Tonight is Akron's first regular-season nationally televised soccer game, at home against No. 2 Tulsa (6-0), and the Zips look to set an attendance mark upward of 4,300 at Lee Jackson Field.
View full sizeMichael NanchoffAKRON, Ohio — The 2010 men's college soccer season started on a high for No. 1-ranked Akron, and it just keeps getting higher.
"We are just five games into the season," junior tri-captain Michael Nanchoff said. "We're playing well, but we can play better. We've beaten some good teams, but we will have to beat more to get where we want to go."
Nanchoff, a product of Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls, has seen a lot through the eyes of his father, George, and Uncle Louie who were four-year letter winners and two-time All-Americans playing soccer for the Zips. But none of this Northeast Ohio soccer family has seen anything like this on the college level.
The Zips (5-0), last season's NCAA runners-up, have not allowed a goal this season. They have beaten then-No. 4 North Carolina and No. 3 Wake Forest on the road; and opened a new and improved home field last weekend before a boisterous crowd of 4,200.
"That was one of the best atmospheres I've ever experienced in my entire life," Nanchoff said.
Now comes Akron's first regular-season nationally televised soccer game, tonight against No. 2 Tulsa (6-0). And the record-keepers are on notice. The Zips look to set an attendance mark upward of 4,300 at Lee Jackson Field.
"They are a team that likes to play and not sit back," Nanchoff said of Tulsa. "We're definitely looking forward to a true soccer game. And I think the crowd will be incredible. It will be electric.
"Last year was such an incredible season. But the way we started this year, we've set a new tone. There is still a lot of work to be done. We've got to keep proving ourselves. We know we've got a target on our back. But we would not want to be in any other position."
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