The Akron Zips men's soccer team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public university, public research university in Akron, Ohio, United States. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM fields, STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advance ...

. As of the 2023

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

men's soccer season, the Zips play in the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

. This move followed Akron's full-time home of the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

(MAC) shutting down its men's soccer league after the 2022 season. Akron is regularly ranked in the Top 10

NSCAA The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than ...

collegiate men's soccer poll. They have been ranked No. 1 previously in 2005, 2009, 2010, and 2016. The Zips have played their home games at FirstEnergy Stadium-Cub Cadet Field, formerly named Lee R. Jackson Soccer Field and Cub Cadet Field, since 1966. They won their first national championship in 2010.

History

In 1954, an

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

transfer named Stu Parry started the soccer team at Akron. That year, they finished the season with two wins and one tie. The next year, men's soccer was officially offered by the university and after starting the season with two losses, they ended with a 2–4–1 record, with the team's first win coming against rival Kent State. Parry eventually led the team to nine Ohio College Soccer Association titles as well as six NCAA playoff appearances. In 1986, the men's soccer team gained the most exposure in the NCAA tournament, finishing second to

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

by a score of 1–0. A Duke player, Ken Lolla, took over the program in 1993 and then became Akron's all-time winningest coach, with a record of 160–68–25. He also led the team to their first No. 1 ranking, which was also the first ever MAC team in any sport to be ranked No. 1. In 2006, Caleb Porter became head coach, leading the team to first-place finishes in the conference every year from 2007 to 2012, an appearance in the final of the

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

(the College Cup) in 2009, and a national championship in 2010. Jared Embick succeeded Porter as head coach after the 2012 season. The team has finished first in the conference every year since, and reached the national semi-final in 2015. After the 2022 season, the MAC, whose men's soccer league had been decimated by conference realignment earlier in the decade, dropped that sport. Akron moved men's soccer to the Big East Conference, making it the only one of the four full MAC members with men's soccer teams that did not move that sport to the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

Colors and badge

The team uses the school colors of blue and gold.

Stadium

Lee Jackson Field was dedicated on October 22, 1966. Along with the soccer venue, the complex also includes fields for the school's baseball, softball, and track and field competition areas along with a practice field for the

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

. The fields are located towards the southeast corner of the University of Akron campus, just west of InfoCision Stadium. Other expansions and upgrades for the stadium have included a grandstand with seating capacity of 2,200, berm seating around the stadium with a capacity of 2,600, and lighting which meets national television specifications. Announced in March 2011 was a partnership between The University of Akron and Cub Cadet, the premier brand of Cleveland-based MTD Products, which will rename the Zips' new, state-of-the-art grass soccer field Cub Cadet Field. In June 2011, the field was renamed FirstEnergy Stadium-Cub Cadet field after Cub Cadet as well as First Energy plans were announced to build 300 new bleacher seats, permanent restrooms, and a concession stand along with the renaming.

Supporters

The AK-ROWDIES are a student organization which cheer on sports teams in various sports at the university. The ROWDIES were formed as an official student organization in 2005. During the soccer games, they can be found behind the goal area, heckling the opponent's goalie.

Notable alumni

* Niko De Vera (2014–2017) – Currently with

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

* Conrad Earnest * George Nanchoff (1973–1976) – Retired *

Louis Nanchoff Louis "Louie" Nanchoff (born May 13, 1956) is a retired soccer player. He spent three seasons in the North American Soccer League (1968-1984), North American Soccer League and seven seasons in the Major Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League. B ...

(1974–1977) – Retired * Benny Dargle (1975–1977) – Retired * Shaun Pendleton (1982–1985) – Retired * Roderick Scott (1985–88) – Retired * Cameron Knowles (2001–04) – Retired * Devon McKenney (2003–2007) *

Siniša Ubiparipović Siniša Ubiparipović ( sr-Cyrl, Синиша Убипариповић; born 25 August 1983) is a Bosnian-American former professional soccer player. Early life Ubiparipović was born in the town of Zenica, at the time part of SR Bosnia and Herz ...

(2004–2006) – Retired * Evan Bush (2005–2008) – Currently with

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

* Justin Sadler (2005) * Ben Zemanski (2006–2009) *

Steve Zakuani Steve Zakuani (born 9 February 1988) is a Congolese former association football, footballer. He was born in Zaire—now the Democratic Republic of the Congo—and grew up in London. After a successful college career, he played for the Seattle So ...

(2006–2007) – Retired * Chris Korb (2007–2010) * Michael Nanchoff (2007–2010) – Retired * Blair Gavin (2007–2009) – Retired * Teal Bunbury (2008–2009) – Currently with

Nashville SC Nashville Soccer Club is an American professional soccer club based in Nashville, Tennessee. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team spent two seasons in the USL Championship before joining ...

Darlington Nagbe Darlington Joephillip Nagbe (born July 19, 1990) is a professional association football, soccer player who plays as a midfielder for and captains Major League Soccer club Columbus Crew. Born in Liberia, he played for the United States men's nat ...

(2008–2010) – Currently with

* Anthony Ampaipitakwong (2007–2010) – Currently with

Bangkok United True Bangkok United Football Club () is a professional football club based in Pathum Thani province, Thailand. Known as Bangkok University Football Club until 2009, the club was relegated from the 2010 Thai Premier League only four years afte ...

* Kofi Sarkodie (2008–2010) * Zarek Valentin (2009–2010) – Currently with the

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

* Scott Caldwell (2009–2012) – Currently with the

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...

* Chad Barson (2009–2012) – Retired * Darren Mattocks (2010–2011) – Retired * Perry Kitchen (2010) – Currently with

LA Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

* DeAndre Yedlin (2011–2012) – Currently with

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team was first announced on August 12, 2015 as a United Soccer Leag ...

* Aodhan Quinn (2011–2013) – Currently with Phoenix Rising * Wil Trapp (2011–2012) – Currently with

Minnesota United FC Minnesota United Football Club, often shortened to MNUFC, is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the W ...

* Dillon Serna (2012) – Currently with the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

* Saad Abdul-Salaam (2012–2014) – Currently with

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

* Richie Laryea (2014–2015) – Currently with

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

* Adam Najem (2013–2016) – Currently with Bhayangkara * Jonathan Lewis (2016) – Currently with

* João Moutinho (2018) – 2018 MLS Superdraft First-Overall Draft Pick for

Los Angeles FC Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Los Angeles. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. It was establi ...

* Abdi Mohamed (2018) - Currently with

New Mexico United New Mexico United is an American professional soccer team based in Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U. ...

Previous head coaches

''Listed according to when they became head coach for Akron (year in parentheses):'' * 1950s–1960s: Stu Parry (1955) * 1970s–1980s: Bill Killen (1970), Robert Dowdy (1974), Steve Parker (1982) * 1990s–2000s (decade): Ken Lolla (1993), Caleb Porter (2006)

Honours

* NCAA Division I Championship: ** Winners (1):

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

** ''Runners-up (3):'' 1986, 2009, 2018 * Mid-American Conference tournament: ** Winners (15): 1998, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, 2013,

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

** ''Runners-up (4):'' 1995, 1997, 2001, 2006 * Mid-American Conference regular season: ** Winners (17): 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 ** ''Runners-up (5):'' 1994, 1996, 2001, 2003, 2004 * Ohio College Soccer Association: ** Winners (19): 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1971, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987 *

Mid-Continent Conference The Summit League, or The Summit, is an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic conference with its membership mostly located in the Midwestern United States, from Minnesota in the east, to the Dakotas, Nebraska and Colorado to the West, and Mis ...

Regular Season: ** Winners (1): 1991

Records

* Most Goals in a game: 14 (12–2) vs.

Cleveland State Cleveland State University (CSU) is a Public university, public research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1964 and opened for classes in 1965 after acquiring the entirety of Fenn College, a private school th ...

, September 9, 2005 * Most Goals in a half: 8 vs. Green Bay, 1986 * Lee Jackson Field attendance: 4,744 vs.

Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

, September 22, 2010 * FirstEnergy Stadium–Cub Cadet Field attendance: 5,819 vs.

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

, September 28, 2011

References

External links

* {{Big East Conference men's soccer navbox Soccer clubs in Ohio 1954 establishments in Ohio Association football clubs established in 1954