Photo: GoZips.com
Caleb Porter and the Akron Zips came out of the weekend with a split in two matches at the Mike Berticelli Mermorial Tournament in South Bend, Ind.
On Friday, the Zips beat No. 10 Indiana behind midfielder Eric Stevenson's 19th minute goal. Dillon Serna had beat his man on the left flank and crossed into Stevenson who fired just inside the right post. Senior 'keeper David Meyes picked up his third win and second shutout in the match.
Two days later, however, Akron suffered their first loss of 2012 as No. 17 host Notre Dame (5-0-0) defeated the shorthanded Zips 3-1. UA got off to a strong start as Alfred Koroma crossed in a fine ball that Scott Caldwell (right) corraled and fired from the top of the box to give the Zips an early 1-0 lead in the 4th minute. However, Aohdan Quinn received a straight red in the 30th minute, the Zips played the rest of the match a man down and the Fighting Irish were able to counter with three unanswered goals.
With Friday's 1-0 victory over No. 10 Indiana, UA finished second in the tournament. Chad Barson, Caldwell and Serna were named to the All-Tournament Team.
Porter and the Zips return to FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field next weekend to play host to The University of Akron Tournament. UA will host St. John's Friday night at 4 p.m. PT on FOX Soccer Channel and South Florida Sunday at 4:30 p.m. PT.
ADDEDUM: MLSsoccer.com's Daniel Robertson says that Akron "had probably the toughest weekend of anyone in the country," but still rates them highly at #5 in their College Power rankings. He also points out that Friday's match on FOX Soccer Channel against St. John's is definitely one to watch as "practically every player you’ll see on Akron has a possible MLS future, either through the draft or via Homegrown signings."
