Fans gathered at the Barley House in Akron to cheer the University of Akron's soccer team to victory Sunday during a nail-biting 1-0 win.
Fans at the Barley House in Akron cheer the University of Akron's soccer team on to victory Sunday. About 30 members of the nearly 2,000 strong University of Akron Ak-Rowdies, a student athletic team support group, made the trip to California Sunday to cheer their soccer team on to the school's first-ever NCAA national championship.
It only took five members who stayed behind to galvanize an entire standing-room only watch party at the Barley House in Akron -- chanting, screaming, drumming tables and ringing a cowbell -- all the way to a nail-biting 1-0 victory over Louisville Sunday afternoon.
"This is totally awesome," said Jeff Wellert, 26, of Doylestown, breaking free from a jumping group huddle after the win. "The first time for an Akron team, ever!"
Last year's soccer team made it to the finals and suffered a heartbreaking loss to Virginia in a shootout after a scoreless draw. A crowd of more than 200 students, alumni and Zips fans gathered at Barley House to watch the game on more than 20 large-screen televisions.
The bar televised Friday's win over Michigan to a packed crowd as well.
After a scoreless first half, the Zips came out strong in the second, taking shot after shot -- leaving many fans with an acute case of anxiety.
"Your heart is up in your throat," said Nancy Kulick, a 1976 graduate who met her husband, Mike, at Akron. "These kids are so talented, it's really amazing."
Brian Cassidy, 37, of Akron, hopes that the national spotlight will attract more soccer fans in the area and earn some well-deserved respect for the team.
"This is a big deal for Northeast Ohio, not just for Akron," he said. Cassidy is a member of the Akron Outlaws, a local chapter of the national nonprofit American Outlaws that encourages soccer fans to support the sport. Twelve members from across the area attended Sunday's event.
But it was the Ak-Rowdies who kept the crowd alive through 78 minutes of scoreless play. Anthony Schupp, 22, a senior from Willoughby, and Mike Reynolds, 25, of Wadsworth, have been to every Zips soccer game for the past three seasons.
Almost every one, Schupp corrects. He was thrown out of one game for "being a little too rowdy" with a bullhorn.
Their job is to support their teams, to stay at all the games until the end, and to "chant and go crazy."
Which they did. After every failed goal attempt they buoyed the crowd, chanting "Let's Go, Zips!" until everyone picked up the cheer.
And with 11 minutes left in the second half, the whole bar went crazy when sophomore midfielder Scott Caldwell kicked the winning goal.
The bar erupted in a shared whoop, chairs toppled as about 200 people simultaneously launched from their seats and swept each other into a round of rough embraces and beer-spilling toasts.
As they would at any other game, the Ak-Rowdies took to the stage at the front of the bar, blue and gold Akron scarves waving, and led the crowd in the traditional "I believe" chant, building a call and response until the whole place boomed: "I believe that we have won!"