Akron men's soccer team's win over Cleveland State shows Zips are ready for stretch run
Don’t look now, but the University of Akron men’s soccer team is doing what it usually does when the leaves turn colors.
As the temperatures drop, the Zips rise.
On Tuesday that came in the form of a 4-0 non-league win over Cleveland State.
That’s become the norm this time of year for a UA team ready to close out Mid-American Conference play before heading to what it hopes is another deep NCAA Tournament run.
Picture This:Photos from the men's soccer game between Akron and Cleveland State on Oct. 25, 2022.
“I think we build confidence,” Zips coach Jared Embick said. “I think when we get to October and November, we have a good idea of what we're really good at and we fine tune some things. Then, it's all about just keeping the edge and the mentality and performing at a good level. I think that's what you saw today.”
What Zips fans saw in the win over the Vikings (9-3-3) was a team ready for the stretch run.
With league games at Northern Illinois Oct. 29 and home matches against Chicago State on Nov. 2 and Western Michigan on Nov. 6, the path is simple.
Stay on the roll they’re on now and glean from the past.
The Zips haven’t lost since a 1-0 setback to Penn State on Sept. 25.
Since that time, they are 5-0-2 and have outscored opponents 19-2.
“I think the first game is very important to kind of set the tone for the rest of the year,” Hudson graduate and UA defender Will Jackson said. “We have to take that mentality and build on top of it. We have to keep pushing.”
Look here, ignore what's over there
That means not overlooking Northern Illinois (5-6-4, 2-3-1) and Chicago State (1-11-3, 0-6) before what should be a winner-take-all regular season finale against Western Michigan (11-2-1, 3-1-1) for the conference crown.
The Zips beat Northern Illinois 4-1 the first time they played them and squashed Chicago State 8-0.
The Broncos are a different beast, but the Zips handed them their only league loss in a 1-0 thriller on Oct. 13.
Win those three, and the seeds take care of themselves for the MAC Tournament and hopefully the NCAA Tournament for a Zips team that had a No. 18 RPI coming into the week.
“It's so important to realize that every opponent is a Division I college team,” UA forward Jason Shokalook said. “They're very strong guys and we need to show up each day and have the mindset that it’s a national final. We need to get our team ready for these games and everyone needs to stay focused.”
History lessons are important
After that, it’s a matter of listening to what Embick says and trust in a coach that has a 122-52-24 record as the lead man at UA.
“The team, in my opinion, is ready to take on these three games and do what we need to do,” Embick said. “This is where you have to find out and that’s on the road in a place where we've struggled as of late.
“We have to deal with that game and get the result, but I feel like this team is capable and ready to go on a long run. It's all about our mentality, maintaining the focus each day and continuing to stay on task and not look ahead or behind too much. Just stay in the moment.”
Do that and it’ll be another November to Remember on East Exchange.
“We scored two goals in two minutes [against Cleveland State] and for me that's a great sign of what we're looking for mentality wise,” Embick said. “It’s a fast start. Once we get there, we need to continue to attack.
“I think against Bowling Green [a 0-0 tie last week] we just kind of started a little slow and gave up some minutes in the game under tough conditions that maybe we needed at the end of the game. I was pleased that we came out ready to go tonight and were firing and stayed on it the whole game.”
Contact Brad Bournival at bbournival@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @bbournival.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron men's soccer has postseason mentality with three games remaining
