“The final game of the No. 12 ranked University of Akron men’s soccer team regular season will write the opening script of its playoff journey. A win against Mid-American Conference opponent Western Michigan Saturday will decide if the Zips win the MAC regular season championship and if the team will host the MAC tournament Nov.”
“
The final game of the No. 12 ranked University of Akron men’s soccer team regular season will write the opening script of its playoff journey.
A win against Mid-American Conference opponent Western Michigan Saturday will decide if the Zips win the MAC regular season championship and if the team will host the MAC tournament Nov. 16 and 18 as the No. 1 seed.
It’s nice to have things in our hands, head coach Caleb Porter said. It’s the way we want it.
Coach Porter said his team knows that in order to accomplish their goal of winning the MAC regular season, they must execute their game plan against WMU (7-9-1, 0-3-1 MAC).
We’ve been preparing for this, Porter said. We’re playing our best soccer at the most important part of the year.
A tough schedule has been the biggest factor in preparing the team for important match-ups late in the season.
The Zips were competitive in games against nationally ranked opponents throughout the season.
The team battled then-No. 1 ranked Wake Forest (currently No. 2) to a 3-1 loss Sept. 7 and tied Ohio State Sept. 26 1-1, who have moved up two places in the NSCAA rankings to No. 23 since the game.
We realized we were going to be tested to our limits and exposed at times, Porter said about facing nationally ranked opponents.
With so much at stake, Porter believes his team is ready and feels no pressure whatsoever.
In college soccer, there is so much parity, you can’t go into any game thinking you can walk out onto the field and get a result, he said.
Saturday is WMU’s Senior Day and Porter said it will take a good performance to beat them on their home field on a special night for their team.
The game will start at 2 p.m.p.m Saturday in Kalamazoo, Mich.
“
” #1.1361577:3380615000.JPG:Steve Zakuani.JPG:Freshman forward Steve Zakuani:Jeff Harwell / Zips Sports Photography”
