The number 15 is important to the Akron men’s soccer program. It is the number of former Zips now plying their trade in MLS (including Anthony Ampaipatakwong, who recently transferred to a Premier League club in Thailand). It is also the number of returning players for the 2012 season. This gives the Zips experience at every position, providing leadership and a good foundation to build from.
Darren Mattocks and Luke Holmes leave the biggest holes to fill as both players turned pro after last season. Mattocks went early to the Vancouver Whitecaps, while Luke Holmes went undrafted before signing with the Wilmington Hammerheads of USL PRO.
“We lost Darren Mattocks,” University of Akron head coach Caleb Porter stated. “You can’t hide from that. We lost 21 goals. One of the best strikers in the country.”
Michael Balogun and Akron native Matt Dagilis were lost to graduation. Akeil Barrett (Tulsa), David Mayer (Charlotte), Dominic Bonilla (Charlotte), and David Murrow (Cincinnati) were among those that transferred out in search of more playing time.
Coming into the program is the #1 recruiting class in the nation. The class is led by blue chip prospects Alfred Koroma, Andrew Souders, Dillon Serna, and Fernando Pina along with SMU transfer Robbie Derschang.
The team has a lot of depth, but not a lot of question marks.
There are four goalkeepers on the roster and three legimately have a shot of starting for the Zips this fall. Senior David Meves was the starter in 2011, while sophmore Andrian McAdams was the #1 keeper coming out of spring practice. Pina is a stud goalkeeping prospect that has the potential to be a starter before the season ends.
The backline is Akron’s strength with senior Chad Barson and sophomores DeAndre Yedlin and Bryan Gallego all likely to hold down starting positions in the defense. A left back might be called upon at some point, but we know that Porter would be perfectly comfortable with three in the back in an attacking style of play.
The midfield is another area of strength with senior Scott Caldwell, sophomore Will Trapp, juniors Eric Stevenson and Aodhan Quinn as well as Serna fighting for starting spots.
Freshmen Omari Morris and Alfred Koroma will challenge Derschang and senior Tommy Schmitt for time up top, which seems to be their biggest question mark going into the fall season. Porter suggested goalscoring by committee might be the only way to replace Mattocks’ production.
No matter how you look at it, the biggest star in the program is Porter, who is America’s best homegrown coaching prospect. He has transformed the Akron program into a perennial contender and made the university a true soccer school, home to one of the nation’s largest and most vocal student supporters’ groups.
Porter and his team will face a rigorous schedule this fall, easily one of the toughest in the country.
“This is probably the most difficult schedule I have ever had,” Porter added. “In the first four weekends, we play four top 15 teams.”
But Porter and the Akron squad are always up for the challenge as they try to add more hardware to an already prestigious program.
“No one can put more pressure on myself and my team than what we put on ourselves,” Porter concluded. “Our standards are very high. We want to win a national championship.”
Notes:
- UCSB’s Stuart Dobson has joined the Unviersity of Akron’s men soccer staff as goalkeeping coach. Dobson was hired to replace Liam Curran, who took a full-time position on the Clemson coaching staff.
- Goalkeeper JP Van Der Merwe and defender Cristian Arboleda also left the program before the start of preseason. Goalkeeper Anthony Ponikvar is no longer with the team after pursuing a graduate law degree.
- The Columbus Crew continue to have a close relationship with the Akron men’s soccer program. At least 7 of the 28 players on the roster came up through the Columbus Crew Academy system. That’s right, 1/4 of the team is connected to the Crew. It’s only a matter of time before one of them joins the Columbus first-team, right?
