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By Patrick McManamon
Beacon Journal sports writer
POSTED: 09:06 p.m. EST, Dec 01, 2008
Did the University of Akron men's soccer team get shafted over the weekend?
It sure seems that way.
The NCAA sent its fifth seed in the men's tournament on the road, depriving a team that lost once during the season of the home-field edge it had rightly earned.
Yes, UA could have won at Northwestern. Zips coach Caleb Porter would not blame the loss on the site. ''No excuses,'' he said Monday, even though UA dominated second-half play with 12 shots compared to Northwestern's two.
But the NCAA did rob the Zips of one of its strengths — the home-field, or hometown, edge.
The NCAA played weatherman and safety regulator and deemed the Northwestern field safer, even though the teams wound up playing in deplorable conditions.
But, hey. . .the NCAA said the field was ''playable,'' never mind the white-cap waves on Lake Michigan in the background and the snow and sleet that fell sideways.
The NCAA has rules, and sometimes they are applied in Byzantine ways. For the men's soccer tournament, the NCAA rule states that if a home field is unplayable because of weather, a game will be moved to the visiting team's site.
This makes sense. Player safety, after all, is of the highest priority. But it did not make sense as applied to UA in this instance.
Lee Jackson Field was not used for the Zips' second-round game last Tuesday because of miserable weather conditions that hampered the most strenuous efforts of the grounds crew to ready the field.
Instead, the game was played at St. Vincent-St. Mary the next day, and UA won.
Shortly after, the NCAA decreed UA's third-round game the following Sunday against Northwestern should be moved to Northwestern.
It discussed this decision four-five days before the game was to be played, and announced it four days before game time. The first Porter heard of it was 30 minutes after the Zips beat Ohio State, with 2,500 in attendance at St. V-M.
Never mind that everyone at UA was ready, willing and able to prepare the field, even if it meant working around the clock. And that meant everyone — from the coach to the athletic director.
But D'Ann Keller, the NCAA's associate director of championships, said she had been told by two members of the UA administration that the field could not be made playable by Sunday.
''In a perfect world, we would have loved to have Akron host,'' Keller said.
Zips folks want to know who made those statements to Keller, because they can't be found.
Too, it does not sound difficult to wait until Friday to make a decision. Northwestern was not planning to leave for Akron until Friday afternoon. But the decision was made midweek.
If the admirable concern was player safety, how does it add up that the game was moved to the Windy City of Chicago to play on a field located right next to Lake Michigan?
Conditions Sunday were miserable. Kids played in shorts in a gale, with sleet and snow and ice that blew sideways, pelting the face so that skin tingled.
That was judged ''safe'' — yet four days before the actual game, UA's field was judge ''unsafe.''
No sense putting our heads in the sand on this one.
Clearly, someone lobbied the NCAA to move the game, whether out of concern for safety or out of a big-school haughtiness that theirs was the better venue. UA lost an edge, which matters when a team chases a national title.
Since 2005, UA has lost just twice in 47 games at Lee Jackson. In those games, the Zips outscored opponents 117-19 and gave up just 0.40 goal per game.
In the tournament games Sunday, all eight winners played on their home field.
And one of those teams was allowed to move its ''home'' game to another local venue. North Carolina's field turned out to be unplayable, so the game was moved to a suburb of Raleigh and played five hours later than scheduled.
Keller said that happened because North Carolina's opponent was already in Chapel Hill, much like Ohio State was in Akron when that game was moved.
But Sunday, Wake Forest played in standing water, and in the first round Notre Dame hosted a game in muck and Dartmouth was allowed to shift to a different field.
Bottom line: UA earned the right to play at home in the tournament with the way it played during the season.
''That's why we worked as hard as we did in every single game,'' Porter said. ''And it was really all for naught.''
Instead of moving a mile away to play — the extreme possibility — the Zips bused for seven hours, and Northwestern gained an advantage.
UA Athletic Director Mack Rhoades said he was ''incredibly disappointed in the way the NCAA handled this and the way this decision was made.''
''I think we deserved the opportunity to respond and do the best we could to get our field ready to play,'' Rhoades said. ''I don't think we were given that opportunity.
''I don't think one or two members of the Men's Soccer Committee should make that decision on their own, as well.''
Said Keller, who insisted it was not a UA vs. NCAA issue: ''I had two different sources at the university saying it would not be ready. I have pictures of the field.''
Rhoades said the Zips were not given the option of finding another venue — such as St. V-M or even the Rubber Bowl. Instead, the NCAA decreed the work could not be done, the game would be moved — per its rules.
''I don't think the NCAA should dictate who wins championships,'' Rhoades said. ''I think student-athletes and coaches should.''
Rhoades will ask the NCAA to reconsider how these decisions are made, but he knows as well as anyone that the shame of the situation is that it ends a stellar season for UA soccer on a very down note.
''A great, great year,'' Rhoades said of the season and the effort put forth by Porter, Steve Zakuani and his teammates.
''That is the best soccer team in the nation in my mind,'' UA basketball coach Keith Dambrot said on WARF. ''We should have a parade for those guys.''
Complaining about the site does have its pitfalls. Nobody kept UA from winning in Northwestern, and nobody could guarantee Northwestern would not win in Akron.
But the way things were handled and the way it played out. . .well, it pretty much stunk.
If the NCAA really is all that interested in player safety, why not move the season earlier in the year so tournament games aren't affected by wintry conditions?
Failing that, maintain the integrity of the season and the seedings by allowing home teams the flexibility of finding an alternate ''home'' site. Teams earn that seeding with their work during the season, when they beat good teams and do not let up against not-so-good teams.
If North Carolina can shift its game and it works, then the same works for UA.
UA's team gave its best to its school and its community all season long.
It's a shame the rule makers running things couldn't do the same.
Did the University of Akron men's soccer team get shafted over the weekend?
It sure seems that way.
The NCAA sent its fifth seed in the men's tournament on the road, depriving a team that lost once during the season of the home-field edge it had rightly earned.
Yes, UA could have won at Northwestern. Zips coach Caleb Porter would not blame the loss on the site. ''No excuses,'' he said Monday, even though UA dominated second-half play with 12 shots compared to Northwestern's two.
But the NCAA did rob the Zips of one of its strengths — the home-field, or hometown, edge.
The NCAA played weatherman and safety regulator and deemed the Northwestern field safer, even though the teams wound up playing in deplorable conditions.
But, hey. . .the NCAA said the field was ''playable,'' never mind the white-cap waves on Lake Michigan in the background and the snow and sleet that fell sideways.
The NCAA has rules, and sometimes they are applied in Byzantine ways. For the men's soccer tournament, the NCAA rule states that if a home field is unplayable because of weather, a game will be moved to the visiting team's site.
This makes sense. Player safety, after all, is of the highest priority. But it did not make sense as applied to UA in this instance.
Lee Jackson Field was not used for the Zips' second-round game last Tuesday because of miserable weather conditions that hampered the most strenuous efforts of the grounds crew to ready the field.
Instead, the game was played at St. Vincent-St. Mary the next day, and UA won.
Shortly after, the NCAA decreed UA's third-round game the following Sunday against Northwestern should be moved to Northwestern.
It discussed this decision four-five days before the game was to be played, and announced it four days before game time. The first Porter heard of it was 30 minutes after the Zips beat Ohio State, with 2,500 in attendance at St. V-M.
Never mind that everyone at UA was ready, willing and able to prepare the field, even if it meant working around the clock. And that meant everyone — from the coach to the athletic director.
But D'Ann Keller, the NCAA's associate director of championships, said she had been told by two members of the UA administration that the field could not be made playable by Sunday.
''In a perfect world, we would have loved to have Akron host,'' Keller said.
Zips folks want to know who made those statements to Keller, because they can't be found.
Too, it does not sound difficult to wait until Friday to make a decision. Northwestern was not planning to leave for Akron until Friday afternoon. But the decision was made midweek.
If the admirable concern was player safety, how does it add up that the game was moved to the Windy City of Chicago to play on a field located right next to Lake Michigan?
Conditions Sunday were miserable. Kids played in shorts in a gale, with sleet and snow and ice that blew sideways, pelting the face so that skin tingled.
That was judged ''safe'' — yet four days before the actual game, UA's field was judge ''unsafe.''
No sense putting our heads in the sand on this one.
Clearly, someone lobbied the NCAA to move the game, whether out of concern for safety or out of a big-school haughtiness that theirs was the better venue. UA lost an edge, which matters when a team chases a national title.
Since 2005, UA has lost just twice in 47 games at Lee Jackson. In those games, the Zips outscored opponents 117-19 and gave up just 0.40 goal per game.
In the tournament games Sunday, all eight winners played on their home field.
And one of those teams was allowed to move its ''home'' game to another local venue. North Carolina's field turned out to be unplayable, so the game was moved to a suburb of Raleigh and played five hours later than scheduled.
Keller said that happened because North Carolina's opponent was already in Chapel Hill, much like Ohio State was in Akron when that game was moved.
But Sunday, Wake Forest played in standing water, and in the first round Notre Dame hosted a game in muck and Dartmouth was allowed to shift to a different field.
Bottom line: UA earned the right to play at home in the tournament with the way it played during the season.
''That's why we worked as hard as we did in every single game,'' Porter said. ''And it was really all for naught.''
Instead of moving a mile away to play — the extreme possibility — the Zips bused for seven hours, and Northwestern gained an advantage.
UA Athletic Director Mack Rhoades said he was ''incredibly disappointed in the way the NCAA handled this and the way this decision was made.''
''I think we deserved the opportunity to respond and do the best we could to get our field ready to play,'' Rhoades said. ''I don't think we were given that opportunity.
''I don't think one or two members of the Men's Soccer Committee should make that decision on their own, as well.''
Said Keller, who insisted it was not a UA vs. NCAA issue: ''I had two different sources at the university saying it would not be ready. I have pictures of the field.''
Rhoades said the Zips were not given the option of finding another venue — such as St. V-M or even the Rubber Bowl. Instead, the NCAA decreed the work could not be done, the game would be moved — per its rules.
''I don't think the NCAA should dictate who wins championships,'' Rhoades said. ''I think student-athletes and coaches should.''
Rhoades will ask the NCAA to reconsider how these decisions are made, but he knows as well as anyone that the shame of the situation is that it ends a stellar season for UA soccer on a very down note.
''A great, great year,'' Rhoades said of the season and the effort put forth by Porter, Steve Zakuani and his teammates.
''That is the best soccer team in the nation in my mind,'' UA basketball coach Keith Dambrot said on WARF. ''We should have a parade for those guys.''
Complaining about the site does have its pitfalls. Nobody kept UA from winning in Northwestern, and nobody could guarantee Northwestern would not win in Akron.
But the way things were handled and the way it played out. . .well, it pretty much stunk.
If the NCAA really is all that interested in player safety, why not move the season earlier in the year so tournament games aren't affected by wintry conditions?
Failing that, maintain the integrity of the season and the seedings by allowing home teams the flexibility of finding an alternate ''home'' site. Teams earn that seeding with their work during the season, when they beat good teams and do not let up against not-so-good teams.
If North Carolina can shift its game and it works, then the same works for UA.
UA's team gave its best to its school and its community all season long.
It's a shame the rule makers running things couldn't do the same.
Comments
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cuyahoga falls, oh
Posted 09:35 PM, 12/01/2008
the NCAA should learn to whinny through its backside so it can live up to its reputation...
nothing new in this article that anyone older than seven didn't already know.
