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Loucile is looking for a Lake Erie getaway in June for three kids, ages 1, 3, and 5.
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Talk of the Town – Top entertainment picks for the weekend
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Akron Gamer:
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See Jane Style:
Do IT this week: Layering
By Michael Beaven
Special to the Beacon Journal
POSTED: 05:54 p.m. EST, Nov 21, 2009
His father was a professional soccer player and a close friend is a professional soccer player.
A pro soccer career probably awaits University of Akron sophomore forward Teal Bunbury, but his primary focus remains helping the Zips succeed.
Bunbury is a key reason UA (20-0-0) earned the No. 1 overall seed in the Division I NCAA Tournament and will host South Florida (14-3-3) at 4 p.m. Sunday at Lee Jackson Field in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Bunbury leads a potent UA offense with 16 goals and five assists in 20 starts, and he has helped the Zips to a No. 1 ranking in the country by all five national polls and Mid-American Conference regular season and tournament titles.
''Teal is just a physical handful,'' UA coach Caleb Porter said. ''He is fast, he is strong and he is a lethal finisher. To deal with him for 90 minutes is not easy.''
Bunbury said he talks regularly to his father, Alex Bunbury, a 15-year pro in four countries, and former UA teammate Steve Zakuani, who recently finished his first season with the Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer.
''My dad, he is always pushing me to become a better player,'' said Bunbury, a 6-foot-2, 175-pound 2008 graduate of Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault, Minn. ''He is always giving me tips. He always tells me I have a God-given talent and he encourages me to show the world what I can do.''
Bunbury was born in Hamilton, Ontario. He has also lived in England, Portugal and the United States because of his father's career.
Bunbury was the Zips' third option offensively last season as a freshman with six goals and three assists in 23 games (10 starts). Zakuani (20 goals, seven assists in 23 games) and senior Matt Tutich (six goals, nine assists in 23 games) were the top two options. Bunbury said he keeps in contact with Zakuani and values his advice.
''We're really close friends,'' said Bunbury, the oldest of four children of Alex and Kristi Bunbury. ''We talk at least once each week by Skype or phone. He's come back to Akron twice and I visited him once in Seattle. He tells me to play simple and, when the opportunity presents itself, to put it away. He encourages me to be confident, be a team player and listen to my coaches.
''My goal was to have 15 goals, but midway through the season, I changed it up to try to get to the 20-goal status.''
Porter said he was confident that Bunbury, a resident of Prior Lake, Minn., could step into the leading scorer role.
''We felt he was ready for the challenge and ready to step up in Steve's absence,'' Porter said. ''We started to see last season his game really take off. In the spring, against good opponents, he was able to score goals and then he had a great fall. He worked very hard to become a better player. He had a ton of potential, but he also needed to learn some things and he learned those things this offseason. We now see him benefiting from his hard work and his attitude. When Steve left, he knew he had to step up.''
Comparing stars
Bunbury has scored two goals in four separate games this season and accomplished the feat twice last season. Porter said he sees comparisons between Bunbury and Zakuani.
''Steve is more of a dribbler, face you up, run at you and beat you individually,'' Porter said. ''I think Teal is more of a complete forward. He plays with his back to the goal, he gets in the box and he also makes runs behind. Teal can hurt you in different ways, but Steve could hurt you in one way every time. Teal can score goals a lot of ways and Steve can score goals one way, and he is the best I have ever seen in that one way, and that is facing a guy up and running at people. Teal can do that, but he also can get goals from his movement off the ball and getting on the end of crosses.
''Steve is playing wide at the next level, and we played him up top here because we felt that was the best place for him to create goals. I have never coached a player as good as Steve at taking guys off the dribble. If you look at a lot of Steve's goals, he would pull the rabbit out of a hat and take on two or three guys. He would break the game open individually, whereas Teal can break the game open individually, but he also scores goals from collective combinations and crosses. I think he uses his teammates to help him create goals.''
Bunbury credits Porter and his teammates, including sophomore Darlington Nagbe (10 goals, three assists in 20 starts), for helping his development.
''There are so many great players on this team,'' Bunbury said. ''I would not be able to do what I am doing without my supporting cast. I'm happy I'm the leading scorer, but this is definitely not a one-man show. I am most happy that I can help my team win.''
The Zips are five victories away from winning a national title.
Look for more Zips soccer coverage
on Ohio.com on the Zips blog at
http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/zips/
His father was a professional soccer player and a close friend is a professional soccer player.
A pro soccer career probably awaits University of Akron sophomore forward Teal Bunbury, but his primary focus remains helping the Zips succeed.
Bunbury is a key reason UA (20-0-0) earned the No. 1 overall seed in the Division I NCAA Tournament and will host South Florida (14-3-3) at 4 p.m. Sunday at Lee Jackson Field in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Bunbury leads a potent UA offense with 16 goals and five assists in 20 starts, and he has helped the Zips to a No. 1 ranking in the country by all five national polls and Mid-American Conference regular season and tournament titles.
''Teal is just a physical handful,'' UA coach Caleb Porter said. ''He is fast, he is strong and he is a lethal finisher. To deal with him for 90 minutes is not easy.''
Bunbury said he talks regularly to his father, Alex Bunbury, a 15-year pro in four countries, and former UA teammate Steve Zakuani, who recently finished his first season with the Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer.
''My dad, he is always pushing me to become a better player,'' said Bunbury, a 6-foot-2, 175-pound 2008 graduate of Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault, Minn. ''He is always giving me tips. He always tells me I have a God-given talent and he encourages me to show the world what I can do.''
Bunbury was born in Hamilton, Ontario. He has also lived in England, Portugal and the United States because of his father's career.
Bunbury was the Zips' third option offensively last season as a freshman with six goals and three assists in 23 games (10 starts). Zakuani (20 goals, seven assists in 23 games) and senior Matt Tutich (six goals, nine assists in 23 games) were the top two options. Bunbury said he keeps in contact with Zakuani and values his advice.
''We're really close friends,'' said Bunbury, the oldest of four children of Alex and Kristi Bunbury. ''We talk at least once each week by Skype or phone. He's come back to Akron twice and I visited him once in Seattle. He tells me to play simple and, when the opportunity presents itself, to put it away. He encourages me to be confident, be a team player and listen to my coaches.
''My goal was to have 15 goals, but midway through the season, I changed it up to try to get to the 20-goal status.''
Porter said he was confident that Bunbury, a resident of Prior Lake, Minn., could step into the leading scorer role.
''We felt he was ready for the challenge and ready to step up in Steve's absence,'' Porter said. ''We started to see last season his game really take off. In the spring, against good opponents, he was able to score goals and then he had a great fall. He worked very hard to become a better player. He had a ton of potential, but he also needed to learn some things and he learned those things this offseason. We now see him benefiting from his hard work and his attitude. When Steve left, he knew he had to step up.''
Comparing stars
Bunbury has scored two goals in four separate games this season and accomplished the feat twice last season. Porter said he sees comparisons between Bunbury and Zakuani.
''Steve is more of a dribbler, face you up, run at you and beat you individually,'' Porter said. ''I think Teal is more of a complete forward. He plays with his back to the goal, he gets in the box and he also makes runs behind. Teal can hurt you in different ways, but Steve could hurt you in one way every time. Teal can score goals a lot of ways and Steve can score goals one way, and he is the best I have ever seen in that one way, and that is facing a guy up and running at people. Teal can do that, but he also can get goals from his movement off the ball and getting on the end of crosses.
''Steve is playing wide at the next level, and we played him up top here because we felt that was the best place for him to create goals. I have never coached a player as good as Steve at taking guys off the dribble. If you look at a lot of Steve's goals, he would pull the rabbit out of a hat and take on two or three guys. He would break the game open individually, whereas Teal can break the game open individually, but he also scores goals from collective combinations and crosses. I think he uses his teammates to help him create goals.''
Bunbury credits Porter and his teammates, including sophomore Darlington Nagbe (10 goals, three assists in 20 starts), for helping his development.
''There are so many great players on this team,'' Bunbury said. ''I would not be able to do what I am doing without my supporting cast. I'm happy I'm the leading scorer, but this is definitely not a one-man show. I am most happy that I can help my team win.''
The Zips are five victories away from winning a national title.
Look for more Zips soccer coverage
on Ohio.com on the Zips blog at
http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/zips/
Comments
Click here to post your comments
Highland Square, OH
Posted 06:12 PM, 11/21/2009
GO ZIPS! We'll be there every game!
akron, oh
Posted 12:26 PM, 11/22/2009
when did akron u get a soccer team? judging from the beacon's coverage, this week...wait, they're number 1 in the country? they've played more than one game?? i don't believe it.
good luck spiz...from a kent fan. you deserve front page coverage for your efforts! the aeros and zips teams that win get no ink in the hometown paper...*sigh*
