The top-seeded University of Akron men's soccer team will host Tulsa Saturday in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament at 4 p.m. (EST) at Lee Jackson Field.

Akron In Elite Company
The Zips will be competing in the NCAA quarterfinals for the third time in school history Saturday. Akron was defeated (1-4) in penalty kicks at third-seeded Maryland - the eventual champions - after playing to a 1-1 tie most recently in 2005 and topped Penn State (2-1) in overtime at Lee Jackson Field in 1986.

Akron, which is competing in its 24th NCAA Tournament, has advanced to the semifinals just once in its program history. The Zips went all the way to the national title game in 1986 before falling to Duke, 1-0. Overall, UA is 1-0-1 all-time in quarterfinal match-ups.

The Zips own an all-time record of 12-23-2 (.351) in the NCAA Tournament since making its first appearance in 1961 but are 4-2-2 (.625) since 2005.

Akron Vs. Tulsa
The Zips and Golden Hurricane will be meeting for the third time overall Saturday but for the second time this season. Akron has won both decisions against Tulsa, including a 1-0 victory at the Tulsa Tournament on Sept. 6. UA and TU have never faced each other at Lee Jackson Field.

Scouting the Golden Hurricane
Tulsa (15-4-2, 6-1-1 C-USA), ranked 11th in the final regular season coaches' poll, is the eighth seed in this year's NCAA Tournament. TU advanced to the quarterfinals with a 1-0 win over ninth-seeded Northwestern and a 4-3 overtime win over Saint Louis.

The Golden Hurricane are an attack-minded club and boasts the third-highest scoring attack in the nation with an average of 2.33 goals per game (49 goals in 21 contests). Individually, Austin Neil leads the way with 13 goals in 20 contests (ranked 9th with 0.65 goals/game and 20th with 1.45 points/game). Ashley McInnes and Jose Parada have scored nine goals apiece. McInnes leads the team with eight assists.

TU out-shot the Wildcats, 20-11, last weekend in their Round of 16 match-up and owned a 9-6 edge in corner kicks. Parada and Neil each tallied four shots with Neil scoring the game-winner in the 74th minute.

Tulsa is 6-5-1 (.542) all-time in the NCAA Tournament and is making its second appearance in the quarterfinal round. The Golden Hurricane was last defeated, 4-0, by eventual champion Indiana in Bloomington in 2004. As a side note, current UA head coach Caleb Porter was an assistant on that Hoosier club.

Turning the Turnstiles
UA fans have been turning out in record-setting fashion all season long at Lee Jackson Field. In fact, the Zips have set four attendance records this year alone and Saturday's anticipated crowd is expected to top them all. Because of the exceptionally high demand for tickets to the game, temporary accommodations were made by the Athletics Department to bring additional seating to the facility that could increase attendance in excess of 4,000 fans, which would shatter the current record of 2,806 set last weekend.

Saturday's game is expected to be the fifth time UA has played before a capacity crowd this season. In all, the Zips have drawn crowds of more than 2,000 fans seven times in 12 home contests after doing so just once before in its program history entering the year.

With 2,443 fans in attendance to watch the Zips defeat Indiana 1-0 on Sept. 18, UA topped the previous high mark of 2,319, originally set vs. Ohio State in 2005. But that record fell less than two weeks later when 2,473 were on hand to witness a 3-0 victory over the Buckeyes on Sept. 30. Then, in UA's second round match-up with South Florida, 2,700 fans "Packed The Jack" to see the Zips' 2-0 victory.

Zips Reset
Akron defeated Stanford, 2-0, to advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships last Sunday at Lee Jackson Field.
It was another dominating performance from the Zips, who dismantled Stanford with a relentless attack and swarming defense; resulting in a 16-4 edge on shots, including a 9-3 margin on goal.

The nation's leading goal scorer, Teal Bunbury added to his total with No. 17 on the season in the 29th minute to give UA a 1-0 lead. The sophomore forward leaped high to get a head on a ball that volleyed around following one of eight Akron corner kicks. Chad Barson, who recorded his first career assist on the play, and Ben Zemanski each had touches to set up the score.

Junior Anthony Ampaipitakwong, who has scored three goals in two NCAA Tournament games this season, made it 2-0 in the 37th minute on a direct free kick from 26 yards out.

The two goals highlighted the Zips' most complete half of their perfect season - out-shooting the Cardinal, 9-0, in the first 45 minutes.

The Cardinal picked up its pace in the second half, but couldn't break through the Zips' swarming defense. UA's true freshman goalkeeper David Meves recorded a trio of saves, including one worthy of the highlight reel, to post his 14th shutout of the campaign, matching Evan Bush's school record (2005) for most in a season.

The Last Time Vs. Tulsa
Akron earned a 1-0 victory at Tulsa at the Radisson Tulsa Airport Classic in the second game of the season.

The Zips used a balanced attack with multiple shots coming from four different players and a swarming defense, which held TU to just two shots on goal and six shots overall, to dispatch the defending Conference USA champion Golden Hurricane.

Anthony Ampaipitakwong provided all the offense the Zips would need with his first goal of the season, coming in the 10th minute of the contest. Sophomore Teal Bunbury slipped the ball to Ampaipitakwong to set up the shot, which sailed true from 12 yards out into the left corner of the keeper's box. The goal highlighted a first half that was all Akron from the get-go. The Zips out-shot TU 6-1 in the opening stanza and 11-6 overall.

Ampaipitakwong, Bunbury Named Hermann Trophy Semifinalists
Anthony Ampaipitakwong and Teal Bunbury were among 15 semifinalists for the 2009 Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy, the highest individual honor in intercollegiate soccer.

Overall, six teams in the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Elite Eight have a total of eight players representing them. UA and Wake Forest lead the way with two players each.

Division I college head coaches with current membership in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) will vote to determine the 2009 MAC Hermann Trophy recipient. Three finalists for the award will be announced on Friday, Dec. 11 and will be invited to the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis for a news conference on Friday, Jan. 8, 2010, where the winner will be announced. Dinner and a formal presentation of the award will follow the news conference that evening.

Ampaipitakwong, an NSCAA third team All-American in 2008, has started all 22 games this season for the Zips. He has been UA's driving force on the attack with three goals in two NCAA Tournament games - including the game-winner against South Florida in the second round - entering Saturday's quarterfinal match-up with eighth-seeded Tulsa.

In all, the midfielder from Carrollton, Texas, has netted eight goals to go with five assists for 36 points - ranking third on the team - on the year. On top of that, half of his goals have been game-winners. He is a three-time All-Mid-American Conference First Team honoree.

After a strong freshman campaign, Bunbury has blossomed into the nation's most dangerous goal scorer in 2009. The reigning MAC Player of the Year, who leads the country with 17 goals on the season, has dictated the outcome of nine UA wins alone with five game-winning goals and four assists that led to game-winners.

In all, he has recorded at least one point 16 times in 22 games and scored multiple goals in four contests. Bunbury enjoyed an incredible run from late September to early November, scoring 14 goals in a 12-game span, including game-winners against Florida Atlantic, Virginia Tech, Buffalo and Penn State. For the season, the striker from Prior Lake, Minn., has totaled a tea-high 39 points while starting every game this season.

Both players have been key factors in the nation's No. 1 attack. As a team, the Zips are averaging 2.59 goals per contest, which is the highest mark among 203 Division I programs.

It is the second consecutive year Akron has been represented on the Hermann Trophy semifinalist list. Current professional star Steve Zakuani was named first runner up a year ago before becoming the No. 1 overall draft pick of the MLS SuperDraft.

Uncharted Waters
• Akron, which is currently riding the second longest, single-season win streak in NCAA history with a perfect 22-0-0 record, will have the opportunity to match the all-time standard set by Indiana in 1997 Saturday. That Hoosier team - with current UA head coach Caleb Porter at midfield, coincidentally - won 23 straight games before falling in the NCAA semifinals against UCLA.

• The Zips are attempting to be just the seventh team in NCAA history - and the first since Howard (19-0-0) in 1974 - win a national championship with a perfect record (no losses or ties).

On the Horizon
The winner of Saturday's game will punch its ticket to the College Cup, which will be played in Cary, N.C. next weekend. UA has made just one appearance in the NCAA semifinals in its history. The Zips defeated Fresno State, 1-0, on the road to advance to the national championship game where it was defeated by Duke, 1-0, in the Tacoma Dome at Fresno State.

Defensive Perfection
With seven goals allowed in 1990:47 as a team, the Zips' goals-against-average of 0.32 is currently the third-best single-season mark in NCAA history. Moreover, Akron is one of just four schools (Virginia, North Carolina, Connecticut) that has yet to allow a goal in the NCAA Tournament. For the year, Akron and Virginia share the nation's lead for fewest goals allowed (7).

The Zips set a school record last weekend with their 16th shutout of the season against Stanford and enter play Saturday as the owners of the nation's No. 1 shutout percentage (.730). As it stands, it is the sixth-best mark in NCAA single-season history.

Dual Threat
For as good as UA has been defensively this season, the Zips have been even more dominant on the attack. In fact, they are the only school in the nation to be ranked in the top three in both scoring offense and goals-against-average. Akron's average of 2.59 goals per game lead the nation while it's GAA of 0.32 is ranked second (behind Virginia's mark of 0.30).

There are only two other schools in the country that are ranked in the top 10 for offense and defense. Liberty is ranked fifth with an average of 2.15 goals per game and No. 7 with a GAA of 0.53, while North Carolina is ranked 10th in scoring offense (2.05) and sixth for GAA (0.53).

Akron Continues Winning Ways
Since 2005, UA has posted the best winning percentage in the nation with an overall record of 85-12-11 (.837) - Wake Forest is second with a record of 90-18-12 (.800).

It is also important to note that while Akron does play in a mid-major conference, it has accumulated its record over the years against some of the best programs in the nation - especially in recent past.

In fact, the Zips have recorded a top-10 RPI in each of the last three years under Caleb Porter (No. 1 in 2009, No. 5 in 2008 and No. 10 in 2007) and went 5-0 against the Big 10 this year with wins over Indiana (1-0), Ohio State (3-0), Michigan (5-1), Penn State (3-0) and Michigan State (2-1).
Along those lines, UA defeated seven teams (South Florida, St. Louis, Indiana, Ohio State, Tulsa, Penn State, Michigan State) that qualified for the NCAA Tournament this year, outscoring them, 16-1, during the regular season.

Defending the Homefront
Akron is undefeated in its last 25 home games (24-0-1) dating back to 2007 and is 53-2-4 (.932) at Lee Jackson Field overall since 2005.

Oh Captain My Captain!
UA head coach Caleb Porter, who is in his fourth season at the helm, boasts a career record of 67-11-7 (.829) in 85 games. He has led the Zips to four straight Mid-American Conference regular-season titles and three consecutive MAC Tournament championships.

Furthermore, UA has advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three seasons (2007, 2008, 2009) and advanced to the Sweet 16 in back-to-back campaigns ('08, '09).

The foundation of Porter's success has been the accumulation of the nation's top talent. He and his staff recruited the No. 1 class in the nation for 2009, according to ESPNRise.com, Soccer America, Top Drawer Soccer and College Soccer News. This follows No. 5 designations for 2007 and 2008.