The Akron men’s soccer team makes the short trip to Cleveland State on Tuesday night for its final regular-season nonconference match, a 7 p.m. kickoff that marks the 59th meeting between the two Northeast Ohio programs, the University of Akron said.
Akron owns a 43-11-4 record in the series, which dates to 1955, Akron’s inaugural varsity season. The Zips won last season’s meeting 1-0 at home, when Jack Roman scored his first career goal, and they arrive this year at 7-1-4 after a 1-1 draw at Providence.
In that draw, Akron trailed 1-0 with less than 10 minutes remaining before Matt Dreas buried the tying goal to earn a point in the BIG EAST standings. Remi Agunbiade leads the Zips’ attack with four goals, while Dreas became the seventh Akron player with multiple goals this season.
Cleveland State sits at 6-4-3 and is coming off a 2-1 loss at Wright State after three straight wins over Horizon League opponents. Freshman Domenic Ruggiero leads the conference with seven goals and 15 points, and goalkeeper Aleksander Kolar has recorded four shutouts.
The Vikings are coached by Sinisa Ubiparipovic, now in his eighth season at Cleveland State and one of the greatest players in Akron history. A two-time All-American under Caleb Porter, he scored 42 goals for the Zips, was the 2006 MAC Player of the Year, and was inducted into Akron’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.
For Akron, the match is a final tune-up outside conference play before the BIG EAST schedule decides its postseason seeding. A result on the road against a familiar rival would also protect the momentum from the late comeback at Providence.
Tuesday’s match is available on ESPN+, with live stats through Akron athletics. The Zips then return to conference play as the regular season enters its final weeks.
Meetings between the schools rarely lack familiarity. Players from both rosters know each other from Ohio club and high school soccer, and Ubiparipovic’s Akron playing career gives the fixture an added thread that both programs acknowledge when they meet each fall.
A strong nonconference result also matters beyond bragging rights. Akron’s national profile is built on testing itself outside its league, and a road performance at Cleveland State gives the coaching staff one more measured look at its lineup before the matches that will shape the conference tournament bracket.
Photo: Michael K, CC BY-SA 2.0