The Kings of Akron

Building a winning tradition is a meticulous process and somewhere on the campus of Akron University one might just find the spirit of Stu Parry brooding over a cauldron in a basement hall perfecting his magic potion.

In 1981 I graduated high school in Western, NY. I had been playing soccer all of three years with little background or knowledge of the sport when two of my teammates left on scholarship to play at a college I had never heard of somewhere just south of Cleveland.

Three years later I would play for a soon to be defunct outdoor pro team in the USL and against a young Kenny Lolla who had recently finished his collegiate career at Duke. The following year we would both gravitate to Canton, Ohio to play for the newly formed indoor soccer Canton Invaders. As fortune would have it I made an early exit from the squad and Ken and the Invaders went on to win the first of many AISA championships. Happenstance afforded me a second opportunity at a soccer career and a bus trip from Buffalo landed me on a team in Columbus, Ohio. While at Columbus and through a four year stint in Fort Wayne, Indiana the Canton franchise continued to dominate all comers. In Fort Wayne our coach and star scorer were the DiBernardo brothers of Indiana University and New York Cosmos fame. By now Ken Lolla had taken the head coaching job at Akron U and over the next decade would build the team to become an annual rival of the IU powerhouse.

My education on the history of college soccer slowly progressed and after a quick jaunt with the World Champion San Diego Sockers I landed in Cleveland where another pair of brothers were amongst the iconic soccer greats known as the Cleveland Force. George and Louie Nanchoff, Macedonian brothers who played at Akron U in the mid-70's, for the US Olympic and National Teams and had very successful careers in the NASL and MISL, had become fixtures in the NE Ohio soccer scene.

If you spend enough time in the soccer realm you soon realize that the circle within which we operate is a small one and the standard 'six degrees of separation' seems to be reduced to a factor of two or three at best. Sure this is a convoluted way to congratulate the Akron Zips on bringing home their schools very first NCAA championship in any sport. But for the NE Ohio soccer family this is an achievement that needs to be recognized, commended, celebrated and maybe most importantly shared.

It should be noted that after losing the 2009 championship game in the most excruciating manner and sending their three biggest stars from that squad, Bunbury, Gavin, and Stow native and CVCA standout Ben Zemanski, into the Major Soccer League, returning to the final match in 2010 was a monumental task in itself.

The Zips dropped their only match this year to another local school, coached by another Cleveland legend, Ali Kazemaini. Ali not only played at Cleveland State, was drafted by the Cleveland Force, named MISL Rookie of the Year in 1985 but went on to coach John Carroll for 13 seasons before returning to his alma-mater to be the only team in the country to beat the now national champs.

There are no downsides.

Akron's winning tradition began over a half a century ago with club team founder and 15 year head coach Stu Parry in 1954. The torch was then carried by successors, Bill Killen, Robert Dowdy and Steve Parker who took the school to its first title game in 1986. Ken Lolla kept the ship on course until his departure to Louisville in 2006.

Coach Caleb Porter brought plenty of tradition with him from his years as a player, captain and head coach at Indiana University. He has thoughtfully integrated his experience, carefully nurturing the work of his predecessors and will eventually pass it all along to a future leader of the Zip's soccer program. The opportunity to move onward and certainly upward will be offered to him again in the very near future but he will not have left his Akron post with a job unfinished. His team has brought home the crown jewel of college soccer for all those who have come before to claim as their own.

This victory is a case study for those of us who continue to try and connect the dots and understand how a small Midwest school has risen to national soccer prominence. It is a testament to the alumni who continue to cheer and run the sidelines of Lee Jackson Field each fall. It undeniably showcases family through bloodlines and the communion of sport.

The list of Akron's All-American's is long and the list of players who went on to the pro's is even longer. To the class of 2009, the Nanchoff family, Simon Spelling, Denzil Antonio, Steve Frick, Mike Apple, Benny Dargle, Shaun Pendleton, Mike Payne, Allen Eller, Evan Bush, Sinisa Ubiparipovic and all Akron alumni congratulations.

To the cast of characters from 2010 including former coach and runner-up Ken Lolla, Cleveland State coach Ali Kazemaini, soccer legacy Michael Nanchoff, Anthony Ampaipitakwong, Ben Speas, Chris Korb, Kofi Sarkodie, Andrian McAdams, Hermann Trophy nominee Darlington Nagbe, David Meves, Scott Caldwell, coach Porter, the coaching staff and the AU athletic department a sincere thank you for an exhilarating ride.

The game was won with a single goal on a shot from a rebound taking a series fortuitous bounces. The victory was preserved by a full extension dive producing a last second shoe-string save. The game was highlighted by frenetic final minute of play in which destiny directed a wide open shot directly into a defender and left even the most hardened soccer critics breathless.

This season was the stuff of legend and along side the entire NE Ohio soccer community I look forward to witnessing the next chapter of Akron soccer excellence unfold.

Thanks again boys!