Akron University came within a penalty kick of an NCAA Title last year, and this year the Zips have already shown they have every intent of taking care of unfinished business.
The No. 1 ranked team in the country got its season started in impressive fashion, scoring a 3-0 win against No. 4 ranked North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Friday night. Goals from Eric Stevenson, Perry Kitchen and Darlington Nagbe provided the difference for Akron, while goalkeeper David Meves made six saves to preserve the shutout.
Friday night wasn't a great one for the ACC, widely-regarded as the top conference in the nation. ACC's nationally-ranked squads went 1-2-2 on Friday night, with only defending national champion Virginia scoring a victory.
Here is a rundown of how some of the top teams in the nation fared on Friday night:
FRIDAY NIGHT COLLEGE SCOREBOARD
No. 2 Virginia 2, UAB 1. Will Bates scored the game-winner in the 74th minute to help complete a second-half comeback.
No. 3 Wake Forest 2, Seton Hall 2. An 87th-minute goal from freshman Luca Gimenez helped the Demon Deacons avoid the upset.
No. 5 UCLA 1, Notre Dame 0. Sophomore Ryan Hollingshead notched the winner for the Bruins.
No. 24 Michigan State 4, No. 6 Maryland 3 (OT). Terps fall at home in overtime after a flurry of goals in regulation.
No. 11 Duke 0, No. 20 Louisville 0. Sophomore goalkeeper James Belshaw made 15 saves, including a penalty save in overtime, to help Duke survive an early red card.
No. 15 Monmouth 1, West Virginia 0 (OT). Freshman Jacob Rubinstein scored the overtime game-winner off an assist from Ryan Kinne.
California 2, No. 20 Indiana 1 (OT). Senior Davis Paul scored in the 107th minute to help the Golden Bears score the road upset in overtime.
No. 18 Ohio State 1, College of Charleston 0. Sophomore Chris Hegngi scored the loan goal for the Buckeyes.
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Surprised to see ACC schools struggle early? Think anybody can beat Akron?
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U of San Francisco also upset #9 Northwestern, 1-0
He was pursued by D.C. United last year.
Way to go Akron, I love seeing a non power house school dominating the way they have the last few years. Akron is in the MAC conferance, and I hope to see them when they play Hartwick on Nov. 6th in Oneonta, NY. Coach Porter has really made the team one that other schools dont want to face. I would not be suprised if he is offered a coaching job in the MLS in a few years. Go Zips, bring home the NCAA Championship this season.
Damn Akron is nasty. 3-0 at UNC … well done Zips. What conference does Akron play in again?
Look out for the Michigan State Spartans.
They have now taken out Duke and Maryland in their last two games.