Preview courtesy of Akron Sports Information
No. 4 Akron (18-3-2) vs. No. 8 Stanford (17-2-2)
Friday, Dec. 11
Sporting Park (18,467)
Kansas City, Kan. • 8:30 p.m. ET
Live Stats: www.gozips.com
Television: ESPNU OR
Watch ESPN
NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament Bracket
WHAT'S AHEAD
Fourth-seeded Akron continues its quest to capture its second-ever NCAA Championship on Friday, Dec. 11, as the Zips battle eighth-seeded Stanford in the second semifinal of the NCAA College Cup at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan. Game time is set for approximately 8:36 p.m. ET. ESPNU and Watch ESPN will carry the game with Glenn Davis and Taylor Twellman calling the action. Clemson will face Syracuse in the other College Cup semifinal at 6:06 p.m. ET on Friday, Dec. 11.
ZIPS' NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Akron maintains an 25-24-7 mark in 56 matches in NCAA Championship history, including capturing the school's first national championship in any sport in 2010. The Zips are 4-1-1 under head coach Jared Embick. Since 2005, Akron owns a 16-4-7 ledger.
Senior Andrew Souders (Amherst, Ohio) is Akron's active leader in NCAA Tournament games started (7). Sophomore Stuart Holthusen (Auckland, New Zealand) own a team-high three goals each in career tournament play, while juniors Adam Najem (Clifton, N.J. and Victor Souto (Sao Paulo, Brazil), sophomore Richie Laryea (Toronto, Ontario (Canada)), and redshirt junior Goncalo Soares (Lisbon, Portugal) have recorded two, two, two and one tournament goal(s) in their Akron careers. Najem has registered a team-best four tournament assists as a Zip, while recording two, one and one helper, respectively, has been Laryea, Holthusen and senior Sean Sepe (West Islip, N.Y.). Najem enters action versus Stanford as the team's NCAA Tournament career scoring leader with eight points on the strength of two goals and four assists.
Najem has recorded a team-best 20 shots, including 10 on goal. Najem, Holthusen, Laryea, Sepe, Souto, redshirt sophomore Robby Dambrot (Akron, Ohio), Soares, senior Brad Ruhaak (Akron, Ohio), sophomore Adi Dakwar (Fassouta, Israel ), redshirt sophomore Sam Gainford (Liverpool, England), sophomore Anthony Macchione (Camas, Wash.), sophomore Jesse Garcia-Aguilar (Portland, Ore.), redshirt junior Danilo Radjen (Broadview Heights, Ohio), redshirt sophomore Tyler Sanda (North Royalton, Ohio), sophomore Nate Shultz (Mayfield, Ohio), Souders, have recorded 20, 16, 11, 12, six, six, five, five, three, three, two, one, one, one, one and one shot, respectively. In six NCAA Tournament starts in goal, senior Jake Fenlason (San Diego, Calif.) has made 33 saves.
Akron maintains 2-0-1 all-time mark in College Cup semifinal contests. The Zips bettered Fresno State, 1-0, in 1986, and Michigan, 2-1, in 2010, while earning a 0-0 double-overtime draw with North Carolina in 2009.
When postseason play began, the Zips joined an elite group of just five Division I programs that have qualified for the NCAA Championships in each of the past nine seasons. Only Indiana, Maryland, UCLA, and Virginia can share that claim.
AKRON-STANFORD NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
The Zips have met Stanford one other time in NCAA Championship play with Akron registering a 2-0 victory in the third round of the NCAA Tournament on Nov. 29, 2009, at FirstEnergy Stadium - Cub Cadet Field.
SERIES HISTORY
Friday evening's game is the third meeting between Akron and Stanford. The Zips lead the all-time series, 2-0-0. Akron posted a 4-3 overtime decision at Stanford on Oct. 2, 1994, while besting the Cardinal, 2-0, in the third round of the NCAA Tournament on Nov. 29, 2009.
