University of Akron men’s soccer senior co-captains Brad Ruhaak and Adam Najem know what time of the season it is.
“Our focus is on tournament time,” Najem said Monday after watching the 2016 NCAA Tournament selection show, which included the announcement the Zips (12-5-3) will host the Villanova Wildcats (10-7-3) in an opening-round match at 5 p.m. Thursday.
“Every game could be our last. We know we have to play with a do-or-die mentality.”
UA topped visiting Buffalo 2-1 on Sunday to win the Mid-American Conference Tournament and earn an automatic bid to the postseason. The Zips will be making their 31st NCAA Tournament appearance since the program started in 1955.
Maryland earned the No. 1 seed in this year’s 48-team tournament. Wake Forest, Clemson, Louisville, Stanford, Denver, Indiana and Syracuse rounded out the top eight seeds. The winner of the UA-Villanova match will play at Indiana on Sunday.
“The most important thing for us was, could we get a home match?” UA coach Jared Embick said. “We are very difficult at home, and to get that on Thursday I think is a step in the right direction.
“Anytime you have to play the first game, you always know the second game is going to be difficult. IU is a great team with great tradition, but you know what? We are playing really well right now, and we are capable of beating anyone.”
The Zips can’t afford to look ahead, Embick said.
“We have to focus on one game at a time,” he said. “I think Villanova finished third in the Big East conference [behind Butler and Creighton], so obviously they have got the ability to play in big-time matches. They have talent, but they have to come here and play us in front of our crowd, which I think will be tough.”
Embick is in his fourth season as the Zips coach. He’s been affiliated with the program since 2007, when he was an assistant under former coach Caleb Porter, and was on the staff when UA won the 2010 national title.
“Playing on this campus and having one of the best fields in the country is absolutely an advantage for us, and we have the best fans in the country as well,” Najem said. “Having the opportunity for us seniors to play at least one more game on our field just means the world to me. Hopefully we can get that result and move onto the next round.”
UA has utilized the same starting lineup in the past three matches — wins over Western Michigan twice (3-0 on Nov. 5 and 4-0 on Nov. 11) and Buffalo once (2-1 on Nov. 13).
Embick has started sophomore Bun Lundt at goalkeeper; Ruhaak, junior Niko De Vera and sophomore Shane Wiedt as defenders; Najem, freshman Nick Hinds, senior Goncalo Soares and junior Manuel Cordeiro as midfielders; and freshman Jonathan Lewis and juniors Sam Gainford and Stuart Holthusen as forwards.
“There has definitely been a noticeable change with the lineup change, but I think if you asked a lot of the guys on our team you would see that we have seen this coming just from in training,” said Ruhaak, a Copley High School graduate. “Things have picked up, and things have been clicking correctly. Once the lineup change clicked on the field, we were ready to go and start flying and get these good results.”
Holthusen leads the Zips in scoring with seven goals and one assist. Najem has five goals and five assists, Lewis has two goals and 11 assists, and Gainford and Ruhaak each have four goals and three assists.
The Zips have additional area players in the lineup, with Archbishop Hoban graduate Wiedt starting and Copley graduate Skye Harter playing consistently as a freshman reserve.
Michael Beaven can be reached at 330-996-3829 or mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MBeavenABJ.