UA men’s soccer team is finally home after two weeks of being on the road. As they return, the Zips look forward to celebrating 60 years as a team. A team that has had heart-wrenching losses and triumphant victories with 16 MAC regular season championships, 10 MAC tournament championships, and 15 NCAA tournament appearances including three college cup finals and a national championship coming in 2010. The University of Akron Men’s Soccer team is a “Dynasty in the Making.”

The Zips (0-2-1) will host two teams throughout this weekend as they open their first home stand against UCF and Hartford in the annual University of Akron Tournament.

The Zips struggled against both South Florida and Florida Golf Coast as both games went into double overtime. Akron failed to secure a tie in the remaining seconds against South Florida off a scrambled header with 30 seconds remaining in the second overtime period. The Zips also failed to maintain a 1-0 advantage against FGCU, which ended in a tie after numerous close attempts on goal in the closing minutes of the game.

THE COMPETITION:

After losing their first two matches of the season, the Knights of UCF (1-2) rebounded against Florida Atlantic (0-3) with a late 1-0 victory with just nine seconds remaining in regulation. The game-winner would be scored off a Romario Williams Penalty Kick. The Zips will have to look out for Sophomore Javier Clavijo, who was a 2013 MAC Hermann Candidate last season. The Knights will play host to Akron in their home opener this Friday.

The Hawks of Hartford (2-0-1) are coming off two strong weeks of match play, defeating both Northeastern (1-3) and Villanova (0-3) with 1-0 victories after conceding a tie to Holy Cross (0-1-1) to start their season. Akron will have to come out strong against goalkeeper David MacKinnon who has earned his second straight shutout along with three crucial saves against Villanova. Hartford received three votes in this week’s NSCAA rankings.

ZIPS LOOKOUT:

Look for junior goalkeeper Jake Fenlason to make another huge impact this weekend, as Fenlason already has 20 saves this season. Also, look for freshman forward Stuart Holthusen to make an impact this weekend, as Holthusen scored the first goal of the season for the Zips, as well as sophomore Adam Najem who leads the Zips this season with 6 shots and 3 shots on goal.