Off the Pitch with Coach Ray Reid: August 29, 2007

Well two more days and it starts all over again. This will be my 11th season as the Head Coach at UConn and boy time has flown by.

Our match with Duke was quite interesting, very similar to a NCAA Tournament Match. The first half belonged to the Huskies while the second 45 minutes was a little more to the Blue Devils. This type of preseason match is a win-win for both programs as it is great preparation for the regular season.

Since the match against Duke, our training has been good. Our rhythm is fine and our team has been very “in tune” in training. Tonight we will train at 6:30 under the lights to get used to playing at night. Our players are very excited about “opening night”. Both Karl Schilling and Toni Stahl have provided excellent leadership this week during training.

The opener is against Canisius College from the MAAC on Friday night. They are coached by Jim Heschi who played for me when I coached at Southern Connecticut State University. They will be a very difficult opening night opponent.

On Sunday evening we will play Stony Brook University. Both Friday and Sunday matches will be at 7:00 p.m. at Morrone Stadium.

A special thanks to the Goal Patrol who were at the Duke Match on Saturday evening. The Goal Patrol is a student spirit group for Men's Soccer and boy they are unbelievable! Our players really admire this group and the support they lend to our program. I look forward to seeing the Goal Patrol at our matches this weekend.

If you're interested in joining The Goal Patrol, contact Assistant Coach Kevin Bacher at 860-486-6824.