Akron’s Egbo is determined to carry on the legacy of his school and family

Akron forward David Egbo is not just playing soccer to pass time during college. It’s much bigger than that. He’s playing the sport he loves for his family, his native country, and his legacy.

After scoring 13 goals and adding five assists last season, he’s ready to take his game to the next level. Don’t just take my word for it, you can trust the opinion of the United Soccer Coaches and the Missouri Athletic Club. They included Egbo on the watch list for the MAC Hermann Trophy, NCAA soccer’s most prestigious award. “Being named to the Hermann Trophy watch list is a nice honor, but the award will be earned by hard work and determination on the field throughout the season,” Egbo explained. “Being named to the list is great, but I haven’t won anything yet, I still have to go out there and ball out for my team and for the whole of Akron.”

There have been a lot of players to “ball out” for Akron men’s soccer. Players like Darlington Nagbe, Steve Zakuani, DeAndre Yedlin, Teal Bunbury, and countless other professionals have established lofty expectations at the Northeast Ohio university. “The history of Akron soccer definitely motivates me to build my own legacy here. Everyone remembers the 2010 team because of what they accomplished and every year my teammates and I use that team as a motivation to attempt to bring another national title here before our time is up,” he said about the pressure to perform well for the Zips.

“The realistic expectation for us as a team never changes, dominate the MAC and win the NCAA title, for me I set high expectations for myself, but none of that matters if my team doesn’t win.”

It’s not only his school’s legacy that motivates David. He is doing his best to make his late father proud. “A dream come true for me would be me wearing that green and white jersey (for Nigeria’s national team). My dad and I would joke around about me playing on the national team and him cheering me on in the stands, but unfortunately for me, that will not happen,” he said. “I make sure though that I carry my father’s legacy and be the person and player he wanted me to be.”

David and his talented Akron teammates will open their season later this month against Xavier before hosting powerhouse Stanford at FirstEnergy stadium in the Rubber City.

Carson A Merk

Reporting live from Sin City, I have covered both RGVFC and Las Vegas Lights FC since their inceptions. I also write profiles to highlight players from the NCAA to USL to NWSL and everywhere in between.