“Steve Zakuani has a lot to brag about. Whether it’s being named to Soccer America’s Team of the Week, winning last week’s offensive most valuable player for The University of Akron Tournament, or making the watch list for The Hermann Trophy List, college soccer’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy, the University of Akron’s sophomore forward has had quite an eventful season thus far.”
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Steve Zakuani has a lot to brag about.

Whether it’s being named to Soccer America’s Team of the Week, winning last week’s offensive most valuable player for The University of Akron Tournament, or making the watch list for The Hermann Trophy List, college soccer’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy, the University of Akron’s sophomore forward has had quite an eventful season thus far.

Not bad considering Akron has played only four games thus far.

So just how does the most potent scoring threat on the number two team in the country handle being named to such a prestigious list?

I was happy when I heard about it, Zakuani said.

But I haven’t thought about it since.

This seems to be a common theme with Zakuani

If you bring up his several accolades the 2007 MAC New Comer of the Year seems content to downplay the situation or deflect the attention to his teammates.

It always feels good to win awards, but I can only win them if the whole team plays well, he said.

What sets Zakuani apart from other athletes of his talent level, other than his humble demeanor, is the fact that he could be playing professional soccer instead of attending The University of Akron.

Zakuani, a London, England native, chose to come to the Rubber City over playing professionally for a number of reasons.

Receiving a higher education was near the top of the list.

My parents stressed academics, he said.

In England, it’s not possible to be an athlete as well as a student.

Zakuani also said that the college experience as a whole was also a large factor in his choice to put off playing professionally.

But perhaps the biggest draw to the U of A was the opportunity to play for one of the hottest coaches in the college game; Akron’s head man Caleb Porter.

After speaking to the coaches, especially Coach Porter, I knew this was the right place for me, he said.

Porter said he has noticed several improvements in Zakuani’s game already this season.

He’s a more complete player, Porter said.

You can already tell he’s gotten a lot stronger since last year.

Porter also believes that Zakuani has even improved on not only his weaknesses from last season, but his strengths as well.

Dribbling is definitely his strength and he has improved on that, Porter said.

But that’s not all Porter has seen a drastic improvement in.

Last year he created a lot of scoring chances for himself, Porter said.

This year, he’s doing a much better job of finishing.

That may be an understatement when you consider that Zakuani’s 3 goals in four games are already half of his six scores for the entire 2007 campaign.

But despite his eye-opening play as well as the team’s number 2 ranking, it’s a safe bet that Zakuani will not be overlooking opponents anytime soon.

Being ranked number 2 in the nation means people are paying attention, he said.

But coach reminds us that it means absolutely nothing right now.

Zakuani and his teammates will head to Albuquerque, New Mexico this weekend to compete in the Nike Invitational.

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