Off the Pitch with Coach Ray Reid:
Dec. 12, 2007
Our season ended abruptly on Saturday; however, I could not be more proud of our
team. The boys had a fantastic season and lost a tough match in very difficult
field conditions.
What a year it was for UConn Soccer ... We had 58,392 spectators attend our home
matches at Morrone Stadium this year; we won the BIG EAST regular season for the
second time in three years and the Tournament Championship for the third time in
four years; and we scored 53 goals, while only letting up 13.
Our seniors, Ryan Cordeiro, Chukwudi Chijindu, Julius James and Louis Jones,
will be sorely missed and should be praised for their contributions to the
program for the last four years. Louis is currently enrolled in a Master's
program and the other guys will all graduate this Sunday after 3.5 years. I have
no doubt that Ryan, Chuk and Julius will each have great professional careers.
We are extremely excited about 2008 as we return nine starters and Karl
Schilling. We have six players committed to come as freshmen and we expect a few
more. We anticipate two or three "special" guys also to join our squad for the
2008 season. In speaking with the returning players, Saturday's loss will be a
great motivational tool for next year's squad.
This year's team showed great maturity, great resilience and great personality.
Our younger guys really stepped up big and contributed to our efforts.
I would like to thank one final time the fans and the Goal Patrol. You really
are the best there is in college soccer and you make Morrone Stadium a great
environment to play in. Also, I would like to thank the countless people that
have emailed me in the last three days. Your kind words and compliments about
our team have been very warming to us. It is because of people like you that the
top players in the country and world want to play at UConn. You made it a very
special environment.
In closing, to all our fans and supporters, thank you for being there all year
for us. The players and coaches are going to do everything in our power to
extend next year's season by a couple of matches. We want to make the 2008
season one that will never be forgotten.
Happy Holiday to you and your family.
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