhoundsPittsburgh Riverhounds is an American professional soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1999, the team plays in the National Division of the new USL Professional Division, the third tier of the American Soccer Pyramid.... - Steve ZakuaniSteve ZakuaniSteve Zakuani is a Congolese footballer who currently plays for Seattle Sounders FC in Major League Soccer. Born in Zaire , Zakuani grew up in London before attending the University of Akron on a soccer scholarship...
- Currently with Seattle SoundersSeattle Sounders FCSeattle Sounders FC is an American professional soccer club based in Seattle, Washington. The club competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. Sounders FC was established in November 2007 as a MLS expansion team, making it the 15th team in... - Ben ZemanskiBen ZemanskiBen Zemanski is an American soccer player who currently plays for Chivas USA in Major League Soccer.-College and Amateur:...
- Currently with Chivas USAC.D. Chivas USAClub Deportivo Chivas USA is an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California that competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States of America and Canada....
Previous head coaches
Listed according to when they became head coach for Akron (year in parentheses):- 1950s-1960s: Stu Parry (1955)
- 1970s-1980s: Bill Killen (1970), Robert Dowdy (1974), Steve Parker (1982)
- 1990s-2000s: Ken LollaKen LollaKen Lolla is the head men’s soccer coach at the University of Louisville. He is also a writer and professional speaker. Lolla played collegiate soccer at Duke University and professionally at various US professional soccer teams. He has earned several accolades as both a player and...
(1993), Caleb PorterCaleb PorterCaleb Porter is an American soccer coach who is currently the head coach of the United States U-23 team and the men's soccer team at the University of Akron...
(2006)
Achievements
- NCAA Men's Division I Soccer Championship:
- Winners (1): 2010
- Runners-up (2): 1986, 2009
- Mid-American Conference Tournament:
- Winners (7): 1998, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
- Runners-up (4): 1995, 1997, 2001, 2006
- Mid-American Conference Regular Season:
- Winners (13): 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
- Runners-up (5): 1994, 1996, 2001, 2003, 2004
- Ohio College Soccer Association:
- Winners (19): 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1971, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987
- Mid-Continent Conference Regular Season:
- Winners (1): 1991
Records
- Most Goals in a game: 14 (12-2) vs. Cleveland StateCleveland State VikingsThe Cleveland State Vikings, or Vikes, are the athletic teams of Cleveland State University. Before as Fenn College they were known as the Fenn College Foxes or Fenn Foxes. Cleveland State competes in NCAA Division I. They have been a member of the NCAA Division I since 1972. They were previously...
, September 9, 2005 - Most Goals in a half: 8 vs. Wisconsin-Green Bay, 1986
- Lee Jackson Field attendance: 4,744 vs. TulsaTulsa Golden HurricaneTulsa Golden Hurricane athletics programs include the extramural and intramural sports team of the University of Tulsa. These teams are referred to as the Tulsa Golden Hurricane...
, September 22, 2010
See also
- University of AkronUniversity of AkronThe University of Akron is a coeducational public research university located in Akron, Ohio, United States. The university is part of the University System of Ohio. It was founded in 1870 as a small college affiliated with the Universalist Church. In 1913 ownership was transferred to the City of...
- Akron ZipsAkron ZipsOne of the unique nicknames in all of intercollegiate athletics belongs to The University of Akron. Originally Zippers, athletic director Kenneth Cochrane officially shortened the nickname to the Zips in 1950. Twenty-five years earlier a campus-wide contest had been conducted to choose a nickname...
- Akron Zips footballAkron Zips footballThe University of Akron Zips are a college football program representing the University of Akron that competes in NCAA Division I FBS Mid-American Conference football...
- Akron Zips men's basketballAkron Zips men's basketballThe Akron Zips Men's Basketball team represents the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio. The team currently competes in the Mid-American Conference East division. The team first played in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 1986 when Bob Huggins was their coach. The Zips are currently...
- Collegiate soccer
- 2010 Akron Zips men's soccer team2010 Akron Zips men's soccer teamThe 2011 Akron Zips men's soccer team represented the University of Akron during the 2010 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. The Zips finished the season winning the 2010 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship, making it the first time in their history to win the national title.- Roster :The...