After defeating Louisville in a shootout during last weekend’s quarterfinal round of the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship, the Akron Zips are on their way to the College Cup. The Zips are Mid-American Conference Tournament Champions, and now they take on Stanford in the semi-final round of NCAA Championship on Fri 12/8 at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pa. All Zips games can be streamed online at: http://www.gozips.com/index.aspx?path=msoc
Freshman Zips defender Daniel Strachan (#25) was finishing up his senior year at Lakewood High School a year ago. In his freshman year at Akron he has started every game, and now the soccer star, who previously played for Internationals Academy of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy and was rated as the 18th-ranked player in the Great Lakes Region this year, is hoping to make a dream come true by becoming NCAA champions. After beating Louisville this week, TopDrawerSoccer.com named Strachan, along with Akron teammates goalie Ben Lundt (of Berlin, Germany) and fellow defender freshman Joao Mouthino (of Lisbon, Portugal) to its National Men’s Soccer Team of the Week.
CoolCleveland talked to Strachan, 18, about the mighty Zips, the transition to Div. I soccer and his future.
CoolCleveland: Congratulations on the great season. Just months ago you were at Lakewood High School. Now you’re in the middle of experiencing a NCAA championship season. How are you adjusting?
Daniel Strachan: When junior and senior year of high school came around, I started to really look forward to playing in college. Now that I am here, it has exceeded expectations. It has been a lot of work with managing both school and soccer; however, playing at this level with teammates like these makes it more than worth it.
CC: Did you expect this team to end up in the quarterfinals?
DS: We all have the same goal of winning a national championship. However, it wasn’t until after losing our first two games that we all really focused and realized what it is we have to do in order to accomplish our goals. Ever since that moment, we have been having the time of our lives and having fun playing the game, which has had a large impact with our success.
CC: What was the biggest transition between playing club level and Div. I soccer?
DS: For me, the biggest transition is that in college the speed at which the game is played is much quicker and much more physical. Also, coming into a program such as Akron, where every year the goal is to win a national championship, is the type of competitiveness that I have been craving. Right away I realized how much the pace of the game had increased and that was the biggest thing that I had to and still do work on. One of the biggest expectations that the coaches have when coming in is that you are going to put in the work. I was prepared to do this, which has helped me significantly.
CC: How did growing up in Lakewood prepare you for this next chapter in your life?
DS: One of the things that Lakewood is known for is its diversity, so I have always gone to school with people from all over. Coming to Akron and having teammates who are from all over the world was not completely new to me.
CC: Finally, after you’re done playing with the Zips (whenever that is), what’s next?
DS: When I decided to play for Akron I really only ever had two goals in mind. I want to come in and help the program win a national championship. I want to play professionally. These goals have not changed.
Akron Zips Men’s Soccer games can be viewed online: http://www.gozips.com/index.aspx?path=msoc
@ZipsMenSoc
One Response to “Lakewood Soccer Star Daniel Strachan Enjoying Akron Zips Journey to College Cup”
Scott Zen
Nice….gotta love Lakewood. And GO ZIPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!