# 2017 Akron Zips men's soccer team

The 2017 Akron Zips men's soccer team represented The University of Akron during the 2017 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. The Zips, played in the Mid-American Conference.
The Zips ended their 12-year reign as the MAC regular season champions, as an upstart campaign by Western Michigan saw the Broncos beat the Zips on tiebreaker. In the Mid-American Conference Men's Soccer Tournament, Akron defeated Western Michigan, 3-1, in the championship match to win their sixth straight MAC Tournament championship. The championship ensured the program's 14th-straight berth into the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament. In the NCAA Tournament, Akron advanced to their fifth-ever College Cup after posting victories over Seattle U, Wisconsin, and Louisville.
The Zips were guided by fifth-year head coach, Jared Embick.

## Roster

    As of December 1, 2017
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | GER | Ben Lundt |
| 2 | DF | POR | João Moutinho |
| 3 | DF | USA | Nick Hinds |
| 4 | DF | USA | Niko de Vera |
| 5 | DF | USA | Marc Alexander |
| 6 | MF | USA | Skye Harter |
| 7 | FW | ENG | Sam Gainford |
| 8 | DF | USA | Morgan Hackworth |
| 9 | FW | NZL | Stuart Holthusen |
| 10 | MF | POR | Manuel Cordeiro |
| 11 | FW | CAN | Marcel Zajac |
| 12 | MF | CAN | Reggie Laryea |
| 13 | MF | ESP | Pau Belana |
| 14 | FW | NGA | David Egbo |
| 15 | FW | ERI | Ezana Kahsay |
| 16 | DF | USA | Shane Wiedt |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | DF | USA | Joe Korb |
| 18 | DF | USA | Nate Shultz |
| 19 | MF | BRA | Dener Dos Santos |
| 20 | DF | USA | Alex Mapp |
| 21 | MF | USA | Christian Lue Young |
| 22 | DF | USA | Jackson Crawford |
| 23 | MF | CMR | Barth-Luther Mouafo |
| 24 | GK | USA | Tor Saunders |
| 25 | DF | USA | Daniel Strachan |
| 26 | MF | CAN | Faisal Ghaffur |
| 27 | DF | IRL | Declan Watters |
| 28 | GK | USA | Nick Costa |
| 29 | FW | USA | Braden Petno |
| 30 | GK | USA | Codie Lynd |
| 31 | DF | CAN | Nate Brown |

## Schedule

| Date Time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site City, State |
| Exhibition ||||||
| August 16* 1:00 p.m. | No. 16 | Penn State | W 1–0 | | FirstEnergy Stadium (1,154) Akron, OH |
| August 19* 4:00 p.m. | No. 16 | Loyola (MD) | L 0–1 | | FirstEnergy Stadium (1,195) Akron, OH |
| Regular Season ||||||
| August 25* 9:00 p.m. | No. 16 | at No. 18 Utah Valley | L 0–1 | 0–1–0 | Clyde Field (4,351) Orem, UT |
| August 28* 7:00 p.m., SLTV | No. 16 | at No. 3 Denver | L 0–1 | 0–2–0 | CIBER Field (503) Denver, CO |
| September 1* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | No. 24 | No. 10 Washington | W 2–0 | 1–2–0 | FirstEnergy Stadium (1,987) Akron, OH |
| September 9* 10:00 p.m. | | at UC Santa Barbara | W 3–1 | 2–2–0 | Harder Stadium (1,759) Santa Barbara, CA |
| September 16* 7:00 p.m., A10N | | at Saint Louis | T 0–0 $^{2OT}$ | 2–2–1 | Hermann Stadium (601) St. Louis, MO |
| September 24* 12:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | No. 21 UMass Lowell | W 5–0 | 3–2–1 | FirstEnergy Stadium (1,320) Akron, OH |
| September 27* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | No. 4 Michigan State | W 4–1 | 4–2–1 | FirstEnergy Stadium (2,454) Akron, OH |
| September 30* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | St. Mary's | W 2–1 $^{2OT}$ | 5–2–1 | FirstEnergy Stadium (1,813) Akron, OH |
| October 3* 7:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 25 | at Syracuse | W 1–0 | 6–2–1 | SU Soccer Stadium (1,172) Syracuse, NY |
| October 7 1:00 p.m., WMTV | No. 25 | at No. 12 Western Michigan | L 0–1 | 6–3–1 (0–1–0) | WMU Soccer Complex (923) Kalamazoo, MI |
| October 10* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Cleveland State | W 2–0 | 7–3–1 | FirstEnergy Stadium (1,844) Akron, OH |
| October 13 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | SIU Edwardsville | W 3–1 | 8–3–1 (1–1–0) | FirstEnergy Stadium (1,560) Akron, OH |
| October 17* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | No. 19 | No. 12 Notre Dame | W 2–0 | 9–3–1 | FirstEnergy Stadium (1,905) Akron, OH |
| October 21 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | No. 19 | Bowling Green | W 2–1 $^{OT}$ | 10–3–1 (2–1–0) | FirstEnergy Stadium (1,809) Akron, OH |
| October 24* 7:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 14 | at Pittsburgh | W 3–0 | 11–3–1 | Ambrose Urbanic Field (707) Pittsburgh, PA |
| October 27 7:00 p.m., WVUS | No. 14 | at West Virginia | W 4–0 | 12–3–1 (3–1–0) | Dick Dlesk Stadium (832) Morgantown, WV |
| November 1* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | No. 10 | Marshall | W 2–0 | 13–3–1 | FirstEnergy Stadium (1,252) Akron, OH |
| November 4 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | No. 10 | Northern Illinois Senior Night | W 4–0 | 14–3–1 (4–1–0) | FirstEnergy Stadium (2,061) Akron, OH |
| MAC Tournament ||||||
| November 10 11:00 a.m., WMTV | (2) No. 7 | vs. (3) SIU Edwardsville Semifinals | W 2–1 $^{2OT}$ | 15–3–1 | WMU Soccer Complex (479) Kalamazoo, MI |
| November 12 1:00 p.m., ESPN3 | (2) No. 7 | at (1) No. 4 Western Michigan MAC Championship | W 3–1 | 16–3–1 | WMU Soccer Complex (650) Kalamazoo, MI |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| November 19* 1:00 p.m., ESPN3 | (5) No. 4 | No. 23 Seattle U Second Round | W 3–0 | 17–3–1 | FirstEnergy Stadium (1,739) Akron, OH |
| November 25* 4:00 p.m., ESPN3 | (5) No. 4 | No. 20 Wisconsin Third Round | W 3–2 | 18–3–1 | FirstEnergy Stadium (2,089) Akron, OH |
| December 1* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | (5) No. 4 | at (4) No. 9 Louisville Quarterfinals | T 0–0 (W 4–3 PK) $^{2OT}$ | 18–3–2 | Lynn Stadium (3,179) Louisville, KY |
| December 8* 6:00 p.m., ESPNU | (5) No. 4 | vs. (9) No. 3 Stanford Semifinals | L 0–2 | 18–4–2 | Talen Energy Stadium (4,948) Chester, PA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## Rankings
### National rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
| United Soccer | 16 | 24 | RV | RV | | RV | RV | RV | 19 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 4 | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | |
| TopDrawer Soccer | 13 | 13 | 16 | — | | | 24 | 8 | 12 | 15 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | | |
| CollegeSoccerNews.com | N/A | 20 | 26 | 25 | RV | 29 | 17 | 21 | 17 | 15 | 11 | 10 | 5 | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | |

### Regional rankings

Ranking movements :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
| USC Midwest Region | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## Season statistics

Individual Player Statistics (As of December 2, 2017) :
| Player | App | Goals | Asst | Points | Shots | Shot% | SOG | SOG% | GW | Pk-Att | GA | Saves | SO |
| Forwards ||||||||||||||
| Egbo, David | 17 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 21 | .048 | 7 | .333 | 1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gainford, Sam | 17 | 10 | 5 | 25 | 40 | .200 | 24 | .480 | 5 | 2-3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Holthusen, Stuart | 23 | 12 | 3 | 27 | 52 | .231 | 23 | .442 | 5 | 2-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kahsay, Ezana | 21 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 22 | .091 | 5 | .227 | 2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Petno, Braden | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zajac, Marcel | 18 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 26 | .154 | 11 | .423 | 1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||||
| Belana, Pau | 21 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 11 | .000 | 2 | .182 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cordeiro, Manuel | 22 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 34 | .059 | 13 | .382 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Crawford, Jackson | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1.000 | 1 | 1.000 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dos Santos, Dener | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ghaffur, Faisal | 14 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | .333 | 1 | .333 | 1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Harter, Skye | 23 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 18 | .222 | 9 | .500 | 1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lue Young, Christian | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mouafo, Barth-Luther | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1.000 | 1 | 1.000 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||||
| Alexander, Marc | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brown, Nate | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| De Vera, Niko | 22 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 5 | .000 | 2 | .400 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hackworth, Morgan | 21 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 6 | .000 | 2 | .333 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hinds, Nick | 22 | 6 | 4 | 16 | 20 | .300 | 9 | .450 | 1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Korb, Joe | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | .000 | 3 | .600 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Laryea, Reggie | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | .500 | 1 | .500 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mapp, Alex | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Moutinho, Joao | 23 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 38 | .079 | 17 | .447 | 1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Schultz, Nate | 22 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 11 | .182 | 4 | .364 | 1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Strachan, Daniel | 23 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | .000 | 1 | .250 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Watters, Declan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wiedt, Shane | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||||
| Costa, Nick | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lundt, Ben | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0-0 | 10 | 46 | 10 |
| Lynd, Codie | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Saunders, Tor | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0-0 | 2 | 8 | 2 |
| Total | 23 | 50 | 54 | 154 | 334 | .150 | 136 | .407 | 18 | 4-5 | 12 | 59 | 12 |
| Opponents | 23 | 12 | 9 | 33 | 172 | .070 | 71 | .413 | 3 | 1-2 | 59 | 86 | 5 |

## MLS Draft

The following members of 2017 Akron Zips men's soccer team were selected in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft.
| Player | Round | Pick | Position | MLS club | Ref. |
| João Moutinho | 1 | 1 | DF | Los Angeles FC | |
| Niko De Vera | 2 | 31 | DF | New York Red Bulls | |