A happy University of Akron soccer fan shouted it for all to hear.
It never gets old.
Winning championships, that is. As the man said during Sunday’s postgame ceremony, it really doesn’t get old. The Zips captured their 12th Mid-American Conference championship with a 1-0 victory over Buffalo at FirstEnergy Stadium.
Akron (15-3-2) officially punched its ticket to another NCAA tournament berth, its 30th all-time. That was already assured because of the Zips’ top 10 ranking nationally, as well as third in the RPI poll. They also won the regular-season MAC crown.
The Zips are hoping to earn a top eight seed and a home game when the NCAA tournament starts this week. Pairings will be announced Monday afternoon.
A game Buffalo (8-7-4) squad battled until the end but a goal by Victor Souto just before halftime stood up.
“I’m very pleased to win the championship and the double [MAC title],” said Akron coach Jared Embick, who has won it in each of his three years as head coach. “These championship games sometimes aren’t the prettiest. When they play Friday night/Sunday afternoon, sometimes you’ve just got to gut it out and grind it out and find goals somewhere.
“We didn’t play well for 90 [minutes] but we had some good spurts, could’ve scored more goals and still kept the shutout and found the victory, which was most important.”
The Zips defeated West Virginia 3-2 in Friday’s semifinal. They also won 2-1 at Buffalo on Oct. 9, and are 26-1-1 against the Bulls.
On Sunday, they owned a decisive margin in shots (26-11) and shots on goal (11-6). But Souto’s blast from the middle of the box, off a defender’s deflection a mere 30 seconds before the first half ended, was the only one that found the net.
“I was just worried about the [adjacent] softball field,” joked Embick. “I was as surprised as anyone when it went in. But he’s done that two or three times this year.
“He’s worked hard over the last couple years for those opportunities. Now it’s paying off and you can see what confidence does. There’s not been a bigger goal this year than that one.”
It was the sixth goal of the year for Souto, a junior midfielder from Sao Paolo.
“We’ve been working hard throughout the whole year and the goal means a lot to me,” said Souto. “Akron provides everything to me and I was blessed here to give something back to Akron and help my teammates and coaching staff.”
A disputed play worked in the Zips’ favor 15 minutes into the second half when Akron defender Shane Wiedt fouled a Buffalo player in front of the goal.
It was ruled outside the box, though, and not a penalty kick. The Buffalo sideline erupted and assistant coach Cody Camp was given a red card and ejected.
Zips’ senior goalkeeper Jake Fenlason (six saves) saved the free kick by Russell Cicerone. Akron held the Bulls at bay after that.
For sophomore forward Sam Gainford, a native of Liverpool, England, it was a weekend to remember. He celebrated his 21st birthday on Saturday and was active on Sunday with eight shots, three on goal.
“It couldn’t have went any better for me,” said Gainford. “A birthday yesterday and to top it off with a win. That’s massive.”