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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

sports men's soccer

Hoosiers’ matchup against Akron has IU ties

Men's soccer

Indiana vs. Akron is more than a game between top-ranked teams.
It is a family-pride battle.

Not only will Hoosier senior back Ofori Sarkodie go foot-to-foot with his brother, Kofi, a starter for Akron, but the rivalry between the Hoosiers and the Zips also extends to former Hoosier coaches and best friends.

“They know us as well as we know ourselves,” IU coach Mike Freitag said about former IU assistant and current Akron coaches Caleb Porter and Dave Giffard.
“They’ve followed us. I’m sure they’ve watched a lot of tapes of us. They know what we’re about.”

Giffard spent one season as a volunteer with the Hoosiers in 2005 before becoming the Zips’ assistant coach.

The Indiana-to-Akron roots lie deeper within Porter.

He led IU as a player to two College Cup appearances from 1994-97. In his six seasons as an assistant coach with the Hoosiers, Porter helped coach the team to two NCAA titles.

“It brings good soccer to the college game,” Freitag said about the rivalry. “You’ve got programs that are committed to the sports ... The winner of the whole thing is college soccer.”

Freshman defender Matt Wiet, who grew up in Columbus, Ohio, expects pride with his victory.

“We’re going to win,” Wiet said. “I have four or five what I consider best friends on their team that can be potentially starters. It’s a little more than just a game of Indiana versus Akron. It’s more about pride among the hometown boys.”

A 2-1-1 record takes the No. 8 Hoosiers into the sold-out stadium of the No. 1 Zips.

“It should be pretty incredible, to say the least – the fans screaming – it sounds kind of cheesy, but the blood pumping in your body,” Wiet said. “Personally, I’m going to be playing the kids that I’ve grown up with, and I have to prove to them why I chose Indiana over Akron.”

The largest rivalry is in blood – between the Sarkodie brothers.

“At the end of the game, there might be a little bit of bragging rights,” Ofori Sarkodie said. “I think we’re both looking for just a hard-fought, competitive game and really rooting for each other to do well, but knowing we have to go out there and represent our universities and teams and want to win.”

However, Kofi Sarkodie has a slightly different view on winning.

“It’s always all-out when we play, and there’s definitely bragging rights on the line,” Akron’s sophomore defender said. “If we get the ‘W’ and we play well and consistently, then after the game I’m definitely going to be rubbing it into Ofori’s face ... But it’s all friendly fighting.”

This heated matchup is one on which the Sarkodie family tries to stay neutral.
Last year, their mother, Olivia Sarkodie, wore a shirt that said, “May the best team win.”

However, the other Sarkodie children are torn between their brothers.

“Kwame, my older brother, he told me he’s not quite sure yet who he’s going for,” Kofi Sarkodie said. “My little sister told me she wanted me to win, but she might be telling Ofori the same thing.”

Regardless, a deep bond lies between the rival brothers.

“We are so close,” Ofori Sarkodie said. “We grew up playing with each other, sort of teaching each other our different skill sets. It’s kind of like watching a different part of yourself.”

Ofori Sarkodie is looking to imitate his brother’s composure – which he says is Kofi Sarkodie’s best skill – to help lead the Hoosiers to victory.

“I have to be composed offensively when I get the ball,” Ofori Sarkodie said. “Make sure I’m making strong, clean passes and trying to make him do a little bit more running than he’d like to, to get him out of his comfort zone.”

Withholding coaches, best friends and brothers from the matchup, Freitag said his boys are ready to perform on the pitch of a No. 1 team.

“The guys like to be on the stage when the game is supposed to be one that they play well in,” he said, “and they rise to the occasion.”

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